November is National Gratitude Month. Two years ago, when My Cup of Cocoa began, I created a Gratitude Challenge. It is still one of my most popular posts. But I thought an updated version was in order for 2018. What is a gratitude challenge? It’s simply a list of questions to help you think about what you have to be grateful for in your life. And what better time to do that than during November and National Gratitude Month. The idea behind the gratitude challenge is simple. For each day in November, answer the question listed. You can answer question Read More
Category: happiness
Three Proven Ways To Improve Happiness
If you knew three proven ways to improve your happiness, would you do them? What if they were simple to do, but took a committed effort on your part? In researching what makes people happy, I’ve come across a lot of different ideas. There are three things, however, that almost everyone that studies happiness can agree on. Zig Ziglar called them the Three Gs. Meik Wiking includes the same ideas in various ways in his Little Book of Lykke. You can read more about my experiences with his work here and here. The Three Gs are Grow, Give, and have Read More
101 Ways to Be Kind And Promote Kindness
Lately, I’ve been thinking about kindness. In a world that seems increasingly angry, cruel, and unforgiving, kindness is needed more than ever. So I started making a list of easy ways to be kind. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time or money. And the returns you get for being kind are always bigger than the effort you spend. Did you know that in September the world celebrates several special days that focus on kindness, charity, and serving others? It starts on September 5 with the International Day of Charity. This day focuses on alleviating poverty in the Read More
10 Best Ted Talks About Happiness
Have you watched a TED Talk before? You can find them on YouTube or on the Ted Talk website. They are usually 10-20 minutes long and can be on a huge variety of subjects. I like to watch them because most of the topics are uplifting, interesting, and overwhelmingly positive. That’s not always the case with information you find online these days. Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of Ted Talks about happiness. In doing research for various topics, I often find myself listening to Ted Talks. Want to hear about some of the latest research on gratitude? There’s a Read More