The Power of Time Orientation – Philip Zimbardo @ TED

Philip Zimbardo: “Now lets tempt four-year-olds, giving them a treat. They can have one marshmallow now. But if they wait until the experimenter comes back, they can have two. Of course it pays, if you like marshmallows, to wait. What happens is 2/3rds of the kids give in to temptation. They cannot wait. [...]

How to be happier

I ask myself, “What are 10 things in my life from the last hour that I can be grateful for?”
I ask myself “What are 10 doable things that I can do in the next hour that I’ll be happy I did?”

Lots of amendmends to make, but you get the spirit. I was at about no. [...]

Jumping over my shadow

Paul Watzlawick about paradox – profound, readable, entertaining, educational, soul healing. Here’s a sample from Oxymoronica, a collection by Marty Grothe (via Cool Tools):
The superfluous is the most necessary.
Voltaire
Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.
Margaret Mead
I shut my eyes in order to see.
Paul Gauguin
We learn from history that we do not [...]

21,000 days of self-improvement :)

The average man shaves approx. 20.000 times during his lifetime

- that’s what a shaving products marketer says. Marketing “facts” notwithstanding, if you do a good thing often, it’s worth continuing learning and doing it better :)
So many days to live, to enjoy, to get better… :)
A small, non threatening (see kaizen), habit takes say 21 [...]

A Tree in the Forest — A Collection of Ajahn Chah’s Similes

I found out about Ajahn Chan from the writings of Jack Cornfield.
If metaphors and abductive thinking spark your interest, you may like this free excellent book even if you don’t practice meditation. In case you do, it gets even better! And further.
“People have asked me about my practice. [...]