a daily blog on well-being and how to feel better by Mark Barger Elliott…

I upgraded my iPhone yesterday and the salesperson and I were talking about 2024 and she said her goal was to “enjoy happy.” I asked what she meant and she explained how she wanted to be less distracted next year and to enjoy her happy moments. Isn’t that a lovely thought and goal? To “enjoy…

We watched the Leonard Bernstein film starring Bradley Cooper last night and I was struck by a line his wife Felicia Montealegre says when Bernstein was struggling. She says, “if nothing sings in you, then you can’t make music.” The question of what sings in us is helpful as it relates to our work and…

I’ve started to read Adam Grant’s new book, Hidden Potential. In the first few pages he makes the intriguing observation there is a difference between ambition and aspiration. Drawing from the work of philosopher Agnes Callard, Grant writes, “ambition is the outcome you want to attain [while]…aspiration is the person you hope to become.” What…

We visited the Charles Schultz museum yesterday which told how the characters Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Lucy evolved and came be loved around the world. It also shared how one of Schultz’s early mantras was “always have something in the mail working for you.” This proved helpful when his first cartoon – Lil Folks by Sparky…

Last night we watched a movie called The Big Year staring Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black. The premise was these three compete in a contest where participants attempt to observe the most birds they can in a single year. To compete (and this is apparently a real contest), those playing need to strategize (and finance) how…

Brianna Wiest has written insightful books on how to better understand ourselves, think clearer, and to heal. In When You’re Ready, This Is How You Heal, she offers her readers a fascinating phrase, “what if, instead of…” Here are a few examples: “What if, instead of believing that you have failed, you…” “What if, instead of thinking…