I’ve learned and grown more in 2015 than in any year prior and am truly grateful for all the experiences I've had. In some ways, I feel like I've evolved as a person more in this year than all prior years combined. I spent a lot of time on myself - reflecting, meditating, reading, writing, dreaming, planning, and executing. The year went by incredibly fast, but at the same time, I feel like I put so much into it and was able to get even more out of it. This is, without a doubt, the direct result of the habits I created based on the goals I set at the beginning of the year.
Read moreUpgrade Your Health and Happiness with Gratitude
Skimming through your social media feeds during the holiday season, especially the week of Thanksgiving, you might think that every one of your peers is constantly brimming with joy and thankfulness due to their countless blessings. But, let’s be honest, this is only a once-annual occurrence for most people. Thanks to the obligatory status updates and bombardment of turkey day marketing, we’re all reminded that it’s time to express our gratitude.
Over-commercialism and Hallmark-ism aside, I think it’s great to have a national holiday in which we are encouraged to be thankful for what we have and those around us. The tradition of sharing this day with family over a large meal is one I truly enjoy (in particular, the socially acceptable binge eating), and I’m sure I’m not the only one that really looks forward to it. However, there is mounting evidence showing that expressing gratitude regularly has a profound impact on overall health and happiness. Perhaps giving thanks should be a daily ritual as opposed to a yearly tradition (minus the food coma).
Read more15 Minutes to Less Stress, More Focus, and Better Health (There's an App for That)
What if there was an app that could help you reduce stress, increase your attention span, boost your immunity, sleep better, forgive more easily, appreciate life and those around you more, be more creative, be more happy, and get more done? Sounds too good to be true, right? But there is an app for that - it’s called Headspace. This isn’t an exaggeration or woo-woo pseudoscience stuff either; this is the real deal backed by many years of research and confirmed by recent advancements in neuroimaging. And despite how relatively new Headspace is, it is simply a tool to guide the user in a practice that has actually been around for thousands of years - mindfulness meditation.
Read moreSleep Better Now (Part 1) - Starting Your Day for Better Sleep
Lack of quality sleep is worse than Kryptonite
Sleep, especially of the high-quality variety, is so important to overall health and well-being that it cannot be emphasized enough. In fact, I will go as far as to say that if you had to choose one thing in your life to improve - between diet, exercise, continual learning, etc. - I would say choose sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep is paramount to improving brain function, performance, looking good, longevity, and happiness.
Read more