Tag Archive: gratitude

August 4, 2011

A New Toolkit

Happiness

|Photo by ernohannink|http://www.flickr.com/photos/ernohannink/3931122112|

Last week’s post on “Negativity and Self-Limiting Advocacy” ended up setting off quite a conversation. In light of that, I thought I might further flesh out some of what Barbara Fredrickson recommends via her book Positivity in a chapter entitled “A New Toolkit.”  Here she enumerates  ways to enhance overall positivity, and therefore broaden our individual and collective minds, build resourcefulness and resilience, and flourish in the direction of our highest aspirations.  Here is what she suggests, based on rigorous research: Read More

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July 28, 2011

Negativity and Self-Limiting Advocacy

“When the only tool you have is a hammer,

every problem begins to resemble a nail.”

-Maslow’s Maxim

hammer

|Image by petesimon|http://www.flickr.com/photos/petesimon/4289748362|

Someone once said, “Advocates can be hell to work with, but they make good ancestors.”  Agreed.  And . . . Read More

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October 9, 2009

The Gift of Gratitude

A gratitude-heart
Is to discover on earth
A Heaven-delivered rose.

– Sri Chinmoy

The other day I shared with my colleagues an experience I had of a sudden feeling that came over me, during a moment within the hectic routine of a typical morning, in which I felt great peace and joy amid the flurry of my two young daughters, husband and me readying to launch into our day.  An intense feeling of love for my family and all those I am blessed to have in my life came over me, and seemed to emanate from the deepest fiber of my being out of nowhere. I was awe-inspired by this deep, unexpected, and unprompted feeling of gratitude.  I’m more accustomed to feeling moments of gratitude during or after contemplation, but because of its spontaneous onset and its lingering affects, I recognized it to be a great gift.

According to Dr. Michael McCollough Professor of Psychology at Southern Methodist University, when scientists began researching links between religion and good mental and physical health, their studies indicated that gratitude plays a significant role in one’s sense of well-being, as many of the world’s major religions acknowledge and convey the virtues of gratitude. Further study including the secular population showed that those who had a tendency toward gratitude were more likely to be happier and healthier than those who did not, whether they were religious or not. Read More

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