Short Cuts to Happiness: Life-Changing Lessons from My Barber

usually when we just do nothing and let nature take its course, problems either resolve themselves or the solution becomes apparent to us and we know exactly what we need to do.”

“That often the best way to solve problems is to do nothing.” He paused, focusing on trimming my sideburns, before proceeding: “Most people, when they face a problem, become obsessed with solving it. This is sometimes good, but usually when we just do nothing and let nature take its course, problems either resolve themselves or the solution becomes

The countries that consistently find themselves at the top of the happiness rankings include Denmark, Colombia, Costa Rica, Australia, and Israel. While not too many people find it surprising that Denmark or Australia make the cut, Israel and Colombia’s presence does raise eyebrows. Both countries have had, and still have, their fair share of chall

To move forward, you also need the wrong foot.”

We so often try to fit reality into our predetermined models, forgetting that our models need to be shaped by reality rather than the other way around. I thought back to all those business school case studies where managers failed because they refused to accept that the market had changed and a new approach was needed.

Life changes, and when life changes the rules change, and when the rules change we need to write a new rule book. Today, be mindful: Maybe your life has changed, and only you haven’t?

Believing that you’re lucky is likely to make you so; expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In the Bible we are commanded: “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Today, we have some scientific evidence that indirectly backs up the connection that the Bible makes between honoring our parents, or the elderly in general, and longevity.

There is much research on what psychologists call equity theory, which shows that most people have the need to reciprocate what they get from others; in fact, most of us feel discomfort when we’re unable to give back something of equal value. This applies to material things, like a gift or money, as well as to nonmaterial things like kindness or tr