I love working with children. Unlike adults, their dreams have no ceiling. It’s inspiring to listen to their goals and ideas.Children start dreaming at an early age. They think about their future career, their wealth, their education, and so on. And their dreams can be huge.

As far as careers go, some will choose the typical police officer, fire fighter, or doctor. Others will choose Astronaut, Olympian, or President. If we’re talking about wealth, some will aspire to simply “have money.” Others will seek a business empire or the ability to retire at age 40 or younger.

As parents, we have more control over whether our children achieve their dreams than we might think. For kids, parents are inspiration, motivation, and leadership.

You might think that your child’s dreams are unrealistic. That’s the negative adult inside you. You should believe in your child because they believe in themselves; and you’re probably the only other support they have.

All that’s left to discuss is the how:
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Life is full of pressure. Worries about your health, terrorist threats on the news, financial troubles, conflicts at work and family concerns. Without a center in your life, those pressures are likely to push you around. I’ve found taking time to center myself every day gives me the strength to do my best.

Centering is often seen as a religious or spiritual activity. Centering yourself around spiritual beliefs or rituals is perfectly fine. But if you aren’t a particularly religious person, or situations have caused you to change your faith, you might find it hard to center yourself.

I’m not a religious person, but I still find time to center myself every day. Here are a few of the things worth centering on:

The Now. Focusing yourself on what you have instead of what you don’t have. Focusing on present actions instead of future worries and past regrets. Focusing on what is.

Your Dreams. Center yourself on the direction you want to take your life. Re-reading any goals I’ve written down helps me reaffirm what I want from life instead of responding to cynicism and frustration.

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Great men are always of a nature originally melancholy. -Aristotle

We live in a society obsessed with happiness. This site is no exception. We’re constantly prodded with questions:

• Are you happy?
• Why not?
• Why don’t you do something to make yourself happy?

Sadness is perceived as unnatural and malignant. We’re encouraged to do whatever it takes to stop feeling sad. Frequently this means using anti-depressant drugs or other substances to physically change our mood.

But what’s the hidden cost of eradicating sadness?

Author Eric G. Wilson provides a discussion of what we might be losing in his book, Against Happiness. Listen to this brief interview on NPR to get the gist.

Wilson argues that sadness isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it goes hand in hand with creative genius. Countless thinkers (Hemingway and Lincoln to name a couple) have been prone to bouts of extreme sadness.

Sadness contributes to creative achievement as well as tragic demise. Would the world be better off if Hemingway had popped Prozac and lived to be 100?

I don’t know. And this isn’t meant to be an attack against anti-depressant medication or the people that need it. But what about the marginal people who experience the full spectrum of emotion?

Why are we so down on feeling down?

Next time you’re overcome by a melancholy mood, consider this:

• What is the cause of your sadness? Often the answer to this question can be the realization you need to make a change.
• How does sadness allow you to appreciate the pain of others?
• Does sadness make the happy times feel happier? Does it not have it’s own beauty?

Image by Joao Grando

You probably own a car. Perhaps even a motorbike. One thing is for certain though: if you are reading this you are the proud owner of a brain.

Why is it that we care about how to keep our cars in top shape (oil changes, tire pressure, frequent cleaning…) more than about ensuring our brains - the physical basis for our minds - perform at their peak?

A spate of recent news coverage on brain fitness and “brain training” has missed an important constituency: younger people. Recent advancements in brain science have as tremendous implications for teenagers and adults of all ages as they do for seniors.

In a recent conversation with neuroscientist Yaakov Stern of Columbia University, he related how surprised he was when, years ago, a reporter from Seventeen magazine requested an interview. The reporter told Dr. Stern that he wanted to write an article to motivate kids to stay in school and not to drop out, in order to start building their Cognitive Reserve early and age more gracefully.

What is the Cognitive Reserve?

Research since the 90s shows that individuals who lead mentally stimulating lives, through their education, their jobs, and also their hobbies, build a “Cognitive Reserve” in their brains. Stimulating the brain can literally generate new neurons and strengthen their connections which results in better brain performance and in having a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s symptoms.
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