Author: Stephanie Hills

  • It’s official – pets make us happy

    Studies show that owning a pet can increase self esteem, develop social skills and help people make friends. Families with pets tend to feel closer and play together more often. A strong bond with a pet has all sorts of benefits to health and emotional wellbeing. Studies with elderly people showed that owning a cat […]

  • Financial relief in an emotional time

    Recently a student friend of mine was devastated when her partner, who lives in another town, was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. The ensuing few weeks have necessitated a lot of travelling back and forth to be by his side, as well as many phone calls and texts to let people know of his progress. […]

  • Gut Feelings and Intuition

    When making a decision, do you go with your gut? Many people confuse gut feelings with ‘intuition’, when in fact they’re two different things. Gut feelings come easily and naturally – they’re your body’s pre-programmed response to stimuli that you’ve encountered before. Candace Pert’s book ‘Molecules of Emotion’ explains how our body chemistry works to […]

  • The Little Things

    Let’s not forget to notice the little things that people do for one another every day. Here are a few things I’ve witnessed people doing for each other recently: Buying lunch as a thank you Making coffees for workmates Baking a birthday cake Preparing a meal for friends Organising a farewell party Giving away fruit […]

  • Blonde kidnapper

    Needing money desperately, a blonde decided to kidnap a child and hold him for ransom. She went to the local playground, grabbed a kid randomly, took him behind a building, and told him, “I’ve kidnapped you.” Then she wrote a note saying, “I’ve kidnapped your kid. Tomorrow morning, put $10,000 in a paper bag and […]

  • Returning lost keys

    Walking through the car park at Chartwell last week, a friend came across a set of car keys. Although she was late for a meeting, she insisted on turning around and taking the keys back inside to the information desk. It turns out a relative of hers had lost a wallet at Chartwell some time […]

  • Happiness and singing

    You might’ve noticed that you’re more likely to sing in the shower when you’re happy, but did you know that regular singing actually makes you happier? Research conducted in Australia, Germany and the UK in 2008 showed that members of choirs tend to be far more satisfied with their lives than the average person. The […]

  • Cleaning up the community

    A group of enthusiastic young girls approached me in Jansen Park recently. They were picking up rubbish, in the hope of encouraging others to “pay it forward” by doing something similar. I was happy to take home the recyclable items they’d collected and put them in my bin. Well done girls – great community spirit.

  • A trouble shared is a trouble halved

    Being happy means spending more time focussing on the good things than the bad, and we spread ripples of happiness when we do this in conversation with others. Complaining about how bad your life is only brings other people down as well as yourself. However, if something is weighing you down despite your efforts to […]

  • A good Samaritan

    Murray, one of the stage managers at the Parachute Festival, was heading home at 1.30am after the first long day, when he saw a woman standing by a car outside the gates. Clearly she was waiting for someone who hadn’t turned up. Although extremely tired, Murray stopped to help. He took the woman onto the […]