Project Happiness Articles — motivation

When I’d encounter myself in high-stress situations, I would engage in the following 5-minute exercise, which is extremely efficient if you feel a lot of nervousness and you need to be quickly calmed down (i.e: when looking for a job, before an interview, before a presentation, before asking for a raise). You can do it wherever and whenever you want.

If happiness is available to us at any moment through the power of our minds, why does it sometimes seem so hard to do? When our thoughts run amok, how do we choose better ones? We’ve all had those experiences (moments, hours, even days!) when finding a happier thought seemed nearly impossible. When endless loops of worry, frustration, overwhelm, etc. not only challenged our ability to find our happy place, they caused us to forget we even had the choice.

It all starts in the head. Mindset is number one. Without a clear mindset, you cannot even take the first step toward what you would like to accomplish. It’s that famous quote by Henry Ford, “whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right.” It has always been one of my favorite quotes because it’s true. You have to trust yourself before you can trust a new environment. You have to trust your intuition and your instinct. This comes from practice. Trusting yourself can be saying “yes” before you’re ready. This is where the majority of my greatest opportunities have come from.

Eventually, things began to slip through the cracks. They were minor, at first. A missed meeting here, a late deadline there, but as things began to add up it cost me many of the things I had taken for granted in my life. I lost relationships, friends, even my job. Sadly, none of that was enough to convince me to stop. I believed it was all replaceable, and that there were other factors besides my drinking that was to blame. It wasn’t until I woke up in the hospital after a night downtown, with no recollection of what happened, that I was forced to take a good, long look at myself. It was hard, but for the first time, I was able...

There's a lot to consider when we're passionate people feeling strongly about ten different things at once - motivation, resources, priorities, time management, etc. I know for me, I find it challenging to balance what's most important, what is calling me loudest and give it sufficient attention, without worrying about what's going to the wayside in the meantime. So lately, I've been thinking seriously about what exactly it is that I want to do. What is it that I want to be working on right now to be where I want to be.

More than 80% of parents support climate change taught in schools, yet only 42% of teachers discuss it with their students.  Mount Horeb High School Project Happiness Club recently undertook a school-wide challenge to raise awareness - and money - for ocean conservation.

There's a story of a student and a master. One day, the student asks his master the purpose of his life. She answers, "Only you can find that, but knowing of your purpose is not found in your mind, but rather in your heart.  "If you knew, right now, that you were going to die tomorrow, what would you most regret that you had not accomplished?"

Self esteem is described by Psychology Today as “self judgement” or how one perceives their own sense of personal worth. Self esteem tends to fluctuate at different parts of one’s life, raising during times of victory or growth and waning a bit when things aren’t going well. A low self esteem is associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression. It’s important to nurture one’s self esteem and there are many ways to do so.

Martial arts is an ancient sport that survives to this day in many forms. Though many people view it as violent and don’t think it has any suitable benefits, it’s actually about the opposite of violence. It’s about finding peace within yourself and coping with daily life with your feet firmly on the ground. T

Everyone wants to be happy. Behind our every action is our desire for happiness. However, unknowingly we have certain mindsets, I call those happiness stealers, which as the term suggests, keep us from being happy.