Issue No. 45
September  2012
Tired Of Bad News?

Dear Friends of Balancing Act,
Age of Miracles Book Cover  

If pre-election ads and even media as usual make you feel overloaded with bad news, not to worry.

 

At least three online services are cranking out positive news to counterbalance the negative and uplift your mood.

 

And that's not all technology is offering to boost positivity. With some simple applications that work on a Smartphone, you can monitor your diet, exercise and mood.

 

But technology is not the only route to more well-being. A British composer/artist/activist says the magic comes from singing in groups. And he offers a suggested song list for you who prefer to be uplifted by song.

 

As for me, I'd add good chocolate and coffee as contributors to personal happiness. For more on my java obsession, visit my latest column. 

 

Positively yours,

 

 

                           Pat  
Balance Bad News With Goodgood news network

We've all complained that there's "too much negative news." Now at least three online news services are doing something about the imbalance.

Rather than wade through your daily paper for glimpses of good news, you can now count on finding stories online that will lift your mood. Recent ones told about a long-lost dog reunited with its owner after Hurricane Katrina and a Filipino street kid winning a $130,000 peace prize.

The Good News Network offers favorite good news stories on its website at no charge and also offers a subscription that sends a batch of good news stories to your inbox weekly. The other good news is that the subscription price level depends on your ability to pay.

Similarly, the Huffington Post offers a good news section, as does a website called Happy News.

 
App Map Helps Customize Your Self-Care

Subway Map Whether you're catching the Metro in D.C. or The T in Boston, you just can't get there without a map.

 

So it is with the growing number of mobile apps to improve your well-being that are available for your Smart devices.

 

Enter Track Yourself!, a map that tells you about apps like Lark, which will help monitor your sleep patterns and Moodscope, which tracks your mood. For more about all the available possibilities for tracking yourself and figure out whether you want to enter the world of medical tracking, CNN presents a fascinating piece on the pros and cons of tracking in its Our Mobile Society series.

 

Sing Your Way To Well-Being

What do Love Me Tender and Que Sera Sera have in common? They're both on the short list of great group-sing songs recommended by British composer, artist and activist Brian Eno for increasing your well-being.

  

Citing a Scandinavian study that singing, camping and dancing are stand-outs in creating and healthier and happier life, Eno writes in his "This I Believe" essay for NPR that singing together leads to "a long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends, super self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness and a better sense of humor." Wow!

 

He's walked the talk by forming a weekly a cappella singing group - a process he says allows us to forget "being me" and instead become part of a community.   

singers  

Copyright 2012 Pat Snyder 

In This Issue
Balance Bad News With Good
App Map
Sing Your Way To Well-Being
Quick Links
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST "EXPERIENCE GIFTS"?
 interfaith holiday

Strap yourself in.  The holiday season is just around the corner.

And the temptation is to think of what things you'll  be purchasing for your loved ones.

But experiences that are engaging and meaningful bring longer-lasting positive emotion than things do.

As you make out your holiday list, try this experiment.  Imagine what the recipient might like to do with you or others rather than what things they'd like to get. And this holiday season, test-drive this "experience gift" with at least one of your recipients.

LEASH LAW

NO. 45:

 

SIMPLIFYING HOLIDAYS 

              

horizontal leashed dog

 

  If you love the proverbial hustle and bustle but feel exhausted by New Year's Day, try limiting the frantic activities to one of your frenetic favorites each year.

 

Go ahead and do all that cookie-baking, for example, but simplify the other activities.

 

That way, the Frantic and the Simpifier in you will each get their way, and your life will feel more in balance.   

 

This is one of 74 leash laws offered in Pat's book, The Dog Ate My Planner: Tales and Tips from an Overbooked Life.  

 

 

  2011 all star  

         

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