I’ve changed my mind. In fact, it has been changing for some time, it’s only recently I have caught up. I’m talking about my relationship with daily work and how I categorise it. I have called myself a businessman in the recent and distant past, but I never really believed it. I thought I was, […]
The Pursuit of Happiness Part 3: Nine Factors That Impact Your Happiness
Welcome to part three of our exploration into the nature of happiness. In this article, we turn our attention to the psychology of happiness and findings by professor Peter Warr at the University of Sheffield. In his 2019 book of the same name, Warr draws on thousands of happiness and wellbeing studies to suggest nine primary environmental factors that impact your happiness. As we will see, many parallels can be drawn from the forthcoming with, for example…
More Time For What?
As I contemplated dropping my van to the mechanic this morning, I considered how I might get back home as fast as possible. I could get the missus to follow me in the family car. I’d save time, get more work done, achieve more than I would if I walked. Really? To what end? It’s […]
The Pursuit of Happiness Part 2: The Focusing Illusion
The Focusing Illusion bias and how it impacts our judgement of perceived life happiness and wellbeing. In part two of our continued exploration into the nature and substance of happiness, we explore what cognitive psychologist Daniel Kahneman called The Focusing Illusion. The Focusing Illusion suggests that these things we think and believe are so important, […]
On Mortality
As I carry on my daily work, my mind is focused. But in the moments of reduced attention to the task, in recent weeks, it wanders to thoughts of my ultimate demise. I think of me, my parents, my wife and children, all one day gone. Today I thought of a business friend who lost […]
The Fool
You’re a fool no matter what. The moment you feel inflated by the apparent self-confidence or self-depreciation that possess you, you should know it to be true. All ambition, all notions of grandeur and importance, your status in the world, all feelings of worthlessness and objectification by others, the entire form and structure of your […]
The Pursuit of Happiness Part 1
An exploration into the phenomenon of happiness the dichotomous nature of the human condition. Over the next few weeks on Sunday Letters, we will explore the human pursuit of happiness, what it means, and whether or not we can indeed finally achieve it. We will examine its diametrical opposite, unhappiness, and try to understand how […]
Have We Mistaken A Shiny Penny For The Sun?
As I sit here tonight, it’s Saturday night and everyone is in bed, I give thought to the phrase; mistaking a shiny penny for the sun, and I can’t say where it comes from. It says a lot in only a few words, so I thought I’d expand on it this week. It highlights the folly in materialism, of capitalism, and of the pursuit of one’s self in the world of things. I says I’m a fool, but
Scepticism: An Antidote To The Dangers of Groupthink
Is scepticism a valued attribute of thinking in today’s society? Are sceptics valued or reviled? It’s certainly valuable to have healthy dose of scepticism, but maybe those social groups to which we belong would prefer if we’d get in line and be quiet. Maybe we ostracise ourselves and bring on unwanted attention when we question […]
How To Be Resilient
I read a post this morning on The Resilience Institute LinkedIn profile on how to be resilient in face of challenges, and it prompted me to put a short article together. The LinkedIn post shared an article reporting that exercise helps build resilience. In short, I’d have to agree. Here’s why It seems to me, […]