The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

  • Book review: Playful approaches to serious problems

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    So, why on earth am I reading a book about child therapy? First of all, therapy is all about change. You have a problem, you need to change, therapy is one potential tool, and therapy contains many potentially useful methods for promoting change. And one of the biggest challenges facing organizations today is the need for constant change. It’s almost a clich? to say it, but it remains true.

    Secondly, I discovered the concept of narrative therapy on the net, while netresearching therapy, and it seemed really interesting for a number of reasons.
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  • Quote

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    I remember the Vietnamese spiritual teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, right after 9/11, speaking in New York City. Somebody asked him what would he do if he was able to meet with Osama bin Laden. He said, “If he had his choice, he would sit down and listen to what Osama bin Laden had to say, so that he could hear his perspective and his motivation.” That’s a profound response.

    It is this kind of dialogue that’s so important in this new world we occupy. Democracy is rooted in conversation. It’s rooted in the exchange of ideas. It’s rooted in multiple voices. It’s rooted in diversity. It’s rooted in hearing all the different perspectives. That’s what democracy is about. It’s not about one view, or one solitary approach. It’s not about the, “America right, wrong and always” form of patriotism. It’s not about that. It’s about something much deeper, much more precious, even mysterious.

    – Michael Toms in an article in powells.com

  • Selling fish in Seattle – and having fun

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    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.
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  • 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

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    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.
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  • 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.
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  • National Novel Writing Month

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    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!
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  • Book review: Flow

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    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

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    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…)

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