The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

  • Book review: The inner game of work

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    I discovered Inner Skiing about 15 years ago, and enjoyed it immensely. That book describes how the inner game principles pioneered by Timothy Gallwey can be used to create better learning conditions for skiers. Gallwey originally used it for teaching tennis, and the method basically consists of teaching not by telling people what to do, but simply by helping them direct their attention to different aspects of what they want to learn.

    In this book, subtitled Overcoming mental obstacles for maximum performance, Timothy Gallwey applies the same principles to work. How can we create the best learning conditions at work and what advantages would this give us?
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  • Fun

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    The more balanced your life is and the more diverse your interests are, the better your thinking will be. If you work 20 hours a day, your product will be crap
    – George Colony, CEO of Forrester Research Inc. in an article in Fast Company

  • Guru meditation

    Following my tradition of taking weird courses, I took a meditation course last weekend, and for the first time ever I actually had a feeling that I was meditating rather than just sitting with my eyes closed. So I’m going to meditate twice daily for a time, just to see how it works for me.

    Pop quiz: Which popular home computer signalled system crashes with the error message “Guru meditation”?

  • Book review: Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix

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    I just finished reading the order of the phoenix by J.K. Rowling in 3 days, which should tell you something about how exciting it is. This book fully lives up to the promise of the previous books.
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  • Obituary

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    One of the exercises we did at the DSN course I took last weekend, was to write our own obituaries. This sounds kinda morbid, but the point is to realize that one day you’ll die, and thus be able to focus more on what’s really important to you.

    So here’s what I’d like my obit to be.
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  • Nowhere to hide

    Lars points to a very funny piece about the Open Space session i hosted in april for Collaboraid.

    I had no idea that I do “power hand gestures”, but I kinda like the sound of it.

  • Happiness for free agents

    The newly started network for free agents have asked me to speak at their first seminar on september 4th. I’ll be talking about happiness at work, and how free agents can get it.

  • Quote

    Money makes life easier in all the obvious ways. There’s definitely some things in it. But it does not bring you happiness, in no way shape or form. It can hurt people too. You know, if you don’t have a clear idea of who you are and what you are, and why you’re here. So money can be deadly. It can divide people. And it can make people very greedy. It can have many different effects on people. You can have money and just be really thankful, and do positive things. Or you can have money and waste it all, and die of an overdose. You know, because you don’t know who you are.

    – Jennifer Aniston

  • Word to the mother

    When I was in Slovenia for the art of hosting seminar, Tim performed one day, rapping his way through this piece called Word to the mother. I like it!

  • Breaking barriers

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    I have spent this weekend breaking barriers at the DSN course held by the art of living. The DSN course is for people who want to create a better society. These people need to be able to rise above their own limitations, and to willingly go into situations that are unknown, uncertain, frustrating or scary.

    And after three days of non-stop activity (every day the course lasted from 6 in the morning til 11 at night) I can safely say that my comfort zone has been expanded vastly. My biggest realization at the course was, that for me the fear is not in the doing – it’s in the hesitation. As long as I’m procrastinating, wondering “Should I do it? Will it work?” I’m afraid. As soon as I start actually doing it (whatever “it” is), the fear is gone. I’m already applying this in my daily work, and this makes some things easier.

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