Happiness Podcast

Pain is inevitable because it's a natural part of being human. We experience challenges, losses, and setbacks, leading to unavoidable emotional and sometimes physical pain. Suffering , however, is not just the pain itself. It's the mental and emotional anguish we create around the pain. This includes negative thoughts, dwelling on the past, resisting the reality of the situation, and clinging to w...

Punished Not For Your Anger, But By Your Anger We will not be punished for our anger, but we might be punished by our anger, if we aren't careful: Consequences of uncontrolled anger: While you won't face external punishment for expressing anger, the emotion itself can lead to negative consequences. It can damage relationships, cloud judgment, and hinder personal growth. In essence, your anger beco...

Kindness is My Religion Choosing kindness as your guiding principle cultivates a harvest of blessings. Your own spirit flourishes under the sun of selflessness, finding joy in uplifting others. The ripple effect of your actions creates a kinder world, where compassion becomes contagious and bridges form between differences. Deeper connections weave through your life, enriching it with genuine frie...

The Goal of Life (Embracing the Journey of Self-Improvement) The Elusive Goal of Life The question of life's purpose has haunted humanity for millennia. Philosophers, theologians, and everyday people have pondered its meaning, offering diverse and often conflicting answers. Is it to find happiness? Achieve success? Leave a lasting legacy? While these are all worthy pursuits, they often involve ext...

The Worry Trap (How to Free Yourself from Anxiety) The worry trap is a cunning beast, always lurking for its next victim. No matter how big or small your worries, it can twist them into an endless loop, magnifying anxieties and casting sunshine into shadow. Just like a hungry magpie, it collects trinkets of trouble, convincing you that every rustle in the bushes is a predator. So, how do we escape...

Does Wisdom Come With Age (Maybe) Does wisdom come with age? Maybe. While there's a comforting adage in the silver lining of a wrinkled brow, age alone isn't a ticket to the sage club. True wisdom requires more than mere chronometers clicking; it's a dance of experience, reflection, and a dash of humility. Sure, years gather knowledge, a library accumulated on life's dusty shelves. But wisdom whis...

Saving Face (The Wisdom of Kind Boundaries) The familiar notion of "saving face" usually evokes images of hiding blunders or anxieties from public view. But within the framework of "kind boundaries," it's transformed into a more active and mindful concept. Here, it's about proactively safeguarding your emotional well-being by drawing clear, yet compassionate, lines in your relationships. It's abou...

How to Get Your Happiness Back The pursuit of constant happiness is often a road paved with disappointment. The true secret to living a joyful life lies not in expecting smooth sailing, but in learning to navigate the winds of change with a light heart. When we loosen our grip on rigid expectations and embrace the fluidity of life, we open ourselves to a deeper well of contentment. It's not about...

How to Follow Your Inner Voice (and not others opinion as much) The struggle between prioritizing your own intuition and succumbing to external pressures is hard. It essentially asks how to tune into your inner voice and make choices based on your own values and desires, rather than simply following the expectations of others. In short, it's about navigating the path to self-directed living. New H...

How To Stop the Hurt (When Others Hurt You) When someone hurts you, it's natural to want to lash out and hurt them back. However, this reaction is often counterproductive and can lead to more hurt and conflict. Here are some strategies you can use to resist the urge to retaliate when someone has wronged you: Acknowledge your feelings. It's important to acknowledge your hurt and anger. Don't try to...

How to Stop Suffering and Be Happy Our inherent human capacity for dreaming and aspiration is a double-edged sword. While it fuels our drive for progress and self-improvement, it also serves as a constant reminder of the gap between our imagined ideals and the realities we face. This dissonance between our aspirations and our lived experiences is a fertile ground for suffering. We become acutely a...

Success vs. Happiness (Horizontal vs. Vertical Growth) Regarding how we invest our time in evolving throughout our lives, there are three distinct pathways we typically pursue. The first path is stagnation, characterized by a lack of personal growth and development. The second path is horizontal growth, which involves acquiring expertise in a specific domain, such as becoming a skilled electrical...

Staying Young at Heart One of the most significant "accomplishments' we can have is staying young at heart throughout our lives.   But this can be challenging, given all the emotional challenges we face. This talk explores the importance and possibility of staying young at heart. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist 🎧 Listen to all Episodes of the Happine...

The Razor's Edge: Happiness Happiness is challenging like walking on a razor's edge because it requires a delicate balance. On the one hand, we want to experience joy, love, and contentment. On the other hand, we must also accept and manage sadness, anger, and fear. One of the challenges of happiness is that it is often fleeting. A positive moment can quickly be overshadowed by a negative event. A...

Work-Life Balance (New Research Study) Summary: A study of 184 people across three countries/regions found that fulfilling one's values can lead to higher well-being, and that higher well-being can make it easier to fulfill one's values. This relationship was consistent regardless of the importance people attributed to their values, the period of the week, or their prestudy well-being. Conclusion:...

Healing From Death of a Loved One The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult experiences in life. There is no right or wrong way to grieve, and everyone copes with loss in their own way. However, there are some things that can help you on your journey to healing. Acknowledge your pain. It is important to allow yourself to feel your grief, no matter how difficult it is. Don't try to supp...

Death Is Not A Failure We are going to face death someday. But because of our background and expectations, unless we die in a certain way or at a certain age, there can be a lot of negative judgment about our death or the deaths of others. Death isn't a failure; it is just one of the many things we must face in our journey through life. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport B...

Staying Happy (Living Happily Ever After) Though creating a happy, self-actualized life for ourselves is daunting, keeping our peace and equanimity is also challenging.  To live a good life, doing things that got us there must become lifelong habits.  Happiness is a journey, not a destination. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist 🎧 Listen to all Episodes...

What To Do When In Crisis (and what not to do) Sometimes, we face challenges, even inundating crises in our lives.  What can and should we do in these situations to overcome them and grow and evolve from them?  We will explore what to do and not do when under tremendous amounts of stress. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist 🎧 Listen to all Episodes of th...

The Key to Happiness is: "Malleability" Our world is changing at an unprecedented pace.  How do we find happiness with all the changes we must adjust to?  In this talk, we explore how "malleability" is the critical ingredient to experience happiness even with all the changes in our lives and worlds. The world is changing rapidly and the key to happiness is to be able to adapt to change. Malleabili...

Don't Blame Your Programming, Change Your Programming Who we are and what we do is shaped by our lifelong programming.  If we are not happy with how we are, then the best thing we can do is change our programming and stop blaming ourselves.  We can blame our programming and stop blaming ourselves, but even better, we can change our programming. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, N...

Finding Your Passion & Purpose in Life  Without a purpose or passion in life, we often live lives of "quiet desperation."  But how do we find our purpose in life, and when we find our joy, how will this help me to live a happier life?   Explore the beauty and charm in finding our passion in life. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist 🎧 Listen to all Episod...

Nonjudgmental Mindfulness Judging others through our thoughts, social media, and even their face creates a vicious loop that leads us away from happiness.  Understanding and kindness towards others creates a more softness towards our foibles and offenses. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist 🎧 Listen to all Episodes of the Happiness Podcast NOW! https://w...

Finding Happiness in a Complex World Navigating the complexities of life, particularly regarding moral and ethical choices, can be challenging.  In this talk, we explore the personal benefits of making healthy, kind, and "correct" choices because we benefit from positive, stress-reducing decisions. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist 🎧 Listen to all Epis...

Strip the Veil of Habit (The Deadening Effects of Habit) One of the main reasons that we don't experience joy and happiness in life is because, through our habit of seeing things, we stop seeing things.  As this happens, our hearts often become melancholy with life.  We can change this by removing the veil of habit. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist 🎧...