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Spring 2015: Musical Inspiration

~ ~ Laura ~ 14 Comments

Every season, I share artistic expressions that have inspired me. This month I’d like to share some music that has resonated. In particular, in line with my Happiness Project – I wanted to share some of the tracks that made it to my Happy Playlist. Continue reading →

Winter 2014: Musical Inspiration

~ ~ Laura ~ 31 Comments

Every season, I share an artistic expressions that have inspired me. This month I’d like to share some music that has resonated, and I hope it speaks to you as well.

I would love to hear what music has inspired you over the past season, in the comments below!

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My New Years Resolution (2015): To Be Happy

~ ~ Laura ~ 89 Comments

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I was watching a home video of an interview with my Nanny. She was being asked a host of questions, including what she most wanted for her children – and without hesitation, she said confidently and with a great deal of love…

To be happy.

The pursuit of happiness at times gets a bad rap for being fake, selfish, or an ultimately futile goal. However, what could be more important than creating an atmosphere of positivity and balance in your own life, regardless of circumstances? How can you truly support others, or have the ability to make change in the world if you are not at peace yourself?

This past year my Telfer MBA team did a data analysis project on the Happy Planet Index (incredibly, US ranks in the lowest category of HPI, Canada is middle of the pack, while Mexico is  one of the highest). We compared HPI to a large number of factors – including life expectancy rates, war deaths, alcohol consumption, etc – with little correlation.  We came to the surprising conclusion that happiness is not heavily dependent on what is happening to and around you.

So what do happy people do differently than the rest of us? I plan to go on a mission to figure this out – and will be periodically updating you on my findings. I will pursue it, like I do any other goal, with tangible actions. I plan to try 3 different happiness tactics every quarter of 2015, and I invite you to join me! The tactics for January to March are as follows:

  • Find 5 things you are grateful for everyday – This could be a morning reflection you whisper to yourself while rolling out of bed, or a journal entry  on the good things that you remember from the day. The way you choose to recognize the 5 things is completely up to you, but the key thing is that it happens daily.
  • Remove one negative thing from your life – Create some breathing space by letting go of something that is currently toxic. This could be an activity you no longer enjoy, an energy sucking relationship, or a self-destructive habit.
  • Start meditating – I meditate every once in a while, but I want to make this an unshakable part of my daily routine. This can take as little as 5 minutes a day, so it is manageable for even the most packed schedule.

Make happiness a priority this next year with me, and improve not only your own life, but those close to you as well. Keep me updated on your experiences below!

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Inspirational Person: Peter Paul

~ ~ Laura ~ 13 Comments

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I wanted to begin to interview different people who inspire me, and share their light with you as well.

Peter Paul was born in New Brunswick to a close-knit family of four, with parents who were both kind and wise. He grew up in Ontario, but spent summers in the maritimes connecting to the rural and coastal landscapes. After school, he linked his interest in geography to mapping work which continued for the next thirty years. He met his wife, Betty, on a canoe trip in the 1980’s, and had two children (I was fortunate enough to be one of them). 

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Q1. Peter, it’s impossible for others not to notice your indomitably positive spirit and generosity. Are these a reflection of an inner choice?

For most people, the way we see ourselves is different from the way others see us. There are several people in our family and our group of friends whose positive spirit and generosity have served as models for me. This has also been true of some strangers in my life – people whose names I will never know, and whom I will likely never meet again, but whose actions I will always remember and appreciate.

Q2. You seem to prioritize getting out in nature, such as taking long walks on a daily basis or biking to work. What impact has nature had on your life? 

Nature has provided a way for me to step back from the details of everyday life, and to appreciate the beauty and rhythm of life which has ‘stood the test of time’. On the grounds of the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, there is a beautiful red oak tree which was planted in 1911, and which I would see on my bike trip to work each day. Sometimes when day-to-day problems would seem overwhelming, I would look at this oak tree which had faithfully continued its yearly cycle of life (new spring buds, summer leaf growth, acorns, falling leaves in the autumn) for one hundred years, in spite of the day-to-day upheavals in my own life, or the latest world news.

Q3. When you reflect back on your life, what is the first memory that comes to mind when you think about your proudest moment?

When I was in Grade 5, we had an hour and a half for lunch – time to walk home for a meal with Mom, and still get back to school for a game of pick-up softball. At that time, a boy attended our school who was a particularly gifted athlete – as a softball pitcher, he threw with speed and accuracy beyond his years. None of us could hit his pitches. After a series of strikes as the batter, I decided to swing before I thought I should – to see if I could anticipate the location of the pitch. It worked.

Q4. What would you tell a younger version of yourself, if you had the chance?

Remember that school is only one way to learn about the world.

Q5. Finally, with all of your experiences and knowledge, do you think there is hope for the world to solve the current social and environmental crises that it is currently facing? Do we have the power to change the world for the better?

I believe that there is hope for the world, because each one of us has the ability to contribute to the solutions – if only we decide in our own minds to do it. The force of people working together towards something worthwhile, towards a goal for the common good, will be unstoppable once it gains momentum.

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#LikeAGirl – Inspirational Women: a never ending list

~ ~ Laura ~ 28 Comments

I hope whatever you do, whatever you dream, you have the courage to do it #LikeAGirl:

  • Run a country #LikeAGirl – Pratibha Patil (India), Dilma Rousseff (Brazil), Indira Gandhi (India), Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (Liberia), Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese (Ireland), Tarja Halonen and Mari Kiviniemi (Finland), Dalia Grybauskaite (Lithuania), Johanna Siguroardottir (Iceland), Jadranka Kosor (Croatia), Iveta Radicova (Slovakia), Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Argentina), Laura Chinchilla Miranda (Costa Rica), Pearlette Louisy (St. Lucia), Kamla Persad-Bissessar (Trinidad and Tobago), Roza Otunbayeva (Kyrgyzstan), Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan), Sheikh Hasina (Bangladesh), Julia Gillard (Australia)
  • Win the game #LikeAGirl – Florence Griffith-Joyner (fastest woman of all time), Serena Williams (only tennis player to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time), Tracy Caulkins (set five world swimming records and 63 U.S. records), Bonnie Blair (5 olympic gold medals in speed skating). Mia Hamm (scored more goals in her career than any other player, male or female, from the U.S, and named FIFA player of the year twice), Ellen MacArthur (broke the non-stop solo sailing world record), Tanni Grey-Thompson  (outstanding paralympian), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (one of the best athletes of all time)
  • Lead a company #LikeAGirl – Indra Nooyi (CEO of PepsiCo, the second largest food and beverage business in the world), Mary Barra (CEO of General Motors), Margaret Cushing Whitman (CEO of  Hewlett-Packard)
  • Be brave #LikeAGirl – Malala Yousafzai (17 year old education activist in Pakistan), Emmeline Pankhurst(women’s right to vote, UK), Roza Parks (African american civil rights activist)
  • Explore the world #LikeAGirl – Amelia Earhart (aviation pioneer), Jane Goodall (world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees), Marie Curie (pioneering research on radioactivity, two-time Nobel Prize winner)
  • Save lives #LikeAGirl – Florence Nightingale (founder of modern nursing), Mother Teresa
  • Build an Empire #LikeAGirl – Oprah Winfrey (arguably one of the most influential people on earth).

 

The next time you use the saying ‘#LikeAGirl’, may it be an expression of strength and downright awesomeness! Help me to keep this list growing, by adding women who inspire you in the comments below.

 

 

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