Are you ready? The last big week! This is it!
This week we will hear one phrase more often than any other. Do you know what it is?????? “HAPPY HOLIDAYS!” While reading, I found a few things that peaked my interest and I wanted to share them with you as we move into the week. Let’s start with the greeting…Happy Holidays!
In a 2013 blog, Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas: The Last Thing That Ever Needs To Be Said About It, Huffington Post editor, Paul Raushenbush provides us with, “a primer to help all of us just “get along’ during this holiday season. I like his idea, “It’s so much more fun to cast a wide net where all can celebrate our traditions together rather than strip everything away to protect the delicate sensibilities of some very prickly few.” So we’ve solved the dilemma of “Happy Holidays” but the calendar tells us we still face “Happy New Year” So what now?
Speaking of, “Happy”, what do we really mean? What is happiness? Is it a smile, a feeling, a sense of well-being? Perhaps it is all of these. A recent London School of Economics Research Study found that is is tied to partnership, physical-mental health and the local ladder effect (one’s financial status when compared to colleagues, friends and neighbors). The study has its detractors ?
Shawn Achor was a Harvard professor and current CEO of Good Think Inc., a Cambridge-based consulting firm which researches positive outliers, –people who are far above average — to understand where human potential, success and happiness intersect. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Before Happiness (2013) and The Happiness Advantage (2011). His 2011 TED talk, “The Happy Secret to Better Work” has over 14 million hits and is rated as one of TED’s top 5 talks.
Finally, there is my personal favorite that is found in the work of Wharton School Professor, Dr. G. Richard Shell author of Springboard, Launching Your Personal Search for Success (2014). The book’s cover begins with a quote from Steve Jobs, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life!” His book encourages the reader to ask themselves two questions before reading, (1) What, for me, is success? (2) How will I achieve it? In the second chapter, Shell examines the concept of happiness, and shares the story of the Wise Angel.
Enjoy the week! That being said I wish you, “HAPPY HOLIDAYS” and a New Year filled with Good Health, Meaningful Work, and Love.
Embrace the Challenge,