The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

  • Selling fish in Seattle – and having fun

    ,

    I’ve never been to the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, but people who have describe it as a joyful chaos. The fishmongers throw the fish and crabs around, catch them one-handed, yell at and with the customers and generally have a great time.

    But things weren’t always great. Yokoyama, the owner, describes himself as an ex-tyrant, who only recently learned to treat employees as peers in stead of peons. And the reward has been to see the company come to life, and the customers have followed.

    Let me give you an example of what happens in a company, where people have this much fun.
    (more…)

  • A new challenge

    One of lifes biggest pleasures is doing stuff you don’t know if you can. And this weekend I performed with some fellow instructors from Form&Fitness at Alt for Damerne Live.

    The thought of getting on a stage in front of hundreds of women was terrifying, but once you’re up there it’s actually easy. It went great, and we had a lot of fun both practicing and especially performing. Pictures here, here and here (I’m the one in the blue shirt).

    Now, what should the next challenge be?

  • Psychological test

    ,

    Here’s a riddle for you:
    It is a story about a girl. While at the funeral of her own mother,she met this guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing, he was her dream guy, and she fell in love with him there but never asked for his number and could not find him.

    A few days later the girl killed her own sister.

    Question: What is her motive in killing her sister?

    Give this some thought for a while before you click more to see the answer.
    (more…)

  • Transatlantic rhetoric

    The current national and international bickering over Iraq really saddens me, because it shows how easy it is to let disagreement widen into a serious rift between friendly nations. There has certainly been a lot of heated transatlantic rhetoric these last months, and too little of it has been focused on common goals and purposes.
    (more…)

  • National Novel Writing Month

    ,

    NaNoWriMo is a seriously cool project: You sign up, and the idea is that during november 2003, you’ll write a novel. To make it easier, there are no quality restrictions, only quantity: You must write at least 50.000 words. I LOVE the idea. This means no agonizing over insignificant details. It means you can’t procrastinate and delay. You’ll have to get down and write!
    (more…)

  • Book review: Flow

    , ,

    Everybody knows the state of Flow. Flow is when you’re engrossed in doing something. You may forget time and place. You may forget to eat or sleep. You’re doing what you’re doing, and your entire attention is focused on that.

    Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote a book about it back in 1990, based on many years of research into happiness. And the book is excellent. No other book I’ve read discusses human happiness (and unhappiness) so clearly and fluidly.

    So what is it that makes us happy?
    (more…)

  • Rebuilding the food pyramid

    The Scientific American has an excellent article about diet. It explains in detail what’s wrong with the old food pyramid (you know, the one with meat and fats at the top and carbohydrates at the bottom), and gives us a new and improved version. Excellent stuff.

  • Book review: The soul of a new machine

    ,

    Writer Tracy Kidder won a Pulitzer prize in 1982 for The soul of a new machine. It’s the true story of a team of engineers at Data General who are designing the next generation of micro-computer.

    I first read the book ten years ago, while I was still at university, and while it’s still an excellent read, my perspective on the story has changed completely.
    (more…)

  • The ultimate test for Open Space meetings

    ,

    Harrison Owen has written an article about an Open Space meeting held in Rome, where fifty Palestinians and Israelis gathered to talk about themselves, their future, and the possibilities of peace.

    It was certainly not easy, but hope emerged from the meeting. Which is a testament to the ability of Open Space meetings to bring out the best in people.

  • Quote

    , ,

    Few of us can understand any longer the enthusiasm of Caliph Ali ben Ali, who wrote: “A subtle conversation, that is the Garden of Eden.” This is a pity, because it could be argued that the main function of conversation is not to get things accomplished, but to improve the quality of experience.
    – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Flow

Connect

Get our newsletter

“I can’t believe it – a newsletter actually worth reading!”
– Subscriber

Over 6,000 people subscribe to our newsletter with tons of tips about happiness at work.

Get our books

“It’s very, very good. It’s incredibly well written, full of insights, and there are exercises to improve your own happiness at work. You can’t ask for more than that!”
– David Maister, author of Practice What You Preach

“What an inspiring book. Every leader should read it. This type of leadership has been integral to our success and I know it will boost your results too.“
– Garry Ridge, CEO WD-40 Company

Get Our Free Newsletter

Over 6,000 people already get our free newsletter with useful tips, videos, links and articles about happiness at work.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Top posts last week

Non-inspirational quotesOctober 22, 2003
Top 10 reasons why constant complaining is so toxic in the workplaceAugust 7, 2007
The world is uncertain (again). Happiness at work must be part of the answer.April 9, 2025
How to handle chronic complainersAugust 24, 2006
Homework makes kids hate learningAugust 28, 2006

recent Posts