If I was an alien looking down on planet earth, I might make the following observations about life on this strange planet:

“Humans live in a society that has adopted some unusual cultural mind sets. Of significance, the species appears to be infected with a curious case of ‘Mondayitis’ – a pervasive disease that affects the entire working population.”

The prognosis for this disease is poor:

“Humans appear to have no known cure to the perils of working life, except in retirement. They are confined to a life of suffering and hard labour. Temporary relief can only be found in the occasional ‘sick day’ or ‘dream holiday’ overseas.”

Worse still, the onset of the disease is confronting:

“Symptoms of ‘Mondayitis’ first appear to develop on Sunday afternoon. The human experiences a state of ‘blues’, when the individual realizes that a return to work is imminent. The human appears to experience a ‘sense of loss’, ‘depression’ and ‘anxiety’ at the thought of going back to work.”

As much as I joke about this, there is a very serious side to the Monday morning freak out. [click to continue…]

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Last week I wrote a blog post on my own personal happiness project.

The aim was to keep me accountable for the actions I wanted to take.

These were:

Write down 3 things I have enjoyed the previous day
Write down 3 positive things about people I have met
Write down 3 things I have accomplished (positive only)
30 minutes of exercise
20 minutes of meditation
One act of kindness where I expect nothing in return
Have that extra glass of wine if it helps

The idea was that momentum creates motivation, and that there are small changes that I could make that would increase my sense of well-being.

As much as I hate to admit this, but the most surprising motivator I have found has been having a printed check list that I have kept out on my desk as a reminder. [click to continue…]

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Can changing your actions really change your mindset?

Like almost half the population I have made a new years resolution.

I was inspired by this article in The Sydney Morning Herald which cited research that revealed resolutions made at new year have a greater chance of success compared to resolutions made at other times.

I am talking about this publicly in the interest of my own accountability which apparently is good for my style of habit-forming.

As an obliger I tend to put the needs of others before myself. So I do need others to help keep me accountable.

My goal is about taking specific physical action to achieve a sense of contentment and wellbeing. [click to continue…]

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