Even Happier http://www.evenhappier.com/ you can make yourself happier en Copyright 2008 Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:32:32 +0100 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2ysb5-20051201 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 5 things you could do to kill the Mafia Mafioso As a little kid growing up in Palermo (Sicily), I used to dream of chasing the Bad Guys who were terrorizing my beautiful city.

In my teens, I started to consider the idea of stopping the Mafia one of those naive dreams that could never become a reality.

But now, for the first time in the last 20 years, there is a concrete possibility to kill the Sicilian Mafia, ending its presence in Italy, in USA, and everywhere else it operates, thus improving the lives of thousands of people around the world. And your help is needed, so listen up.]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/society/kill_the_mafia.html http://www.evenhappier.com/society/kill_the_mafia.html society Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:32:32 +0100 Born Happy? IBorn Happy Editor’s note: This is a guest post from bestselling author and Psychology Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky.

“To change one’s life, start immediately, do it flamboyantly, no exceptions.”
– William James, “father” of psychology

I have two friends, Mark and Brian, and one of them is a lot happier than the other. ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/emotions/born_happy.html http://www.evenhappier.com/emotions/born_happy.html emotions Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:49:30 +0100 How to increase your self-esteem I’m Ugly.

Actually, I’m not, but there was a time in which I was convinced of being fat and unattractive.

People would tell me I was only slightly overweight, but I would not believe them: all I could see in the mirror was my big belly.

In time, I changed the way I think about myself, and I learned to take better care of my body: I was a good looking man after all, and women began to notice…

Today, I’m happily married with an intelligent and beautiful woman: I know that without my increased self-esteem I would have never approached her in the first place, and I would have rationalised my inaction by thinking she was probably silly and superficial – in other words, boring – as some good looking girls are.

And what about you? Do you ever feel stupid, ugly, nerdy, or dull? The following list of tips will give you practical ways to improve your self-esteem. I have split the list in three sections: pick the one that suits you best. ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/howto/how_to_increase_your_self_esteem.html http://www.evenhappier.com/howto/how_to_increase_your_self_esteem.html how-to Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:22:54 +0100 How to stop worrying Worrying “At least a portion of your mind is really kind of stupid. If it had an innate intelligence, it would remind you of the things you needed to do only when you could do something about them.” [David Allen - Getting Things Done]

In his famous book, David Allen says we often worry at very inappropriate times:
- You are having a nice dinner, and in the back of your mind you’re worrying about tomorrow’s meeting.
- You are enjoying a well deserved holiday, but you can’t stop thinking of what you’ll need to do when you get back home.

In order increase both productivity and peace of mind, Allen proposes a comprehensive method for “Getting Thing Done,” which could help you becoming more effective.

On the other hand  if you don’t worry just of your to-do list  Allen’s book will be of limited help in calming your mind: you need other tools to deal with other kinds of worries.

So what are you worrying about? Take a look at the following list, and see if you recognize yourself at least in one of the 7 worrier profiles. I’ll then describe a set of strategies which you can use to reduce your worries. ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/howto/how_to_stop_worrying.html http://www.evenhappier.com/howto/how_to_stop_worrying.html how-to Sun, 02 Dec 2007 10:50:18 +0100 How to Command Respect Some people are always listened to. What they say matter, and everyone pays attention whenever they speak.

Why is that so? There’s an air of authority about their every words and actions, which helps them in getting their point across, when others would not even be heard.

In short, they are who you and I would call “Natural Leaders.”

I am not one of those people – I wasn’t born super-confident – so I took some time to study man and women who naturally command respect, in order to learn their secrets and get the results I wanted in my own life.

The experiment has worked well: today my behavior has changed - though I’m still me - and I have finally been offered the job I had been wanting for the last three years.

I should come clean with you – I haven’t discovered any secrets… – only well known habits which increase their effectiveness exponentially when applied all together.

If you are not a “Natural Leader”, the good news is that a confident behavior can be learned: read the tips below and start immediately to practice those which feel ok with you. Results will soon follow... ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/selfimprovement/how_to_command_respect.html http://www.evenhappier.com/selfimprovement/how_to_command_respect.html self-improvement Sun, 04 Nov 2007 09:15:57 +0100 The Simple Rules of Life life You have a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for as long as you live. How you take care of it - or fail to take care of it - can make an enormous difference to the quality of your life.

You learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called Life. Each day, you will be presented with opportunities to learn what you need to know. The lessons presented are often completely different from those you think you need.

There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error and experimentation. You can learn as much from failure as you can from success. I know you have heard this many times, and that's because it is true.

A lesson is repeated until it is learned. Each lesson is presented to you in various forms until you have learned it.

Learning lessons does not end. There is no stage of life that does not contain some lessons. As long as you live there will be something more to learn.

Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.

What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you create with those tools and resources is up to you.

The answers lie inside of you. The answer to life’s eternal questions lie within your grasp. All you need to do is ask, look, listen and receive.

Adapted from an article on westhartfordcounselingcenter.com]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/inspiration/the_simple_rules_of_life_1.html http://www.evenhappier.com/inspiration/the_simple_rules_of_life_1.html inspiration Sun, 21 Oct 2007 07:57:40 +0100 Global warming is already cool, so a little more Hairspray could really help… Global Warming I am not a cool kid.

I mean, If you ask my friends about it, first they’ll tell you some of the cool things I’ve done - like composing a hit song and singing it on Top Of The Pops - but eventually they’ll agree that my usual behavior prevents me from gaining any serious cool credo.

The fact is that I don’t feel ashamed easily, and if I feel like it, I might dance like tarantula bitten man, whilst wearing very unlikely items of clothing…

For most of my life, I have considered the idea of coolness superficial & fake: a restriction on my freedom which I could never tolerate.

What was the point of being cool anyway? Everyone wanted to be cool, so I could get more attention by breaking the social norm which defined coolness.

As a teenager, I couldn’t see that the coolness-factor has the power to put the spotlight on a worthy cause: make it cool and everyone will talk about it, make it cool and we’ll all want a piece of the action.

Global warming is a perfect example. For decades the situation has been urgent and getting worse (see graph), but the issue wasn’t getting much attention. ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/society/global_warming_is_already_cool.html http://www.evenhappier.com/society/global_warming_is_already_cool.html society Sun, 14 Oct 2007 04:37:23 +0100 How to increase your sexual drive Woman biting her fingers A stronger sexual drive can improve your overall experience of sex, and in turn benefit all aspects of your daily life.

Performance anxiety will become a thing of the past, and you'll be able to fully enjoy every lovemaking session.

The list below is packed with powerful tips: if one of them is not applicable to you, simply skip it and move to the next one. ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/sex/how_to_increase_your_sexual_drive.html http://www.evenhappier.com/sex/how_to_increase_your_sexual_drive.html sex Sun, 07 Oct 2007 07:01:21 +0100 Love your breasts as they are Fake Breasts I have never met a woman who was entirely satisfied with her breasts.

"Too small!"
"They are way too big."
"The left one is much bigger than the right one, can’t you see?"

And I could never see. What I saw instead was an attractive woman comparing herself to an impossible standard of beauty.

Dove campaign-for-real-beauty get this message across very well: electronically touched-up images of models are presented as genuine, becoming ideals of a “beauty” which simply does not exist. ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/selfimprovement/love_your_breasts_as_they_are.html http://www.evenhappier.com/selfimprovement/love_your_breasts_as_they_are.html self-improvement Sun, 30 Sep 2007 07:34:03 +0100 10 unusually fun ways of using a stress ball On a bad morning in your corporate job, few things can save the day like the often underestimated stress ball.

You see, those round buckets of energy have many functions besides simply being squeezed.

Back in the old days, I spent very happy times with my little stress ball, so the least I can do is to give it the credit it so richly deserve.

How can you brighten your day with a stress ball?

1. Throw it to an annoying colleague as a way to release your anger without giving him a chance to make a fuss about it: “Come on, it’s a stress ball, I was only kidding!” ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/fun/10_unusually_fun_ways_of_using_a_stress_ball.html http://www.evenhappier.com/fun/10_unusually_fun_ways_of_using_a_stress_ball.html fun Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:44:13 +0100 You don’t have to be good looking to seduce a beautiful woman “Sure, you won’t be the only man tonight.”

Those were my wife's words, and I was thinking of them whilst having a drink with 7 beautiful women and praying that the night would turn all right.

Now my single man readers will be thinking that I should be blessing my lucky star for such an opportunity, but you see, I am a married man, and spending a great night with 7 fascinating, good looking and intelligent women, dangerous ideas might creep into my head if I don't constantly watch out for them!

The night starts as usual: drinks, and then more drinks. Little did I know that we were going to run into a seduction-training night, AKA a BootCamp, of Celebrity Pick-Up Artist Tyler Durden. ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/sex/you_dont_have_to_be_good_looki_1.html http://www.evenhappier.com/sex/you_dont_have_to_be_good_looki_1.html sex Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:17:28 +0100 Letter to my daughter: on being yourself

Dear Sally,
You must learn that you cannot be loved by all people.

You can be the finest apple in the world – ripe, juicy, sweet, and succulent – and offer yourself to all,
but there will be people who do not like apples.

If you are the world’s finest apple, and someone you love does not like apples, you still have the choice of becoming a banana, but be warned: if you choose to become a banana, you will be a second rate banana.

You must also realize that if you choose to be a second rate banana, there will be people who do not like bananas, so you can spend your life trying to be the best banana – which is impossible if you are an apple –
or you can seek again to be the finest apple.

Hugs, Daddy.


Author unknown, adapted from Adrienne Lee’s psychotherapy seminar. ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/inspiration/letter_to_my_daughter_on_being.html http://www.evenhappier.com/inspiration/letter_to_my_daughter_on_being.html inspiration Fri, 07 Sep 2007 07:40:00 +0100 10 tips to make her want you again He loves her. She loves him. Initially they were all over each other, but now things have changed.

Is loss of sexual appetite normal?

Absolutely: it might happen to both partners, but in women is more common.

I have personally experienced this problem and I know how helpless a man can feel in the face of a partner constantly rejecting his sexual approaches. As a counselor, I have also helped clients to overcome this challenge: the good news is that you can make things work.

The first step is to get a sense of what might be happening: why does a woman stop wanting her man? ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/sex/10_tips_to_make_her_want_you_a.html http://www.evenhappier.com/sex/10_tips_to_make_her_want_you_a.html sex Fri, 31 Aug 2007 07:44:03 +0100 The 13 weirdest turn-ons ever Maybe you sometimes worry about your sexual habits:

"Am I normal or what?"

If that is the case, I have got good news for you: between consenting adults all goes, and here I have a list of some truly weird sexual tastes…

• Ailurophilia: sexual attraction to cats

• Acrotomophilia: love of amputation or amputees

• Autonephioplia: sexual arousal from diapers ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/sex/the_13_weirdest_turnons_ever.html http://www.evenhappier.com/sex/the_13_weirdest_turnons_ever.html sex Sat, 25 Aug 2007 11:55:55 +0100 Say no and stay friends - with Becky "A real friend helps you in time of need. Maybe, but there are times in which you need to say no: you could be super busy, or the favour being asked might be far too dodgy..."

For a change, I have written the rest of this post on Leo’s ZenHabit: it’s a great blog, check it out, if you haven’t done it already!

And if friends come in time of need, shall I consider Becky a friend? You might be wondering: who is this Becky anyway? Well, a week ago I received this very flattering letter: ]]> http://www.evenhappier.com/personal/say_no_and_stay_friends_with_b.html http://www.evenhappier.com/personal/say_no_and_stay_friends_with_b.html personal Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:49:43 +0100