happiness

A Short Guide to a Happy Life

To the surprise of absolutely no one who loves Anna Quindlen’s writing, her charming little book A Short Guide to a Happy Life is a treasure. A short treasure, both in size and brevity. The book is about 7” tall and ends on page 50. About half of those pages are touching, sentimental, black and [...]

October 24, 2011 READ MORE →

The Secret To Happiness…Maybe

As I drove to work today it hit me, not for the first time—hopefully not for the last time—that I have stumbled into something good. My life is good. I know the secret to happiness, but… I’m increasingly aware that what makes me happy might not do anything for anyone else. For that matter, it [...]

January 18, 2011 READ MORE →

10 Easy Ways To Make Your Day Worse

1. Hold onto that grudge 2. Blame someone else for your own shortcomings 3. Wonder why anyone wastes their time on you 4. Think of yourself as a lost cause 5. Tell a lie 6. Just kill some time 7. Think about how much you hate your job while you’re at work 8. Belittle someone [...]

May 4, 2010 READ MORE →

How To Have Tourette’s Part 20 – The Science of Happiness

At the time of this writing, it’s been over 30 hours since I’ve had a tic. 30 hours. I’m counting the time I spend asleep now, because soon it’s going to be easier to count days than hours. 30 hours. And not only is it 30 hours without tics, it’s thirty hours without the urges [...]

April 21, 2010 READ MORE →

Do You Have A Favorite Memory?

The difference between happiness and joy is vast. What we call joy might only be mere happiness, and much of what we call happiness might actually be contentment or the absence of pain. While there are many things I enjoy today, and many days that are wonderful, my son has given me new perspective. There [...]

August 6, 2009 READ MORE →

A Definition of Sarcasm

Home After I made a particularly fine joke one day, a friend said to me: “You know, sarcasm is the lowest form of sociopathy.” I laughed at this. Later, I looked up the word sociopath. The definition wasn’t as funny as my joke had been. The Scientific Definition From the Oxford English Dictionary (the only [...]

April 21, 2009 READ MORE →