What should you do with your life?

Tired of wondering what you should do with your life?
Start with the question, "What do I want to be good at?" (grammar be damned)

See where your thoughts flow from there.
What directions come up? What possibilities? What stories? What experiences? What friends? What heroes?

Pick one or two things. It doesn't have to be irrefutably "right" and lead to a perfect life. It just has to be worth the next step - a book, lecture, class, internship, job, trip, whatever.

Chances are you'll enjoy that journey and people you meet along the way more than if you had done nothing (again).

Want to be happy? Talk to your neighbor

A Harvard Medical School study is about to be published in BMJ (a British journal) that adds weight to SSO's definition of stress: Stress is a reaction that commonly occurs when your current situation doesn't match your ideal version of that situation.

The operative word is commonly.

According to the NY Times article the study shows a positive impact of people around you being happy - particularly those who see and are physically close to.

"A next-door neighbor’s joy increased one’s chance of being happy by 34 percent, but a neighbor down the block had no effect. A friend living half a mile away was good for a 42 percent bounce, but the effect was almost half that for a friend two miles away. A friend in a different community altogether can win an Oscar without making you feel better. “You have to see them and be in physical and temporal proximity,” Dr. Christakis said."

This study also confirms the efficacy of the 6th R of Stress Release - Remind. The more reminders you have about your progress and desired state, the easier it will be to maintain.

So go out there and hang out with happy people!

Caffeine vs Napping

I've always found the siesta to be a great idea. Working from home most days has facilitated this greatly.

For those of you who may not be able to justify to themselves why it really is okay to do so, whose boss may still not see the benefit, or who insist that an afternoon coffee is still the way to be productive in the afternoon - I give you a link to further proof that the siesta is the way to go...

The NY Times just ran an article illustrating how a nap from 1-3 is more effective than a caffeine pill (or a placebo) at 3pm.

Send it around, then claim the spot for your afternoon nap. I recommend finding a place where you can go horizontal rather than just slumped in your chair.

A free wellness assessment

Whether you're a teen, in college, and adult, or an older adult, the National Wellness Institute has a free assessment that will tell you how you score in these areas:

• Physical
• Sexuality
• Nutrition
• Emotional
• Self Care
• Intellectual
• Safety
• Occupational
• Environment
• Spirituality

An online study of Jewish stress

It's like finding needles in a haystack, but for the one or two Jews out there who are stressed or worried there's a study going on right now at jpsych.com by Bowling Green State University PhD student, David H. Rosmarin, that "hopes to evaluate the effectiveness of two different treatments for stress and worry among Jews, delivered via the internet."

Qualifying participants for the 14-day study will be randomly assigned to receive 'treatments' that are spiritual-based, conventional, or no treatment. After you complete your assigned treatment you'll have access to the spiritual or conventional treatments for a year.

I can't tell you more details because I didn't qualify for the study ... not enough stress.

Looking forward to hearing back from those of you who do qualify!

(thanks to Lyn for the 411)

Not sure if you're happy? How much TV do you watch?

The NY Times just put out an article discussing a recent study about an activity that happy people do less of - watch TV.

This doesn't really surprise me because happiness tends to be an active, engaging state. And let's face it, there aren't that many amazing things on TV that leave us feeling upbeat.

Crime shows, news, reality TV, infomercials, lame sitcoms are the majority of what's available - these are not themes that lead us feeling upbeat - usually because we do it far longer than our interests really last.

Unlike socializing, going to church and reading newspapers (some of the other activities the study mentions) - where we take an active role, and when we're feeling done we move on, the shows keep coming, but it's hard to turn off the TV.

What can you do? (in increasing order of TV time)

• Get out of the house
  
• Throw out your TV so you're forced to do other things
• Make activities around the home as easy to initiate as turning on the TV (and put reminders on the remote to remind you of them)
  
• Set up a timer so you only watch a certain amount - turning off the alarm should require getting up
• Only watch shows you find uplifting
  

More "Advice from the Experts"

I recently contributed to an response on Career Builder's CBCampus.com blog (a service to college students and alumni to assist in the job search process) to this post by a student seeking more options than what she found at the career services office.