Did you know that the average American puts on 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas? And how much do you figure the average Holiday shopper has spent per year for the past 10 years? $500? $600? Try $961! If the financial news worries you, there is more to be thinking about. … we are observing … epidemics in obesity, inactivity, and indebtedness.

But here’s the good news: Roy Baumeister suggests that self-regulation is a core capacity with spill-over benefits. In other words, if you can self-regulate in one domain of your life, you can do so more easily in other domains. Are you surprised that self-regulating in food may lead to better money management? […]

Have you ever noticed how food influences mood? What should you eat to be alert and persuasive for the big presentation? Or to be a divine conversationalist for the cocktail party? This resonates exactly with Martin Seligman’s advice, “Positive emotions are not only indicators but also producers of success.”

What, then, is the optimal brain food for good moods? Here are the four golden rules…

On the outside, busy seems to rhyme with happy. Busy people seem successful, needed and important. Busyness is, after all, serious business. Yet on the inside, busy is often a cousin of misery. We make it through the day, run to soccer practice, shorten our night’s sleep, survive through the week, and finish off what is left on our to-do list over the weekend. It is customary to describe our workload with words like crazy and expressions like “no time to breathe.”

As I am sure you have, I recently witnessed a heated argument between two neighbors who disagree over the Presidential campaign. Perhaps you found yourself in this very same situation? If your relations with people supporting the opposing view have been more difficult as of late, please pay attention! … Studies of everyday reasoning show that people tend to make their decisions instinctively and then try to find evidence to support their point of view.

How often have you heard someone boast that they had worked 70 hours last week? Were you impressed and envious or did you think the speaker was either exaggerating or inefficient? Why do some take pride in proving that their work is more effortful, difficult, or even painful than that of others? In too many cases, this need to feel indispensable comes at the expense of one’s health and happiness.

 
Marie-Josée Salvas, MAPP, is the Co-Founder of Optimal Living, a company who combines the sciences of management, positive psychology, fitness, nutrition and neuroscience to offer Personal Effectiveness Consultancy services.  To date, Marie-Josée has taught over 400 instruction sessions internationally.Marie-Josée earned her degree in Organizational Behavior and Strategic Management at McGill University, Montreal. After a successful career in the […]

Have you ever noticed that individuals are more innovative, energetic, stimulating, and engaging than most corporations? That is because the systems in place at most companies are not conducive to developing human potential.

Let’s take a closer look at one such system: companies spend considerable amounts of money surveying their employees through some unbiased third-party services to find out about job satisfaction. Yet, this may not be the best measurement to use.

Usually, the difficulty resides not in understanding why we should exercise, but in finding and maintaining the motivation to get it done. If you need extra help committing to an exercise routine, here are my top 10 recommendations, based on positive psychology research, to help you overcome the challenge.