Nordstom’s is getting a lot of publicity this year for their stance on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Namely, they are going against the decorations trend and are choosing to wait on Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving is over. People everywhere are enjoying this and re-posting their signs. This past year, I saw Christmas decorations in WalMart before Halloween…

Today marks Columbus Day in the United States (as well as other countries who pay it observance, such as Spain and several Latin American countries) and Thanksgiving in Canada. These holidays have shared the same date – the second Monday in October – for exactly 40 years, and considering that many people on both sides…

Whenever we think about losing weight, a deliberate practice of gratitude is definitely not at the top of our action plan. In fact, with our national obsession about calories and exercise, the notion about being grateful as a weight loss strategy might even sound ridiculous. Besides, you might think you don’t have much to…

I met someone recently who knows how to live. You know the type: self-possessed, confident, the kind of person who energizes a room. The kind of person who is alive to everything around them, who makes everyone they focus their attention on feel they could do more, they could be more. A natural-born leader who brings…

A Personal Story I went to a Catholic boys school in Blackpool in the North of England.  In my first year in the senior school I was a nerdy kid, with spectacles and short trousers.  For one hour a week the class had elocution lessons from an old, portly teacher called Mr Priestley. He had…

It’s Thanksgiving time in the US, a time for reflection on the blessings that make our lives worth living. Over the years, Lifehack’s writers have has a lot to say on the topic of gratitude, giving thanks, and – of course – Thanksgiving. The Power of Giving Thanks Change the World, One Thank-You Note at a

“There are two ways to increase your wealth. Increase your means or decrease your wants. The best is to do both at the same time.” – Benjamin Franklin Misery shouldn’t be the price for ambition. Somewhere I believe many people got the idea that to want more, you have to be dissatisfied…

Tom Chiarella at Esquire became fed up with the haphazard nature we tend to throw thank-you’s around and decided he would make a statement. A hundred or so statements. Over the course of a month or so, Tom would send personal thank-you notes; physical, handwritten paper notes; to people he wanted to thank. Not only people…

“We thank you for our daily bread” – People all over the world of varied religions thank the Lord on a daily basis in their prayers and actions. We teach our children to say thank you as soon as the little angles can talk. But do we understand what these two words really mean. Saying…

Happy Thanksgiving! In many homes across the globe people are giving thanks, and talking about those people, places and things they appreciate and are most grateful for. It’s a wonderful Thanksgiving Day practice, one that would transform us all into kinder, gentler, and more appreciative human beings if only we did it more often. Seven days ago…