Dare You To...

At some point over the past year, you likely saw someone -- or many people -- share a photo on social media with the hashtag #100happydays.


It's exactly what you think it is, where you record through photos 100 happy days in your life, in a row.  The movement began from 100happydays.com, which explains the problem of today's "too busy" lifestyles and promises to send you a book of your photos when you complete the challenge (though I never got mine...).  However, the hashtag has ballooned out into a viral exercise in happiness, where people do it just for themselves.

And it's not for nothing, either!!  In my post daring you to write three good things, I explained the psychological research behind intentionally identifying the good things in your daily life.  Practices like writing three good things or taking a snapshot of one thing that made your day happy force you to acknowledge something POSITIVE in your life, even if your day was otherwise so-so or miserabl…

Why do we crave food when we're not hungry?  Why do we take that sip of alcohol or puff of smoke, when we know it is detrimental to our health?  Why are we unable to say "no" to certain behaviors that leave us unhappy in the end?  And, more importantly, how can we modify our brain and behavior to overcome these compulsions and lead happier, freer lives?

These questions, and more, are answered in the brand new book CRAVING: Why We Can't Seem to Get Enough by Omar Manejwala, M.D (Hazelden Publishing, 2013).


Sure, it's got a catchy title and attention-grabbing cover, but this book is packed with science, research, and useful insights about cravings.  Manejwala defines "craving" as a "strong desire that, if unfulfilled, produces a powerful physical and mental suffering" (p. 2).  Throughout the book, this definition is shown to include food cravings, nicotine cravings, shopping cravings, OCD, and addiction to alcohol and drugs.  As Chapter 1: Crav…