For the record, I am no dietician, but I believe these make a good combination of pretty much all the nutrients we need.  I would love to hear some discussion of this, so please provide some feedback in the comment space below.

• Broccoli
• Eggs
• Salmon
• Almonds
• Blueberries
• Milk (1%)
• Multigrain bread
• Cantaloupes
• Garlic
• Beans (not sure which type)

Of course, the reality of being trapped on a desert island would be that you would have mostly fish and leaves to eat, but this is just for fun.

This is a quotations book, and I am joined by a number of people you have probably heard of, such as Mary Lou Retton, Victor Hug and Suzanne Somers, as well as fresh, new voices.  You can find my quote on page 50 (actually, it is most of page 50).

As you can see, Amazon.com does not yet even have a cover image of the book, so you can be one of the first to pick up a copy.  (The copies do already exist - I am staring at one right now on my desk.) 

This handy little book makes a great gift.

LOVE

Love makes the world go ‘round.

When you are falling in love, of course, it feels like the world is
spinning and at any minute you’ll lose your balance and fall to the
spinning ground.

But real love, the slow-burn, steady and caring kind, is what keeps
things moving, what keeps us working together and helping each other.

Without this love, each of us would be an island, left to fend for
himself. Lonely. Lost. Loveless.

If you want a Daily Dose of Happiness by email every day, go here.

There si a more complete review of the book here, but they message for you today is that we all are driven down the road of circumstance, but we all have the option of turning the steering wheel.  Yes, some things happen that really suck.  It is up to you to decide just how badly they will suck and how happy you will choose to be, despite circumstances.

Remember that old Randy Newman song?  Good thing I don’t always pay attention to the lyrics.  And I think this diminutive giant will also ignore the finding of a new Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index study.

The folks at Gallup have come up with data showing that below average height men are angrier, more irritable and more stressed than average.  On the other hand, they found that taller guys feel more happiness and enjoyment in their lives.

Well they didn’t survey me!

Here is a little something the folks at Gallup have to say about height and money:

“Alternatively, each additional inch of height has the same effect on reported life satisfaction as a four percent increase in family income.”

Since we know that money can’t buy happiness for most people, although it does alleviate frustrations and stress for those who are well-below the poverty line, does this mean that a really short person who gains an inch (high heels, anyone?) gets happier, but a taller person would not benefit from growing? 

Probably.  But Gallup doesn’t say.  (Why don’t they ask the really interesting questions?)

What Gallup does say is that taller people make more money than short people  (NEWSFLASH: High ROI from high heels!), so could that explain why they are happier?

“People with more education have higher income and higher status jobs, and they earn more money. Money, in turn, is a powerful predictor of life satisfaction.”

 Gee, Gallup.  Now my education and income aren’t good enough for you either?

Ladies, the news is a little less grim for you, perhaps because you are not expected to be as tall as I am, so at least you have an excuse.  But taller women still get all the good stuff, education, status, income, just with slightly less of a complex if you aren’t named America’s richest man this year.

Read into the report what you want, but I’m not paying attention.  I can make my own happiness.  And you can too!

You must stand up for what you believe in, but be prepared for people to be angry and to disagree.  If you want to be liked by everyone, then you will stand for nothing.

This is a message about integrity.  We don’t have to be cruel about expressing our beliefs - it’s not “us” against “them” - but our actions must reflect our beliefs if we are to maintain our integrity.  People who suspend their beliefs and who act in opposition to them are rarely very happy.

The problem with Mr. Garver is probably not so much his grumpiness, but his poor sense of direction.  See what else he says, “The reason you can’t find the kind of book you’re looking for is that all the self-help books about how to be happy fill up the shelves. Ironically, this makes some of us quite unhappy.”

Fortunately for us and for the sake of clarity, he does specify what kind of book you’re looking for.  A real book.  Hey, those are his words, not mine.

If books about happiness and self-help are not what he is looking for, why is he looking in the self-help section?  I have to assume he is simply lost, because obviously he won’t find any real books there.  Either that, or he is a very grumpy man with a great sense of theatrics (not to mention irony).  And nothing makes a grumpy person grumpier than a happy person saying to him, “Smile!”  (Yes, grumpy people really, really hate happy photographers!)

If the bookstores would kindly provide visitors with maps when they enter the store, people who don’t want to be happy can avoid accidentally finding themselves surrounded by all those threatening smiley faces.  And they can get on with the business of finding “real books”, which apparently bookstores don’t seem to stock anymore.

That oughta solve the problem.

Hmm…I wonder what he would think of a happiness blog. 

A study by the National Literacy Trust shows that men and women alike are less likely to marry, less likely to own a home, more likely to live still with their parents and less likely to feel satisfied with life if they can’t read.

Of course, you always have to be careful, because statistics can say pretty much whatever you want.  Lower literacy means a lower paying job in most cases, which might in turn explain the findings.  Or lower levels of happiness in certain people might lead then to read less and learn less.  Cause and effect are not always easy to establish. 

That being said, literacy facilitates so much that a focus on increasing a person’s literacy should help them in many facets of their lives, most likely also in their happiness (being able to read is very empowering).

And if literacy in one language is empowering, what about literacy in several?  

For those interested in reading the report in its entirety:
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Research/literacy_changes_lives.html

I can already tell you that I did not get done much of what I planned
to do this summer. I did not plant most of the flower gardens with my
daughters, nor a number of trees I had planned. The weeds made a
mockery of our vacation (“Ha. You think you can just go away and
we’ll wither on our own? No way, we wanna grow!) And all those
hiking and canoe trips? I never even got around to acquiring the
canoe.

But I did have a great summer and I did do a lot of amazing things.
It’s OK for plans to go astray. Do your best to make new plans as
you go, and make sure they are the best plans you can do with your
time. In the end, you will look back with no regrets.

 This was another reprint from A Daily Dose of Happiness.

Lyubomirsky and her colleagues analyzed studies on identical twins and other research and came to the conclusion that happiness is 50% genetic, 40% intentional and 10% circumstantial. “Half of your predisposition toward happiness you can’t change,” she says. “It’s in your genes. Your circumstances — where you live, your health, your work, your marriage — can be tough to change. But most people are surprised that circumstances don’t account for as much of their happiness as they think.”

Just for the record, there really is not an accurate way to measure happiness, because ti is such a subjective issue.  However, a 50-50 divide between genetics and environment is generally considered a good rough estimate by more happiness researchers.  Depending on the effort you make or do not make, I am sure that number is very elastic, but let’s play with that number for now. 

The L.A. Times feature continues on other pages, too.  For instance, there is an excellent list of handy tips for “cultivating happiness” .

 Happy reading.