The happiest people aren't those who have the best of everything . If that were the case, you would never see millionaire athletes and celebrities getting into crippling debt, being arrested for drugs or driving drunk, settling nasty divorces with their spouses, or, in the worst cases, committing suicide. Instead, the happiest people make the best of everything they have.  The key to being happy is striking the right balance between the desire to acquire more and achieving a state of contentedness with what you already hold in your possession. Some people can't help themselves. They want a brand new car every year or two. They want the latest iPhone as soon as it comes out, even if their version still works perfectly. I'm the polar opposite: I use things until they're almost falling apart. I held on to my last car for 10 years, and it still pained me to part with it. The only thing that prompted me to sell it was the fact it was mysteriously hydroplaning in ...

Unfortunately, Christmas is often associated with shopping and presents in the minds of many consumers -- and not much else. In this materialistic world we live in, far too many people have lost sight of the true meaning of Christmas. To me, Christmas is really about: The birth of Christ Spending time with loved ones Giving to the less fortunate Being thankful for what I have Being nice, noble and helpful Thinking about others before myself We should be mindful of these things year-round, but at the very least we should prioritize them this time of year.  Gifts come and go. They depreciate and are eventually discarded or replaced. Such is not the case with our friends and family, who most of us would deem irreplaceable.  Christmas is more about giving than receiving. It's about spreading a little cheer to those who sorely need it -- the poor, the sick, the injured, the elderly.  Christmas is about love. It's about neighborliness. It's about being...

As we get older, life can become rather routine and mundane. We all know this. We get up, eat breakfast, brush our teeth, get dressed, drive to work, spend eight or so hours in a cubicle, drive back home, eat dinner, watch TV, go to sleep, and do the same thing the next day. Rinse and repeat.  Lucky for us, there's at least one thing about which we're passionate, which makes life a whole lot more tolerable.  Passion gets us out of bed in the morning. It's like a great shot of adrenaline. It drives us to achieve something. It prompts us to push our limits.  As Oprah once said: "Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you." As I've noted in other posts, my passions lie in: Writing Reading Learning (especially about psychology and history) Animal welfare Helping the less fortunate Some of us are lucky enough to do what we're passionate about for a living. For example, you may love animals and wor...