Your Happiness Factor

(Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “The aim of good time management is to achieve the lifestyle balance you want,” says Emma Donaldson-Feilder , a chartered occupational psychologist. How do feel about your time and the number of emails you receive? I would be very grateful if you would take part in my poll – you can find it at the top of the column on the right!  (Apologies to Kindle Readers – You will need to follow this link http://www.yourhappinessfactor.net/ ) We can spend up to half our working day going through our email inbox. It can make us feel tired, frustrated and unproductive.  A study has found that one in three office workers suffer from e-mail stress. Apparently o ne in five people say 50 work-related e-mail messages per day is the magic number before  they feel swamped. The effect is even more pronounced for smartphone users -- 37% feel "overwhelmed" by 50 or more work e-mail.   So I’d like to know how the readers of this blog feel.   Mea

Are you stressed-out by your poor work-life balance? Y ou know you have a work-life balance problem when you Don’t have enough time for everything and spend what time you have handling scheduling conflicts, Feel stressed and overwhelmed by trying to balance your different roles. Research for Health Canada indicates four main factors lead to work-life balance problems and stress: Role overload: you don’t have enough time or energy to carry out all the activities required to perform all your roles properly and without discomfort. Work-to-family interference: work demands make it difficult to fulfill family-roles and to provide what family members need from you, for example; Long hours at work prevent you going to the school open-evening   You are so preoccupied with what is happening at work that you can’t enjoy or take part fully in family life, Pressure at work spills over at home and you get into arguments with your partner, your mother or the childr

 (Photo credit: nicole.pierce.photography ) Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.   John Updike You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.   Richard Bach The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.   Eleanor Roosevelt If you ever get a second chance in life for something, you've got to go all the way.   Lance Armstrong May the most you wish for be the least you get.   Irish toast May you get all your wishes but one; So you will always have something to strive for!   Irish toast Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.   Muhammad Ali Wendy Mason is a Life and Career Coach.  She helps people have the confidence they need to be

Lot of people believe that optimism leads people to have better quality of life. But the findings on happiness and its medical impact over the years have not always been consistent. This article in a   New York Times Blog by Anahad O'Connor discusses the latest research. Really? Optimism Reduces the Risk of Heart Disease THE FACTS Laughter may not exactly be the best medicine. But a cheerful outlook on life may be good for your heart. So concludes new research on the impact of happiness and optimism on cardiovascular health. Scientists have known about the reverse relationship between psychological health and heart health for some time; studies show that  depression and anxiety can worsen outcomes for heart patients . But the findings on happiness and its medical impact over the years have not been as consistent. You can read more at this link

  This post appeared first in the blog at my  WiseWolf Personal Development Coaching  Website   WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE OPEN? Personal development means being open, honest and transparent, not least with ourselves.  It means being able to accept our own weaknesses and when something has gone wrong having the strength to apologize and to explain.  Personal development means being open to new ideas - thoughts and opinions of others.  Sometimes you need the grace to agree to disagree. Being open is not without risk but then all personal growth is accompanied by some kind of challenge. BUT HOW DO YOU TAKE THAT FIRST STEP? Understand first of all that it may be a little uncomfortable and then try these tips Try to be relaxed when discussing new ideas, rather than having an immediate reaction. Start to challenge your own preconceptions – next time you find yourself about to express an opinion take a step back and spend a few minutes thinking through the opposite point of view

This post appeared first in the blog at my  Wisewolf Personal Development Coaching  Website The third characteristic of a  Personal Development Mindset    is to be a self-starter! WHAT IS BEING A SELF-STARTER Personal development means taking personal responsibility for your own learning and development and taking the first steps yourself. Usually this is through a process of review/stock-take, exploration/research, and taking action. BUT HOW DO YOU TAKE THAT FIRST STEP? One of the best ways to start your self-development is to prioritize your professional and personal goals.  It is impossible to do everything so it is important to make a list and make choices. What for you are the most important things to do, in terms of your career and your personal life? Think about; Your private interests and needs in your life outside work; for example spiritual development, parenting skills or relationship building. Your career interests, for example, responding to devel