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Jicama Happiness

Posted on by Senia

I tried an absolutely new food yesterday.

I guess it’s always been at the grocery store, but I just never paid attention and never looked for it. It’s crisp and bright and has a very pale sweetness. The clerk at the farmstand was eating a slide, and I asked her what it was, and she said, “JICAMA! It’s delicious, and very low calorie.” And she brought me a slice.

Jicama!

I had never even thought something like this exists. So lightly sweet. I guess you never cook jicama – it tastes somewhat like an apple-pear but much less sweet – just a hint of sweetness, and on the outside, it’s (strangely enough!) the same color as a potato!

Here are some summer jicama recipes:
* Jicama orange salad!!! by Lu Recipes
* Jicama salad by Whole Foods
* Jicama beet salad by the Reluctant Housewife

You Just Ate Our Conversation

Posted on by Senia

I heard a talk today on mindful eating. The woman who spoke described how we take in experiences, how we eat experiences.

She said we are always eating. We are always taking in experiences, things around us, and we can choose how we take in things around us. We can choose the way that makes us less stressed, and we can choose the way that makes us more alive.

This sounds to me like Tonya Pinkin’s philosophy that how you do anything is how you do everything.

One other thing the woman said about mindful eating is kind of like the Zen of the Motorcycle (i.e. if your engine’s not starting, look to see where else in life you’re not getting started). Today’s woman’s point was that if we have strange eating habits, like particular snacking, or not eating breakfast, or not sitting down to eat – then where else might we be “snackin” on life, or not preparing for the day, or not giving enough time to ourselves?

How you do anything is how you do everything.

“The Science of Happiness” workshop in Greenwich, CT (Wed, 5-16-07)

Posted on by Senia

I’ll be teaching a class on Wednesday in Greenwich, CT.
WHEN: 7-9pm
WHERE: Greenwich High School
REGISTER: Here (preferred) or at-the-door.

The Science of Happiness

In 1998, Positive Psychology was launched by then American Psychological Association president Martin Seligman. Positive Psychology is a branch of psychology that studies what makes people happier, more productive, and more successful . What is this new “science of happiness”? In this two-hour workshop, we will go through the basics of the science of happiness and its applications to your life. We will cover physical happiness, mental happiness, emotional happiness, and self happiness. Some particular topics that we will address:

* How does optimism increase focus and affect physical health?
* You are what you say: how can you respond to people most effectively, how can you praise people and children well?
* How can you open up your creativity and decision-making skills?

* How can you create new successful habits?

Senia Maymin, MBA, MAPP, is an Executive Coach and Editor-in-Chief of Positive Psychology News Daily (www.pos-psych.com). In addition to coaching, she has a background in high-tech and finance. She completed her AB in Mathematics and Economics at Harvard University, her MBA at Stanford University, and her Master in Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania (Martin Seligman’s program, the only such master’s degree in the world). Website: www.Senia.com.

What makes a good blog post?

Posted on by Senia

This brief list from SEO for WordPress. Love this list (I’m not always a list-person, but this one I think is just so sharp, and so representative of what it says! Bold added).

1. Good blog posts are laser-focused.
2. Good blog posts are relevant to the target audience.
3. Good blog posts are personable.
4. Good blog posts have original content.
5. Good blog posts are readable.
6. Good blog posts link to other relevant information.
7. Good blog posts have accurate, intriguing titles.

The Brain Yearning to Find a Path

Posted on by Senia

About how Beethoven created Ode to Joy and heard it in his head even when he was deaf (he had mapped hearing so well in his brain):

“[Beethoven] heard it in a way that demonstrates our hunger for human adaptability. … The brain yearning to find a path to the outside world.”

~ John Hockenberry, journalist
At the human2.0 conference at the MIT Media Lab, ten minutes ago.

Marketing to the top people in the field

Posted on by Senia

My favorite Seth Godin post so far this year:

[Rather than helping beginners get better at something,] you’re way better off helping the perfect improve. You’ll also sell a lot more management consulting to well run companies, high end stereos to people with good stereos and yes, church services to the already well behaved.

With Positive Psychology News Daily, we’re targeting people who work in and do research in Positive Psychology as well as people new to the field (“What is Positive Psychology?“) This Seth post is illuminating to me because yes, the people who get most excited about what we’re doing on Pos-Psych.com are the people passionate about the field to begin with: our best comment discussion people, our best guest articles, our best email responses – all come from people in the field and in the process of expanding the field!

Business Game #002: Most, Best, First

Posted on by Senia

This game is about being in-the-moment. Being in-the-moment produces positive emotions. Positive emotions during savoring “create an upward spiral in our experiences, emotions, relationships, mental capacities, etc.,” according to Mirium Ufberg in this article.

Most, Best, First!Have you ever been around a person for whom so many things feel like a new experience? “This is the first time I’ve seen a flower that color!” Have you ever been around a person who tastes an apple pie with you at a restaurant, and says, “This is the best apple pie I’ve had in the past year!” And doesn’t that somehow feel good? Just that experience that you are with that person when she is tasting the best apple pie of the year. That’s a small example, but suppose someone says to you not only, “you made my day,” but “that’s the most wonderful thing I’ve heard all year.” Or what if you’re speaking with a colleague and he says, “Hey Senia, that’s the first time I’ve ever thought about this work situation that way!”

Being around people when they experience their MOST, BEST, FIRST is envigorating. It’s alive. And as Czsikszentmihalyi says, the question he would most want to ask all the people in the world is, “To what degree do you feel alive?”

—–
The Most, Best, First GAME

When: At any time – home or work.

How Long to Play: 10 seconds.

Players: Alone, with one person, or with many.

Materials Needed: None.

Goal of the Game: To savor and find those items that are the “most, best, first” experiences for you. Aim for one per day.

Examples:

  • “Last week in Milan, I had the most delicious gelato I had ever tasted – caramel flavor!”
  • “Today was the first switch-tables-for-each-course dinner networking meeting I’ve ever been to!”
  • “This is the best book I’ve read all year!”
  • You can even just think it to yourself: “This might be best business advice I’ve ever heard on NPR!”

Recognize when you are with someone (or by yourself) and are experiencing a “most, best, first” moment – say it out loudly, celebrate it. Invite that person to realize how incredible it is for you in that moment. You and that person are making history this day, as Seth Godin describes it. You will look back on this day and say, “Remember when I tried pomegranate tea for the first time?”