If you're like me, you've noticed many of your Facebook friends (or acquaintances, or people you've known since kindergarten but seldom talk to, or those who might be friends of friends of friends) fleeing the platform like it's no one's business.  But why the exodus?  It's quite simple: People have grown tired of the same old same old.  Many would concede there are benefits to logging on every so often -- from catching timely news to distracting oneself with trending memes or videos of the week. But being barraged with baby pictures and vacation photos for days on end becomes a little tough to stomach after a while.  Granted, some people mean no harm in sharing these special moments with others. It's their way of conveying to the world that they're making the most of their lives and are grateful for the things and people that enrich them. We should try our best to be happy for them, even if we may harbor a smidgen of concealed envy.  However, people und...

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 ...

How great does it feel after losing 10...15...30 pounds?  No one would dispute that it feels phenomenal. However, I've observed that such feelings give way to cockiness in some people. Admittedly, that happened to me when I lost 25 pounds a couple of years ago. My face looked thinner. My tummy had all but disappeared. Some of my clothes was looking huge on me, forcing me to go a size or two smaller. Now that I was wearing more fitted clothing, I noticed more looks from women -- whether at work, restaurants, or the mall. This is what gave me the ultimate high and motivated to continue working out and losing weight. Now, I'm a happily married man and never even entertained the thought of doing anything more than smiling at these women. Still, the fact they were fancying me in this way -- a confirmation that they were digging something about my physical appearance -- made me feel really good about myself. My self-worth must have hit astronomical levels that year. I sta...

Sooner or later, we're bound to come across someone who will envy something we have. It could be our success at work, youth, social relationships, shiny car, lovely house, or blissful marriage. What's the best way to deal with these people? Well, it's obviously not appropriate to boast of your advantages. The best approach is to pay them no attention . Try to change the subject to something of a less personal nature, like the weather, celebrity gossip, or sports. If you don't meddle in people's affairs, why should they butt into your business? The worst thing you can ever do in this situation is show off . Don't throw the fact that you have more of something -- or something of greater value -- in people's faces. Such behavior will inevitably bring out the worst in people. From what I've seen, they're capable of everything from spreading vicious rumors to, you guessed it, stealing from you. Moreover, many of us have worked very hard for everyt...

Can you take a wild guess as to why men might eat more in front of women? I'll give you a minute to think about it. OK, what did you come up with? Because the men are nervous? Guess again. Because being on a date makes them hungrier? Nope. Because they really don't like the women and are trying to turn them off? Not even close. According to a new study from Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab published in the medical journal Evolutionary Psychological Science , they are actually trying to impress women -- not turn them off. While women tend to eat less in the presence of men, the study found that men who ate with at least one woman consumed 92 percent more pizza and 86 percent more salad. The results support the notion that people have an evolved tendency to show off in front of others, whether it's to attract the opposite sex or assert dominance. I suppose most men aren't too worried about being called a "pig," "fat ass," or an...

We all have friends who love disclosing on Facebook virtually everything that pops to mind. From pictures of their lunch to videos of them doing silly things, people are using the social networking site to fill people in on their daily goings-on. Facebook has removed the need to call people on the phone and wish them a Happy Birthday, to mail people pictures of our kids, or to show up at people's houses to tell them about promotions or engagements. Facebook lets us do it all at the click of a button. Now, there isn't anything inherently wrong with this. But some people go a step too far by boasting of every fancy restaurant they go to and every vacation trip they go on. Why must people post such pics in real time and not just wait until they're back home to do so? Sometimes this screams "Haha...I'm here and you're not. Sucks for you." I think some people do this to overcompensate for something lacking in their lives. Some also try to paint a rosier pic...