Before you go to bed tonight and finish the workweek, I dare you to reflect on the following: Think of “Three Good Things” that happened to you today WHY did those things happen to you today? Why you should try it? Martin Seligman, commonly know as the founder of Positive Psychology, explains why you should try it in this video. Hmmm, if this habit of writing down “Three Good Things” changes the emotional tone of your life, by decreasing depression and increasing happiness….a

This quote inspired me to invite you to do some self-reflection! What are you (day)dreaming about? What is your vision of a satisfying, successful and balanced life? In Toni Morrison’s words: if you could "fly", what would you be doing? What is holding you back from turning your vision of a satisfying, successful and balanced life into your daily reality? In Toni Morrison’s words: what does your “shit” look like? And what does it feel, smell and taste like (LOL)? What are you

Volte-Face A British photographer recently shot a series of photo’s which he named ‘Volte-Face’. He visited numerous famous tourist attractions all over the world, like the Taj Mahal, the Mona Lisa and the Statue of Liberty, and did something unusual. He pointed his camera in a different direction, away from the monument or object. By changing the perspective, he captured a totally different experience, which resulted in some surprisingly interesting and original images. What

Picture This Today I got to witness a simple, yet powerful example of how doing something out of your comfort zone can result in personal growth. Just take a moment to imagine this: We're visiting a new waterpark close to home and I'm at the top of a gigantic multicolored waterslide with my 5-year-old daughter. We're still catching our breath after climbing the steps. Below us we can see the slide spiraling downwards, people moving in and out of sight as they zoom past, echo

Intro It's Friday night. Bryan Adams is performing in an open-air pavilion in Houston. I'm surrounded with friends, the crowd is uplifting, the white wine is refreshing. Even though it's only April, the night air feels pleasantly warm. The doubts I had about this evening fade away when Bryan Adams opens the show. I remember all the words to most of the songs...! They come out effortlessly, as if it was only yesterday that I last danced to these tunes at a school dance. But it

Train Your Brain So…in Part 1 and Part 2 of this blog we learned that believing in your own effectiveness (= self-efficacy), having optimistic expectations, and the experience of positive emotions are some of the factors that contribute to our wellbeing and happiness, and also cause us to be more successful. You may wonder how we can train our brain and that of our children to do just that. Here are some suggestions. It’s still another 4 weeks before the 2nd STAAR testing rou

Before you start reading, make sure you read Part 1 of this blog! The Power Of Our Brain We all have expectations. About many things. Sometimes we expect the best, other times the worst. Did you know that our expectations influence how we feel and behave? And did you know that our expectations can affect a future outcome? No, it’s not magic…it’s the power of our brain! Let’s consider the following scenario to clarify what I mean. Just imagine for a moment…it’s the day before

STAAR Stress I first heard about the STAAR test (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) when my daughter was in 2nd grade, after we’d just moved to the US. She came home one day and told me about this boy... Rumor had it that this boy had failed the test several years in a row, which stopped him from moving up to the next grade. He was now 15 years old and still in elementary school...! From that day onwards, the pressure was on. It was still a year away, but alrea