When we recognize and appreciate our assets, we transform our thinking. Instead of seeing needs and deficiencies, we see gifts and strengths. We transform negatives into positives. We see our cup as half-full. —Luther Snow (The Power of Asset Mapping by Luther Snow, p. 46)  Ten years ago, I had the privilege of editing Luther...Read More

Just as the year was ending, I saw this on Facebook: “This January, why not start the year with an empty jar and fill it with notes about the good things that happen. Then on New Year’s Eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year.” (https://www.facebook.com/patronofthearts) The prompt captured my imagination. I’m...Read More

If you want to find happiness, find gratitude. —Steve Maraboli This past month I’ve spent three afternoons at two city libraries teaching children to write gratitude letters. We’ve used lots of paper as we’ve mind-mapped gratitude. Between all three sessions, the children have written almost 50 thank you cards. It’s such great fun to watch...Read More

I’m a big fan of the book, Thanks: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert A. Emmons. Professor Emmons and his colleague Professor Mike McCullough have conducted many gratitude studies. They first looked at the effects of gratitude journaling. All of the participants kept a journal and were asked to write a sentence...Read More

We’ve had a challenging week. My son and I have had a stomach virus. The weather has reminded me more of November than May. And today, right after I wrote and published a brilliant blog post (you’ll have to trust me on this), I updated my blog system. Oops! That small action wiped out my...Read More