Online Publications Best Picks for December

Whether the coming New Year is causing you to reflect or regret – or, more positively, to resolve – 2008 had some very sobering messages for all of us to ponder upon. Have we been living right? Have we focused on the most important things in our lives? Most of all, are we happy?

Our research has gathered some of the most introspective articles of this year. Life coaches are telling us to be more assertive with our decisions and resources; experts are telling us to cut back on workaholic streaks and work effectively; and scientists are telling us just how hard it is to for our brains to accept change and that happiness may come from some very unexpected sources.

We hope that as you sift through our selection of December’s best articles, you will be closer to finding out if you have been living a life of happiness.

Our Top Five Picks for the Month

Forbes

It’s A Dirty Job, And I Love It!

Mike Rowe, host and producer for the popular television show “Dirty Jobs,” gives his perspective on careers: “always, always follow your passion” is not only nauseatingly nonsensical, it is a destructive lie. After meeting more than 200 people in 200 unthinkable jobs – some maggot farmers, some sewer cleaners, some chicken-sexers, and some who castrate lamb with their teeth – he is convinced that the most fulfilled people are not those who chased some “dream.” The happiest people bring their passion with them no matter where they go. They are non-conformists who live happy lives balancing their outlandish work with their otherwise normal existence.

Scientific American

Set In Our Ways: Why Change Is So Hard

The desire to change our lives into that perfect image of success is a common one. Perhaps just as common is the desire eventually becoming little more than a dream. Personality researchers Paul Costa and Robert R. McCrae have found that openness to change declines rapidly after the age of 20, though the passion for change remains. Citing the entry of “adult responsibilities and unrealistic expectations,” psychologists explain that desire for change is rarely acted upon for fear of failure in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds in life. This condition comes from the brain rewarding familiarity with feelings of safeness, while instilling feelings of uncertainty towards the unfamiliar. This pattern is reinforced throughout life, leading to resistance towards change as one grows older.

Some people attempt radical change past the age of 30, filled with passionate delusions of success. They are soon faced with the reality of failing to make even a small change in their lives. The cure for this “false hope syndrome” is to come to terms with one’s self first, then take moderate steps to bring about change.

Washington Post

You’ve Gotta Think Like Google

The keys to success are personifying Google, says business psychologist and psychotherapist Douglas LaBier. If Google were a person, she would not only need to transcend conflicts and work-life stresses, but be “transparent, flexible, focused and collaborative.” LaBier also notes how an open and innovative mindset serves as a powerful tool to spur creativity and connectedness to others.

Google’s business model serves not only to further technology, but to highlight important qualities that would make a person’s life – and the lives around them – remarkable and meaningful.

Office Arrow

The Language Of No: Learning To Be Assertive

Being assertive is not easy. For many, there seems to be a dichotomy between being a team player and making a stand for oneself – where can one know how to choose, and when to be more assertive?

Kathy Ver Eecke writes that effective assertiveness requires three key realisations: knowing the boundaries you cannot allow yourself to cross; avoiding the self-defeating inner critic who often discourages you from saying what you need to say; and understanding that allowing people to walk all over you builds internal resentment, which could result in lost tempers and will discredit you.

Maintaining assertiveness means consistent contribution, recognising oneself as a valued asset in the team, and never over-compensating for a lack of assertiveness with anger.

(If you are looking for more information on being assertive, be sure to read our e-book about Life Design)

New York Times

Strangers May Cheer You Up, Study Says

Your happiness is dependent on people indirectly connected to you, claims researcher Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, a physician and social scientist at Harvard Medical School. According to his work with 4,739 people over 20 years, happiness is a socially contagious consciousness that affects whole social networks.

Detractors to the study point out that the research seems contrary to our beliefs about happiness, as it seems more natural for happiness to be thought of as a personal event. However, similar results in parallel studies on obesity and smoking, even for individuals separated by two or three degrees, suggests that social contact has an effect on the emotions and decisions of people within a network.

The study also observed that the contagion for happiness is determined by time and space. This means that people who have done things more recently and are located closer to you tend to affect your happiness more. Researchers also advised not to drop depressed friends for fear of them adversely affecting your network. Instead, use your happiness network to pass happiness on to them.

Top Ten Online Publications In December 2008

BNET

Return Of The Crummy Job

CNN

Experts: Goof Off At Work, Read A Book, Ignore E-Mail

Forbes

It’s A Dirty Job, And I Love It!

Huffington Post

5 Common Sense Keys For Emotional Well-Being

Office Arrow

The Language Of No: Learning To Be Assertive

Scientific American

Set In Our Ways: Why Change Is So Hard

Washington Post

You’ve Gotta Think Like Google

Productive Magazine

Productive Magazine

New York Times

Strangers May Cheer You Up, Study Says

YES Magazine

10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy

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