Your Happiness Factor

Lot of people believe that optimism leads people to have better quality of life. But the findings on happiness and its medical impact over the years have not always been consistent. This article in a   New York Times Blog by Anahad O'Connor discusses the latest research. Really? Optimism Reduces the Risk of Heart Disease THE FACTS Laughter may not exactly be the best medicine. But a cheerful outlook on life may be good for your heart. So concludes new research on the impact of happiness and optimism on cardiovascular health. Scientists have known about the reverse relationship between psychological health and heart health for some time; studies show that  depression and anxiety can worsen outcomes for heart patients . But the findings on happiness and its medical impact over the years have not been as consistent. You can read more at this link

  This post appeared first in the blog at my  WiseWolf Personal Development Coaching  Website   WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE OPEN? Personal development means being open, honest and transparent, not least with ourselves.  It means being able to accept our own weaknesses and when something has gone wrong having the strength to apologize and to explain.  Personal development means being open to new ideas - thoughts and opinions of others.  Sometimes you need the grace to agree to disagree. Being open is not without risk but then all personal growth is accompanied by some kind of challenge. BUT HOW DO YOU TAKE THAT FIRST STEP? Understand first of all that it may be a little uncomfortable and then try these tips Try to be relaxed when discussing new ideas, rather than having an immediate reaction. Start to challenge your own preconceptions – next time you find yourself about to express an opinion take a step back and spend a few minutes thinking through the opposite point of view

This post appeared first in the blog at my  Wisewolf Personal Development Coaching  Website The third characteristic of a  Personal Development Mindset    is to be a self-starter! WHAT IS BEING A SELF-STARTER Personal development means taking personal responsibility for your own learning and development and taking the first steps yourself. Usually this is through a process of review/stock-take, exploration/research, and taking action. BUT HOW DO YOU TAKE THAT FIRST STEP? One of the best ways to start your self-development is to prioritize your professional and personal goals.  It is impossible to do everything so it is important to make a list and make choices. What for you are the most important things to do, in terms of your career and your personal life? Think about; Your private interests and needs in your life outside work; for example spiritual development, parenting skills or relationship building. Your career interests, for example, responding to devel

  E motional intelligence (EQ) helps us interact with, and influence, others. The higher our emotional intelligence, the more like we are to be able to get on with others. In 1996 Daniel Goleman wrote his groundbreaking book " Emotional   Intelligence ". His exhaustive research had shown him that success in all parts of our lives is based more on our ability to handle   emotions   than on our intellectual capability or our physical strength. People with high Emotional Intelligence can understand emotions – their own and other people’s, They can make their emotions and their understanding help them to empathise with others, to understand them and to handle their emotions. For example, they are much less likely to be overwhelmed by someone bursting into tears, People with high EQ are generally open and pleasant to be around.  They tend to pick up and understand those little non-verbal messages we send with body language, posture and tone of voice. In

This post appeared first in the blog at our  Personal Development Coaching  Website The second characteristic of a Personal Development Mindset  is self-confidence. What is self confidence? You are self-confident when you believe in you and your own abilities. It doesn’t mean that you always get things right. But when you don’t, you still think you are OK, you are not lacking or incomplete. It is the self-confidence that allows you to have a go at new things – you are OK and so you can try something new!  Self-confidence means you can integrate mind and body and focus on what you want to achieve.  You believe "I have the ability to do this"! Self-confidence leads to success Self-confidence is at the root of many other abilities and traits. If you do not have self-confidence, what you do will never be truly fulfilling. You won’t believe that any success you achieve was really down to you. And you may not have the confidence to try new things and

This post appeared first in the blog at our Personal Development Coaching Website Optimists see Good around them – they focus on the positive!  That means the impact of negative things is very much reduced! Pessimists – do just the opposite. They concentrate on negative events and so miss out on the full impact of lots of good things. Research suggests that whether we are optimists or pessimists depends to some extent on our genetic make up – we are born with a tendency that way. But environment and how we grow up also plays a part. Think about your own experience – as you were growing up, did those around see life in a negative or a positive way?  What effect do you think that had on you?   But we know that on the whole optimists are happier and research suggests that they are also healthier and live longer. They appear to suffer less from depression and they recover more quickly from illness. Pessimism drains you and wears you out.  You feel just plain tired of

Image via Wikipedia As my grandfather once said, "The secret of life is learning to make a fool of yourself gracefully."  James Redfield  " The Celestine Vision" Shyness is sometimes known as social phobia or social anxiety disorder.  But whatever the name, lots of us know the feeling. Shy people may only fear one specific kind of situation - say speaking in public.  But others may be troubled by a whole range of different situations.  For example; Having to perform  stage Dealing with authority figures like doctors or headmasters Eating and drinking in public Writing an important and formal letter Meeting up with the opposite sex and dating Going to parties and other social events Shy people feel sure that other people are going to judge them and find them lacking in some way.  They think they will feel embarrassed or humiliated and that others expect them to behave perfectly.  Shy people expect and look for negat