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Steven Hansen
Sep 153 min read
Eager to Appear Younger Than You Are?
We all know there is no secret elixir for looking youthful and vibrant. It’s simply a matter of keeping fit, both mentally and...
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Steven Hansen
Sep 66 min read
What Are Your De-stressors -- Fish? Green Jello? Legos?
These days, it is essential to have a few tried and true relaxation techniques in your emotional survival kit. Stress and anxiety seem...
65 views1 comment
Steven Hansen
Jul 232 min read
Do Nothing: Let Your Worries Wander Away
If it feels like you’re stressing out more than ever these days, you’re not alone. Concerns about family, health, work, politics,...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 93 min read
OK to Have Plants in the Bedroom?
In recent years, indoor gardening has blossomed into a popular phenomenon. It makes sense as gardening in general is still one of the...
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Steven Hansen
Jun 221 min read
Get C-c-c-cold!
These days, the national weather map looks more like the upper end of the Scoville hot peppers scale, glowing habanero orange to cayenne...
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Steven Hansen
May 191 min read
How to Harvest Happiness Every Day
You’ve probably heard this a zillion times before, and it may sound corny, but it's true! Be thankful for all the good things that take...
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Steven Hansen
Apr 182 min read
It Feels So Good to Cry, But Why?
We can’t help it. Sometimes we burst into tears. We are only human. Although many animals shed tears, emotional tears — tears produced as...
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Steven Hansen
Mar 112 min read
Pawsitive Impact: How Pets Make Us Better People
Dogs lavish us with unconditional love. They jump up and down with joy when we come home. They snuggle with us when they know we’re...
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Steven Hansen
Mar 32 min read
Stop, Look Up and Take a Brain Break
Some blissfully practical advice for bearing up in these modern times with your sanity intact is to disengage from its endless demands...
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Steven Hansen
Feb 224 min read
How to Handle a Secret
If a friend tells you something in confidence, you know the deal: never reveal it to anyone else, no matter what. But what to do when YOU...
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Steven Hansen
Jan 154 min read
Banish the Morning 'Groggies' with These 12 Tips
If you’re not a morning person, don’t fret. Studies conducted over the past few years indicate that only between 30-40 percent of folks...
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Steven Hansen
Nov 10, 20234 min read
Thanksgiving Dinner Conversation Going South? Try This!
Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends, food, and wine. But what happens when the conversation takes a turn for the worse? These...
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Steven Hansen
Jun 13, 20231 min read
Gotta Make it To Friday!
TGIF, Right? If we can just make it through the work week and get to Friday, 5 p.m., unscathed, everything will be OK. It’s like sliding...
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Steven Hansen
May 14, 20231 min read
The Magic of Flowers
October may be the happiest month – specifically the first two weeks (see “Make it to October”) -- but spring is a whole season when most...
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Steven Hansen
Apr 12, 20231 min read
Two Little Words Make All the Difference
Two little words can go a long way to making you, and the people around you, happier every day: “Good morning!” It works magic at home...
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Steven Hansen
Mar 27, 20231 min read
Take Your Brother Skydiving (Or At Least Out to Lunch)
Sure, having lots of money to burn and buying lots of cool new stuff – cars, clothes, the latest tech gadgets – might be fun and make you...
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Deena Ebbert
Feb 19, 20232 min read
In Search of Shiny Objects and Teenage Turkeys
On the days my system is running a happiness deficit, I keep coming back to the same thing. When I’m in a really sour, foul, miserable...
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Steven Hansen
Jan 1, 20232 min read
Hug Someone: Encircle Them with Comfort
Thankfully, hugging people is back in style! And the new year is a great occasion to start adding more uplifting gestures of love and...
146 views1 comment
Steven Hansen
Dec 5, 20221 min read
Create a Hyggekrog
Perhaps you’ve heard of it – Hygge that is. The Danish appreciation of things that provide a feeling of cozy contentment and well-being....
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Steven Hansen
Nov 20, 20222 min read
Thanksgiving Tips to Save the Day
Thanksgiving is our favorite holiday. No gifts, no costumes or decorations required. Just a gathering together of friends and families to...
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Steven Hansen
Sep 20, 20221 min read
Treat Yourself to a Massage
Getting and giving nice long hugs has been proven to release oxytocin – the “feel-good” hormone – in our bodies. But hugs can be few and...
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Steven Hansen
Sep 13, 20226 min read
“If You Could Live Anywhere," How Do You Choose? Read On!
It started with the “digital nomads” of the late 1990s. Then the van-lifers of the early 2010s. Small groups of adventure seekers were...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 26, 20221 min read
Jump Up and Down!
Let me be the 11th person this week to rag at you that you need to get more exercise. Or the 12th, including your conscience. You’ll look...
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Steven Hansen
Jun 29, 20221 min read
Go Through Your Old Photos
Remember that one candid snapshot someone took of your grandma (or dad, or sister, or you) laughing like crazy at some fool thing...
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Steven Hansen
Jun 12, 20222 min read
Sing In a Choir
Everyone knows you feel better when you sing. Whether it’s a few rounds of “99 Bottles of Beer” revving up the night at the local dive,...
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Steven Hansen
May 16, 20221 min read
Pet a Dog
By now, we are all familiar with the growing popularity of emotional support animals, and therapy dogs in particular. You see them...
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Steven Hansen
Apr 24, 20222 min read
Live Near a Park or Forest
Wouldn’t you rather look at trees than other buildings? It just makes sense that people who live near parks and greenspaces are healthier...
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Steven Hansen
Apr 1, 20221 min read
Listen to Gregorian Chant
Can a medieval dirge make you feel better? Well, some experts believe that listening to Gregorian chants, specifically, can put you in a...
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Steven Hansen
Mar 4, 20221 min read
Move to Fremont, California
For the third year in a row, Fremont, California, has earned the title of Happiest City in the United States. The 2022 WalletHub study,...
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Steven Hansen
Feb 17, 20225 min read
Need a Shoulder to Cry On? How About a Papal Blessing? Or a Magic Spell?
Sometimes we just need a little extra help to get through a rough patch. Maybe it’s a tough time at work that you’re slogging through, a...
86 views0 comments
Steven Hansen
Feb 7, 20221 min read
Get Your Zzzzzs
You know how crappy you feel when you don’t get a good night’s rest due to nuisances like squabbling neighbors or nagging work worries?...
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Steven Hansen
Jan 8, 20221 min read
Enjoy This 11-Hour, Hypnotizing Break
The holidays are finally over. Everyone has gone back home or returned to school and we’re taking a breather before getting back into our...
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Steven Hansen
Dec 14, 20211 min read
Surround Yourself with Happy People
Stefan James of Project Life Mastery has devoted his life to helping others create and live extraordinary lives. We all have the power to...
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Steven Hansen
Nov 29, 20211 min read
Sip the Mmm-magic of Matcha
It’s getting chilly out there these days. Great weather for enjoying a nice hot cup of tea. How about a cup of matcha? Matcha, the...
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Steven Hansen
Nov 18, 20211 min read
Change Your Name to Judy or Joshua
What’s in a name, you ask? How about the key to lifelong happiness and popularity. Psychologist David Holmes of Manchester (UK)...
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HA Staff
Nov 1, 20212 min read
Create A New Ritual
A friend and his spouse have a simple holiday tradition. They go out for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning. They go to the same cozy...
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Steven Hansen
Oct 18, 20211 min read
Take a Nap
Finally! Scientifically proven evidence that we’d all feel happier if everybody just took a nap! A study between napping and happiness...
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Steven Hansen
Sep 25, 20211 min read
Make It to October
“Tis June, the fairest month of all, bright June, the month of roses.” Kansan poet Elva May Root makes a good point about the sixth month...
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Steven Hansen
Sep 20, 20211 min read
Listen to the Blues
That’s right. The Blues. Those heart-wrenching ballads sung by the genre’s finest -- and bluesiest -- singers like Muddy Waters, Ma...
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Steven Hansen
Sep 14, 20215 min read
Where Do You Belong?
As we continue to cautiously emerge from the bunkers of our pandemic isolation, it feels good to fall back into familiar routines once...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 27, 20211 min read
Listen to the Most Beautiful Duet Ever Written
ClassicFM.com gives top billing to the “Flower Duet,” on its list of the most-uplifting classical duets ever written. Even if you’re not...
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HA Staff
Aug 16, 20211 min read
Dance in the Rain
Maybe you had an especially challenging day, and to make matters worse, it’s pouring rain outside. But don’t let that get you down. In...
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Steven Hansen
Aug 1, 20212 min read
Torch Your Troubles Away
Fiestas de Santa Fe has been held since 1712 to celebrate the Spanish reconquest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1692 by Don Diego de Vargas...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 30, 20211 min read
Smell Good Things
Of our five basic senses -- sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch – research says that our sense of smell is the most powerful. Our...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 27, 20211 min read
Eat More Chocolate
Remember how good it felt the first time you nibbled a piece of really fine chocolate? I’m talking the real stuff -- a 72% single-origin...
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Steven Hansen
Jul 20, 20213 min read
Ear Bliss #3
Relax and take a well-deserved aural vacation listening to these five specially chosen selections that will help you escape a dreary or...
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Steven Hansen
Jun 28, 20211 min read
Get a Haircut
Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest difference. The Japanese have a term for it: kaizen (kai=change zen=good). It's a...
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Steven Hansen
Jun 23, 20211 min read
Get a Job that Matters
...And Don't Forget to Socialize A recent phone app survey of 22,000 people in the UK shows that work is ranked lower than any of the...
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Steven Hansen
Jun 17, 20212 min read
How to Have Good Dreams
Here are some simple tips that will help improve the quality of your dreams.
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Steven Hansen
Jun 2, 20218 min read
10 More Ways to Get Happier
Here are 10 more fun and easy hacks to feel happier right away.
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