Your Happiness Factor

     Daniel Goleman , in  The Meditative Mind :   The key elements of flow are The merging of action and awareness in sustained concentration on the task at hand, The focusing of attention in a pure involvement without concern for outcome, Self-forgetfulness with heightened awareness of the activity, Skills adequate to meet the environmental demand, and Clarity regarding situational cues and appropriate response. When I sit down in my office at to write,   I enter a state of flow and I love it.   I see and feel nothing but the words before me. The state of flow is when you are so fully focused on the task at hand that you no longer realize the passage of time.   You may not feel heat or cold (I don’t) and   you may not hear what is said to you. Being in this state of allows you to achieve high productivity and be happy at the same time.   To enter the flow state, you need a goal; you need to know what you want to do and why.  Vague in

Action for Happines s is a new movement for positive social change . They're bringing together people from all walks of life who want to play a part in creating a happier society for everyone. For fifty years we've aimed relentlessly at higher incomes. But despite being much wealthier, we're no happier than we were five decades ago. At the same time we've seen an increase in wider social issues, including a worrying rise in anxiety and depression in young people. It's time for a positive change in what we mean by progress. Read more  

I've  decided to add another blog to the family –  Leaving the Public Sector  - and I’m seeking your help.  Following the 2010  Spending Review  it was revealed that between them UK Government departments were expected to shed over 100,000 civil service posts as part of their efforts to reduce administration costs.    The Government's cull of quangos, in which 192 public bodies are to be abolished and a further 112 will be merged, will also contribute to an overall headcount loss in the civil service In addition vast numbers of posts are likely to be lost from the wider public sector - Local Authorities, the NHS etc . Many public servants have already been invited to consider taking voluntary redundancy, and many more will be invited to do so as reorganisation plans begin to take shape.  Compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out. For many public servants this is a time to consider the future and the challenge it presents. Four years ago I was facing the same challenge.

For me, like most of us, happiness (and health) comes from keeping a balance between body, mind and spirit! I tend to be obsessive!   Again, like all of us, there are times when I have focussed on one part of the triangle at the expense of the others. Unfortunately I go to extremes. In my time I have;       Been so focussed on work that I ignored the early signs of quite a serious illness.   Trained in the gym five days a week and weakened my immune system by combining that with an almost completely fat-free diet!   Taken up quite bizarre religions in my search for spiritual fulfilment and ended up disillusioned and depressed! A sad tale and I’m still working on maintaining the balance!  Still I do not eat a balanced diet and get the right amount of exercise – I’m trying hard! I really enjoy my work, but I need to be a bit more disciplined about getting away from it sometimes. As for spirituality, well simplicity has won out! Simple awareness and awe of a cosmos that

Inspiration - Daffodils Every day, even when I am working at home, I make sure I get out of the house and go for a walk.  Today, I didn’t want to go – it is a dark, cold, grey kind of day and I wanted to stay inside in the warmth and comfort of my home. But I pushed myself and got out there.  Wasn’t I pleased that I had!  Even in suburban South London, there the signs of early spring and these are as bright as sunshine!  Inspiration - Primroses I found a small clump of primroses shyly smiling at the world.    In sheltered spots there were the first dafodils!  And there it was, my Mother’s  favourite,  forsythia; blooming away and determined to flash its colours to the dismal sky.  They made me feel inspired and so when I came back in, I decided to write this post! You see we all can find inspiration around us!  And it is not just in nature! Inpiration - Forsythia Are there books that you have always loved?   How often do you go back to them? Do you remember th