Getting angry, in some cases, can sap your strength more than spending the day cleaning your house or even running a marathon. This isn’t too surprising when you consider what this intense emotion does to your body. All sorts of anger, from little irritations to major blowups, produce a rise in your body’s levels of adrenaline, cortisol and other stress hormones, increasing your blood pressure and speeding up your heartbeat; the strength of the reaction depends on the degree of anger and your ...

MARLENE AND DAVID DIDN’T GET IT Marlene was furious at David, her husband. It was 7:30 at night and he still wasn’t home. She had made a lovely dinner and had prepared his favorite dessert. Marlene and both children had waited until 7:00 o’clock, but they finally gave up and ate without him. With each passing minute Marlene became angrier. She complained to the children about their father’s irresponsibility, and after dinner she impatiently paced the floor. When David finally arrived, Marlene...

Think for a moment about the people you most admire in your life. To whom are you drawn? Usually it’s the joyful ones who smile, laugh, compliment others and radiate happiness. I CREATE MY OWN HAPPINESS Happiness is all about focus. Whatever you focus on pulls you in that direction, either negative or positive. So the secret to happiness is to choose to focus on the positive in life, no matter what. Abraham Lincoln said, “Folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” I’d say...

The first step to becoming the successful person you want to be is to get yourself out of the way. Michael despised his cubicle. He was envious each morning as he passed the offices with doors, occupied by executives behind large mahogany desks. Michael wanted a promotion, but it was a wish, not a goal. A wish is a goal without the do and the deadline. One evening Michael expressed his discontent to his wife. She quickly reminded him that he should be grateful for his job and be content. “Do...

To begin any change, first you need to identify all behaviors needing change, because you can’t alter what you don’t acknowledge. And if you refuse to acknowledge your own self-destructive beliefs and behaviors, not only will they continue, they’ll become more deeply entrenched and grow more resistant to change. Acknowledgement of your weaknesses (and strengths) requires absolute honesty about what is and what isn’t working in your life. You need to know both what’s working, (which you can ce...

Dreams can be a rich resource for creativity, decision making, problem solving, and self-understanding. We actually do much of our information processing at night. Dreaming helps us integrate emotional and intellectual material from the day – without the defensiveness that characterizes our waking thoughts. Because we’re more honest with ourselves when we are asleep, we’re often more insightful as well. RECALLING DREAMS You may not remember you dreams, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t hav...

UNIFY MIND AND BODY GOT STRESS? Traffic jams, technology change, information overload, time-crunch, conflicts, relationship struggles, and other stresses can jeopardize your vitality, creativity, productivity, and joy. Stress costs the workplace about $300 billion a year; 80 percent of doctor visits are stress-related. Unmanaged stress can lead to heart attacks and strokes, gastro-intestinal problems, diabetes, insomnia, headaches and depression. THREE TRUTHS ABOUT STRESS There will be ...

I’m delighted and honored to share the principles in this section because they are the keys to happiness and well-being in every area of your life. You’ll learn how to: ~ Believe in yourself and in your gifts and talents ~ Take total control of your thoughts, words, and actions ~ Release yourself from damaging beliefs of the past ~ Build personal power and never be offended again ~ Radiate joy and confidence to everyone you meet ~ Set high, achievable goals and exceed every one ~ I...