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You might think it's a bit odd that a happiness expert is writing about being unhappy? However the obsession the media and government seem to have with happiness has lead me to want to set the record straight. It’s OK to be unhappy - even on International Day of Happiness. Let me start by saying I am a firm believer in...

Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, once said: "Appreciate everything your associates do. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune." Sam is right. Everyone likes praise and recognition, and all good leaders understand this. Academics have even studied the links between reward and productivity. In one study, The...

If you believe the news as reported in some papers, the UK is in fine economic shape. Business is booming and the economy is doing better than expected following the decision to leave the EU. Just last week the IMF issued a report report in which it predicted the UK economy will grow by 2% this year, up from 1.6% in...

In a Channel 4 report, working practices were revealed at a JD Sports distribution centre that would make a Victorian workhouse owner shudder. Workers at the retailer’s Rochdale warehouse can apparently be sacked after three minor misdemeanours. Offences include sitting down, chewing gum, being late or having a mobile phone. The report also claimed that employees are not paid while they...

Last year the national happiness awards gave us at Laughology HQ the opportunity to see the innovative work forward-thinking schools are doing at the cutting edge of positive psychology. Here we share just some of that information with you: Childhood is changing. Children grow up in a world defined by fast-paced technological development and live lives increasingly online in spaces adults...

Acknowledge and embrace imperfections. Hiding from your weaknesses means you’ll never overcome themView challenges as opportunities. Having a growth mindset means relishing opportunities for self-improvement.Learn more about how to fail well.Try different learning tactics.There’s no one-size-fits-all model for learning. What works for one person may not work for you. Learn about learning strategies.Get to know more about brain plasticity.We know this...

Blue Monday; a New Order song, a colour pallet from B&Q and the scientifically- proven most depressing day of the year. Only one of these things is true and in my opinion worth paying any attention to (it’s the New Order song btw). The third Monday in January is known as Blue Monday. Apparently, it is the most miserable day in...

On her first day in office last July the new PM, Mrs T, stood outside Downing Street and said the crisis facing mental health services was one of the "burning injustices" she was going to address. Today in a major domestic policy speech Theresa May vowed she would do more to tackle inequalities and outlined a series of measures to improve...

Since the Paralympics has finished and I am still awash with feelings (team GB’s most successful ever), of inspiration, motivation and euphoria at having witnessed event after event full of athletes pushing the boundaries of what mind and body can do. Day after day I heard incredible stories of individuals who either through illness, accidents, or birth had battled through the...