So says Martin Lewis in his latest post on the subject of unnecessary Christmas presents (it’s only 3 minutes and worth a view):
“Zero sum giving”, “tit-for-tat giving” where, as he says, we end up with less money or in debt – and with ‘tat’ we don’t want or need….
This is just the right time to start having those conversations, before you go off to the shops or online to buy them.
If you need any more convincing, see also my previous blogs such as:
I wrote about this UK Channel 4 Series back in 2016 in my blog How Much ‘Stuff’ is Enough? The Naked Truth!.
If you missed it and you’d like to see it, it’s being repeated – starting tomorrow, Monday 28th May, at 11pm.
Enjoy!
A friend recently shared a BBC article with me on ‘paltering’ which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means to:
“Equivocate or prevaricate in action or speech.”
Or, as we might say, to:
“avoid answering the question that has been asked.”
Is this, in effect, lying?
And why do we do it? Continue reading “A Paltry (or Paltery?) Excuse…”
Continuing one of the themes from my last blog and, particularly, some of the sentiments in ‘the Hot Chocolate Story’ at the end. I’m inviting you to take a slightly different route into planning your goals for 2018 than what you might have done before.
Instead of starting with a list what you haven’t got or achieved, how about starting the process with a list of what you have got, what you have achieved in 2017 (or earlier) and what you like or love about your life right now? Continue reading “In 2018 I want to…”
Orchids are beautiful but sensitive flowers.
They require protection and nurturing to blossom.
On the other hand, Dandelions can thrive virtually anywhere.
I came across this way of explaining how some of us develop differently from others when I was catching up on old episodes of Channel 4’s ‘The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds’.
It’s based on a Swedish metaphor: ‘amaskrosbarn’, a “dandelion child” and ‘orkidebarn’, an “orchid child.” Continue reading “Are You an Orchid or a Dandelion?”
What could 20 minutes do for you?
Depending upon how you use the time, it might:
Allow me to explain….
Continue reading “Do Something, Do Nothing or Do Something Else – for 20 Minutes”
I was prompted to think about happiness last week when a note written on the subject by Albert Einstein was sold for $1.56m.
He gave it to a courier in Tokyo in 1922 instead of a tip. Having just heard that he’d won the Nobel prize for physics he told the messenger that, if he was lucky, the note would become valuable – how right he was!
But was he also right in what he wrote in the note itself? It said:
“A calm and humble life will bring more happiness
than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it.” Continue reading “Happier, calmer – and slower?”
I recently came across an article By You’ll Be Happier If You Let Yourself Feel Bad’.
It talks about a study, led by University of Toronto Assistant Psychology Professor Brett Ford, which explores the link between our acceptance of negativity and our well-being. Continue reading “Who’s in charge, you or your emotions?”
“The thought manifests as the word;
the word manifests as the deed;
the deed develops into habit;
and habit hardens into character.
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
and let it spring from love
born out of concern for all beings.”
Buddha
Whole People 