Three Good Things
I ran a workshop at the Foreign Office the day before yesterday. It was interesting for me to go back to a place where I had worked for so many years. I’ve done the journey so often I switch into autopilot mode on my way there. I had mixed feelings...
There’s going to be a fight!
The other day I lost my temper. I was cycling to meet some friends and suddenly noticed a car almost touching me, trying to nudge me out of the way. I moved over to let it pass, but caught up with the car at the lights. Rapping furiously on the window I shouted,...
The Meaning of Life
Apologies for the hiatus. At least I’m back with a suitably grand title! I’ve finally made the leap to leave the Foreign Office, after being on unpaid leave for a year. It is pretty scary leaving the security and structure of such a huge hierarchy to go...
Secret Santa, AFH Style
Action For Happiness had its summer get-together earlier this week. We had been trying to find a date since June, but by the time we finally we got our collective act together it was time to make it into a Christmas-y thing complete with crackers and a Secret Santa....
Pigging out
Last night my dad made the most delicious meal of roast duck with a rendered down sherry and japonica jelly sauce. Sadly, I couldn’t eat it because I’ve been a vegetarian for a couple of years now. I’m not the perfect veggie, and I fall off the wagon every now and...
The Heart
I saw this graffiti image of a heart yesterday. It made me think about the fact that in Ancient Egypt the heart represented truth rather than love. When you died they believed your heart would be weighed, and if it was light as a feather you would go through to a...
The importance of fun
There are few things more important to me than fun. I’ve just spent a weekend in LA with a wonderful group of friends, putting work and worries aside while we just enjoyed ourselves. America is a great place to have fun – people arrive with smiles on...
Happiness at Halow
I just had an amazing experience running a workshop for young adults with learning disabilities. I was slightly nervous about doing it. So much of my energy has gone into explaining the intellectual side of happiness – what the research is saying, what scientists...
Should we lower our expectations?
My cousin recently commented to me that the key to childrearing was to accept that you were never going to get enough sleep and always be tired. The longer you tried to fight that acceptance, the more miserable you became. I think this can be said about so many...
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