Pocketmint

Tag: happiness

1. Our year of radical change

   6 July 2013

   Okay, I went AWOL on Pocketmint again. I’m sorry, but I’m hoping when you hear why, you’ll forgive me. Around the time of my last post, my whole life took an abrupt left turn … and then just kept going. Here are (some of) the major developments from the last three months: 1. Jak got […]

2. To give great gifts, think like a behavioral economist

   13 December 2012

   For Jak’s last birthday, I gave him peace of mind. Also, sushi. Our mutual favorite restaurant in the area is Mashiko Sushi, way down in West Seattle. These days we eat out very rarely — a bit less than once per month — but we spend more time at Mashiko than anywhere else, in no […]

3. Now Read This — what you really want, house happiness, and the fiscal cliff

   30 November 2012

   Erica Strauss on getting what you really want Remember ‘miswanting’? Erica at Northwest Edible Life offers a another way to rethink your tangible purchases with Occupy Your Brain (Why You Don’t Really Want What You Want). She lays out a nice little chart to help you dig down past the initial desire-reflex and examine the […]

4. How American culture is causing widespread misery

   19 September 2012

   One of the fun things about reading extensively in different disciplines — psychology, history, sociology, economics — is that I sometimes encounter essentially identical motifs in unrelated sources. For example, I recently ran across a striking quote from President Jimmy Carter’s 1979 “Crisis of Confidence” speech, in which he acknowledged the declining trust in government, […]

5. Miswanting, and two strategies to counter it

   6 August 2012

   As part of my attempt to downsize our life, I’m culling my collection of clothes and shoes. As I ransack my closet and dresser drawers, I’m struck by the occasional item that was a complete misfire. There aren’t many of them, because I know myself pretty well, but I’ve run across a few things that […]

6. Accidental tourists

   1 June 2012

   Our month in Mexico was all the travel we planned for this year. But then we were invited to attend a wedding in Jak’s family. In Texas and … Costa Rica. With round-trip airfare generously paid. Well, gosh. Touring a Costa Rican rainforest has been high on my bucket list for nearly two decades, ever […]

7. Redefining success; redesigning our lives

   4 April 2012

   Here in middle-class America, there’s a formula you’re supposed to follow in order to be considered a successful adult. With only minor variations, you’re expected to: get a college degree, find a lucrative career, get married, buy a house, fill it with stuff, and have kids … all while continuing to work at that same […]