Naturally Happy by Lucinda Atwood – Naturally Happy

Naturally Happy

by Lucinda Atwood

Naturally Happy

by Lucinda Atwood

Happiness is a tool for peace.

Gardeners say if you plant enough flowers they’ll crowd out the weeds. I believe that happiness crowds out negativity and hate.

When we appreciate the abundance and joy in our own lives, we’re more likely to be generous with others. This is especially true for those of us with privilege and wealth.

This blog is about happiness—the thoughts and actions that affect our daily sense of joy. It offers reflections and practical tools for building, appreciating and sharing happiness. My goal is to nurture peace within ourselves so that we may be peaceful and kind to others.

Blog

Abundance is like beach glass

Abundance is like beach glass

Imagine you’re at the beach, enjoying a beautiful day. Something sparkles in the sand. You stoop to pick it up; it’s beach glass. Turning it over in your palm, admiring its soft, rough edges, you tell yourself stories about its journey. Then tuck it away as a good luck charm. You keep walking. Another glint, […]

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Shame Waves: Surfing to Success

Shame Waves: Surfing to Success

You just gave the best performance ever. You were calm, confident and engaging. The audience loved you! But then you sit down. Flooded with adrenaline, your brain works quickly, evaluating your performance—your dreadful, awful performance. In high resolution, your brain replays the errors, the omissions, the failures. Moments ago you were proud, now you’re embarrassed. […]

What’s more important than goals? Enjoying the pursuit.

What’s more important than goals? Enjoying the pursuit.

In my work I meet a lot of people in transit—people on their way to becoming the best version of themselves. Whether it’s a new career or advancing within one, my clients have goals. Now, you know and I know all the stuff about goals. They’ve gotta be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Agreed-upon, Realistic and Timebound). […]

Saying No: A beginner’s guide

Saying No: A beginner’s guide

No, non, nada, nyet—how we say no in different languages. Nein is the German word for no. Nein sounds the same as the English word nine, which means one less than 10. According to researchers, nine is also the number of times kids expect to ask their parents for something before getting it. Nine. Can […]

Casual Negativity or Mindful Positivity

Casual Negativity or Mindful Positivity

A young friend introduced me to this simple group game last Saturday. We passed slips of paper around in a circle; one was marked with an L, and the rest with Ws. In this game, players don’t know what’s on their card. After the cards have gone once around the circle, everyone flips over their […]

Self-Control: The secret to successful speaking & listening

Self-Control: The secret to successful speaking & listening

Technology allows us to communicate faster, more frequently, and to a wider audience. But who’s listening? The more we communicate, the harder it is to listen well—to focus on one person and their words. This is where self-control comes in. Being able to pause yourself and focus on the speaker and improves your understanding but […]

Teenagers: 15 Tips for Peaceful Communication

Teenagers: 15 Tips for Peaceful Communication

Sometimes it seems that all teens do is communicate—text, social media, facetime. But when adults try to talk to teens, both sides often end up frustrated, annoyed or bewildered. How can we bridge this gap? First, Understand your Audience Consider what it is to be teenaged. Teens are in transition between childhood and adulthood. They […]

Kids and Swearing: How to get the little ones to stop talking sh*t

Kids and Swearing: How to get the little ones to stop talking sh*t

Ahh the power of words: to inspire, teach and offend. Nothing beats the precision of a well-placed profanity, but swearing is like hot sauce—a little goes a long way. I hate hearing kids curse. Although it’s a natural part of their development, swearing is a harsh reminder of lost innocence, especially when it’s your own kid. I […]

Empathy Self Test

Empathy Self Test

Empathy is a cornerstone of relationships. When we speak and listen with empathy others feel heard and respected, relationships improve, and we positively influence others. Self-test: Do you speak and listen with empathy? When talking: Do your words add to your listener’s life—are you giving them a gift, or dumping emotional waste? Are your words constructive […]

Conversation Skills: Are you sharing or monopolizing?

Conversation Skills: Are you sharing or monopolizing?

Sitting in a coffee shop listening to two women talk over each other, I am reminded of that apt analogy of two TVs, both turned on and facing each other. Lots of words but little communication. We’re all guilty sometimes of talking at rather than to our listener; of delivering monologues instead of mutually exploring […]

Complaining: Committed vs Uncommitted

Complaining: Committed vs Uncommitted

Committed complaining: have you heard of it? The idea is that we complain in two ways: committed or uncommitted to fixing the problem. Sometimes we’re just grousing: I’m cold, my office is cold, I hate working here, my boss is a nightmare… Uncommitted complaining begins and ends with the complaint. You don’t like something but […]

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Beyond No! Communicating with Toddlers

Beyond No! Communicating with Toddlers

Communicating with two-year-olds can be frustrating. They’re passionate, stubborn and likely to bite. But it doesn’t have to be this way—spending time with toddlers can be fun! Yes, really. Toddlers are amazing—they’re still connected to their magic, and look at the world in a way we’ve forgotten. They have lots to say and can be […]

Are You an Interrupting Cow? How to be a better listener, and more popular too

Are You an Interrupting Cow? How to be a better listener, and more popular too

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Interrupting Cow. Interrupting Cow wh– Moo! Are you an interrupting cow? How often do you allow a pause after someone’s finished speaking? Be honest, how often do you let people finish speaking? Interrupting is such a deeply ingrained habit for some that we don’t even notice when we do it. Kicking that habit […]

WAIT What? 4 Wrong Reasons to Speak (& 4 good ones)

WAIT What? 4 Wrong Reasons to Speak (& 4 good ones)

There’s a great acronym that makes me look smart and wise. It’s WAIT, and stands for Why Am I Talking? What a brilliant question to ask yourself. You might decide not to speak if your answer is any of the following: Gossip Is the “news” you’re sharing about someone else just veiled gossip? Even if it […]

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4 Questions To Stop Asking

4 Questions To Stop Asking

1. Are You Sure? This negates everything the speaker just said, which is rude and hurtful. You might ask this question because: You want to know if you can believe what the person just said, or if you can trust their source. A better response would be “How do you know this?” or “Please tell me […]

About

Hi. I’m Lucinda, a teacher whose learning will never end. I hope to inspire you to help save the world, one action at a time.

On the personal side, I’m sporty, outdoorsy and hilarious.

If you want to contact me, please connect through Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.

All contents of this site copyright Lucinda Atwood