The Enlightenment was an era (around the 17th/18th century) that changed people’s trust from authority to science and reasoning. That was revolutionary for the time. But while we do rely much more on reasoning than the dictates of a King or ruler to tell us what is right or wrong, in general we lack self …
Resolving to exercise more and eat healthier? Unfortunately, most of us will give up on our yearly New Year weight loss resolution well before year end. Before long, we’ll blame ourselves and our lack of will power. Not to let anyone off the hook but maybe it’s not a will power issue, maybe there is …
Earlier this year the US Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy called attention to an unusual epidemic affecting us: an epidemic of loneliness. Because it’s something we’ve all experienced it, many of us are not surprised. On the other hand, it is unusual given that our lives are simultaneously more interconnected than in the past. What’s going …
As anyone who knows a little about health can tell you, every healthy person has a few things in common: they exercise regularly (often outdoors in nature), they consume nutritious food, and they sleep well. While healthy overlaps considerably with happiness, to be happy you also need a healthy supportive social network with the freedom …
So far, I’ve been trying to convince individuals to reconsider their relationship with consumption. I think the message for the individual is so compelling that just about anyone who understands it, is likely to reconsider their relationship with many of the things we spend money on these days. Society and Mindless Consumption – A Solution …
Revolutionary Policy # 1: Teach Investing & the Science of Happiness Read More »
You may have heard of a famous study in 2010 by 2 nobel-prize winning economists, Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton at Princeton University that demonstrated a correlation between income and happiness. It made a lot of headlines at the time. If you just read the news articles, you would surely have come away with a misinterpretation of …
Select any country in the chart below (click “+add country”). You’ll see rates of overweight and obesity are increasing over time everywhere without exception. Disturbingly, as mentioned in Health in Flames, America has the highest rates of obesity (with the exception of small nations of less than 5million people). Over half the world will have …
Alarming Surge in Obesity Sweeps Across the Globe Read More »
In contrast to our preindustrial ancestors, most of us (with the exception of toddlers or those playing with little children) rarely sit on the ground. In the modern age, we consider it uncivilized to be sitting on the ground. If you were to visit a friend’s home, you would expect to sit in a chair …
When I was a child, I never really thought much about what all the adults around me were doing. But I assumed they were doing important stuff. They all seemed to be busy working. Today, I see things a little differently. I now think that at least half of people are very busy but not …
Breaking the Chains: Rethinking Work and Consumerism Read More »
I am sure to expose myself as a radical with this post (and perhaps a hypocrite since I have air conditioning myself). This is not to convince anyone to throw out their A/C unit but rather to re-think some of our very basic assumptions about what actually impacts happiness and wellbeing and what does not. …
