How Big is My Problem?
This past summer at camp, one of our counselors reported a conflict within his cabin group. A camper had told one of his cabin mates to “stop acting so stupid.” The offended camper immediately reported to his counselor that “everyone hated him.” The counselor helped the camper calm down and then facilitated a sincere apology from the child who made the unkind comment. The problem was…
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Create a “Refuel” List
Today is Day 19 of my Happiness Hacks series. One of my over-arching reasons for doing this series was to get myself back on track and feeling more positive after a season (decades?) of too much work and not enough rest. I’ve been much more mindful about how I’m feeling. I’ve also been thinking a lot more…
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Celebrate my Daughter
Today is Day 18 of my Happiness Hacks series. October 18 is a special day for me, because 21 years ago, my beautiful daughter was born. Today’s happiness hack is celebrating her! Because she’s away at college, I’m celebrating her from afar today (but visiting tomorrow to take her to dinner!). The celebration started with an…
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Walk my Dog
Today is Day 17 of my Happiness Hacks series. An upside to the flat tire currently being repaired on my car is that I’m at home all day today getting several small projects done. Although I felt like working non-stop, I took a quick 15 minute break to walk my dog Kate. The air was fresh after…
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10 Ways to Teach Kids to Calm Down
Being able to resolve conflicts is one of the most important social skills our kids need in order to thrive in relationships and life. I’ve written a series of posts about different conflict resolution skills, including how to apologize well. When kids (or adults) are really mad, words and reactions can be ugly. The inability…
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Two Minute Activities
Today is Day 16 of my Happiness Hacks series. Today’s hack came to me via my Facebook feed. Big Brother Facebook knows the kind of articles I like to read, so tempting links conveniently pop-up as suggestions and side-track me from other more productive things I could be getting done. This one, titled “Do these exercises for…
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Laugh
Today is Day 15 of my Happiness Hacks series. Laughing is today’s hack. On most days, I get at least a chuckle at some point, usually in a conversation with someone. But a hearty belly laugh? That is definitely not a daily occurrence for me. A few years ago, I discovered Pinterest. (Don’t even ask how badly…
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Re-Read a Favorite Book
Today is Day 14 of my Happiness Hacks series. Nope, I didn’t accidentally stutter when writing this happiness hack title. Today I’ve landed on something that’s a new one for me. I’ve always loved to read, but I have never put much thought into my reading habits. I was listening to a podcast today, and Jess Lahey and…
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Coffee with a Friend
Today is Day 13 of my Happiness Hacks series. Doing this Happiness Hacks series has had an excellent side benefit. Because I need to have something to write about every day, I actually need to do something that makes me happy every day. This writing series is helping me learn to say “yes” to the right things. In my…
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Wednesday Date Night
Today is Day 12 of my Happiness Hacks series. Unless you include sitting next to each other at a soccer game as a date, my husband and I have not gone on many in the past few years. Typically, the only time we go out to dinner together is if we’re on a trip somewhere.…
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Plan a Trip
Today is Day 11 of my Happiness Hacks series. Today’s happiness hack was finalizing plans for a trip with two of my best college friends. We’re meeting in early December to celebrate a “significant” birthday milestone we’re all reaching over the next year. We’ve been emailing back and forth for about a month to figure out…
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Finish a Project
Today is Day 10 of my Happiness Hacks series. I don’t know about you, but I tend to have multiple projects going on at once. I’m just not a linear project kind of gal. My computer desktop and open tabs are a dead give-away that I’m not great at sticking with one thing from start…
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