Tactics Archives - The Happy Philosopher

Get the Big Things Right

The Happy Philosopher — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 16:02:51 +0000

The other day I was chatting with a friend who was passing through town. He, his wife and toddler were currently homeless. Not in the cardboard box under the bridge sense, but simply chronic nomads. It was a wonderful life of travel and adventure, but with another child on the way they were thinking of …

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Stacking Functions

The Happy Philosopher — Sun, 20 Aug 2017 14:54:22 +0000

Everything we do has a cost in terms of time, money or energy. This concept of opportunity cost is an important one. The more efficiently we use our resources, the more we have available for other things. In this way efficiency is an important tool we use to increase our freedom. I loosely define …

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The Power of Eating Together

The Happy Philosopher — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 15:57:08 +0000

Eating I’ve discussed eating before in a previous blog post. It was about changing my diet and experimenting with what made my body feel good. There are other important aspects of eating though. Food is not just physical nourishment, but psychologic nourishment as well. Eating a meal has a social, communal and deeply spiritual …

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Make Your Life Upgrade Proof

The Happy Philosopher — Sun, 04 Jun 2017 00:41:51 +0000

There are two ways of being happy: We may either diminish our wants or augment our means- either will do- the result is the same. But if you are wise, you will do both at the same time; and if you are very wise you will do both in such a way as to augment …

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Alligators and Kittens

The Happy Philosopher — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 14:54:01 +0000

I really like kittens. They are cute, cuddly, and in general good company. They are easy to take care of. Eventually they grow up into cats which are usually cute as well, although perhaps a little passive aggressive at times. They eat very little, will use a litter box with no prompting and will even …

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A Guide to Living in Trump’s America

The Happy Philosopher — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 00:26:26 +0000

As I sit down to write this the United States has a new president. Donald J. Trump is now the 45th president of the United States. If your Facebook feed is anything like mine, this has caused some people quite a bit of distress. My only wish for you is happiness, so I have created …

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Why The News Is Making You Miserable

The Happy Philosopher — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 16:52:54 +0000

Prior to medical school I became interested in ‘alternative medicine’. This was a rather loose term that basically included anything that was not traditional medicine or generally taught in a typical western medical school. I picked up a book and actually went to a lecture by this guy Dr. Andrew Weil, a jovial Harvard trained …

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The Power of No

The Happy Philosopher — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 15:45:31 +0000

The Power of No No is the most powerful word in the English language. Ask any 3 year old. This is a major part of our development as humans, to realize we have the power to resist rather than simply go along with everything the world wants from us. It is an awesome super …

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Decluttering 2.0 – Beyond The Basics

The Happy Philosopher — Tue, 10 May 2016 15:50:11 +0000

In a previous article I described my experiences with the Konmari method of decluttering. Eliminating unnecessary material things from your life is great, truly, but decluttering 2.0 is realizing there are many other things that are perhaps even more important to cull. The material things are easy because they are seen. Non-material clutter can be …

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Are New Cars Getting Cheaper?

The Happy Philosopher — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 02:06:58 +0000

We all know the cost of goods and services tends to rise over time, what we commonly refer to as inflation. Well as you know, I like to challenge conventional thinking and I had a buying experience that adds a bit more nuance to the discussion. Last year I finally decided to purchase a …

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