I was terrified of running when I was a kid. I’m talkin’ somebody-grab-this-girl-a-paper-bag-to-breathe-into scared. My mom is asthmatic. I’m not, but when I ran and felt my breathing quicken, I associated that with my mom’s health condition. Anxiety would take over, my throat would constrict, and just as if I had asthma, I’d lose the ability to breathe. During graduate…
How to Break the Anger Habit & Be a Whole Lot Happier by Sharon Salzberg and Robert Thurman
On my 50th birthday I was presented with a little green box that could only contain something small and possibly expensive, like jewelry. Inside was a sparkly diamond in a platinum setting. I was surprised, to say the least, because the ring came from my mother. Included in the box was a handwritten note: My mother gave this to me, and…
Do you know how some people walk into a room and bring it to life? That’s Agapi Stassinopoulos. Her first name means “unconditional love” in Greek, and that’s what she so brilliantly shares. I met Agapi last summer. She’s an inspirational speaker, teacher, actress, and author. Last week, in a talk she gave at the META Center in New York City,…
I started making vision boards eight years ago, and I find them a great help in staying focused on what’s important to me. If I get sidetracked or wrapped up in stress, I can just glance at my vision board and I’m reminded of what really matters in my life. A vision board is a piece of poster board with…
When my brother and I were little, we went grocery shopping with our mother on Thursday afternoons. As the five-year-old, I was in charge of making sure my mother had her grocery list and checkbook. As the two-year-old, my brother’s task was simply not to have a screaming fit when told that, no, he could not buy another ball out…
Over dinner my friend Jane makes an offhand comment: “I couldn’t stand my husband when I first met him.” Immediately, I’m intrigued. They’ve been married eight years and she’s head over heels in love with him. She continues, “He was the most obnoxious, pompous know-it-all I’d ever met.” “What finally changed your mind?” I ask, expecting some big gesture on…
Recently I interviewed neuropsychologist Rick Hanson about his specialty: hardwiring happiness. Using neurological techniques, Hanson says, you can change the structure of your brain by building neuropathways for feeling good. “When it comes to negative experiences, your brain is like Velcro,” he said. “With positive experiences, the brain is like Teflon.” He went on to explain that for survival purposes,…
After the tragic events of 9/11, I wondered why it sometimes takes a horrible tragedy for people to unite and work together. I wanted a day to remind us to become our better selves. I presented my idea to then Congressman Felix Grucci, who brought it to members of Congress. On December 18, 2001, National Motivation & Inspiration Day was…
