Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present ~Babatunde Olatunji Continue

]]> http://www.patrickwardphd.com/2008/12/02/being-present-for-the-presents/feed/ 0 http://www.patrickwardphd.com/2008/09/24/how-to-make-yourself-miserable/ http://www.patrickwardphd.com/2008/09/24/how-to-make-yourself-miserable/#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:57:34 +0000 Patrick Ward http://67.15.157.12/~patrickw/?p=10 Long ago, the founding fathers who wrote the Declaration of Independence established a government that gave us the right to “…life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”   This is great.  Most of us exercise our right to live life in freedom.  Some of us, however, seem to be in the pursuit of misery rather than happiness.  Have you ever noticed that being happy is easier for some people that it is for others?  The ease with which some find happiness has little to do with  privileges and income, and a lot to do with attitude and perspective. Continue

]]> http://www.patrickwardphd.com/2008/09/24/how-to-make-yourself-miserable/feed/ 1 http://www.patrickwardphd.com/2007/08/07/happiness-and-marriage/ http://www.patrickwardphd.com/2007/08/07/happiness-and-marriage/#comments Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:06:31 +0000 Patrick Ward http://67.15.157.12/~patrickw/?p=20 Can marriage make you happy?  Or, if you are unhappily married, will divorce make you feel better?  Probably it will not.  I’ve been working with couples long enough now to see patterns, tendencies, and trends in marriage and divorce.   One tendency I want to highlight here is the human tendency to pursue happiness in all the wrong places and then get upset when those places in our lives don’t produce happiness.  “The pursuit of happiness” was written into the U.S. Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson as a right of all the people, and so we Americans expect happiness to come to us.  Remember though, the right is not to have happiness, but to pursue it.   Rather than pursue, I think many of us have a tendency to postpone happiness.  We say to ourselves; “When (fill in the blank) happens, then I’ll be happy” or “If I get that thing, that promotion, that degree, that person, then I’ll be happy.” Continue

]]> http://www.patrickwardphd.com/2007/08/07/happiness-and-marriage/feed/ 0 http://www.patrickwardphd.com/2007/05/03/resolve-to-be-positive/ http://www.patrickwardphd.com/2007/05/03/resolve-to-be-positive/#comments Thu, 03 May 2007 20:38:08 +0000 Patrick Ward http://67.15.157.12/~patrickw/?p=35 Happy New Year!  Have you made any resolutions for the New Year?  Making New Year’s resolutions is a very good idea.  They really do work! Research by John C. Norcross has shown that compared to people who don’t make resolutions,  people who make New Year’s resolutions are actually twice as likely to successfully change something in their lives.  Whether you have resolved to get physically fit, quit some bad habit, or chosen not to make a resolution, let me suggest a resolution that will change your life.  This year, resolve to develop a positive attitude. Continue

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