Author: Stephanie Hills

  • Leadership and Self-Deception. Getting Out of the Box

    Elske writes: The book that impacted my personal life the most was: Leadership and Self-Deception. Getting out of the box, by the Arbinger Institute.  It is a fictional story that illustrates wisdom and principles about our relationships and conflict. Funny enough I actually bought it for an employee – but got curious and read it myself. I never did pass […]

  • Book review competition

    Send in an original one-paragraph review of a book that has inspired you or helped you become happier.  Entries go in the draw to win a copy of Higher Purpose: How to find more inspiration, meaning and purpose in your life by Robert Holden. The winning review will be featured in a Happy Nation newsletter. […]

  • The gift of listening

    Have you ever left a social gathering feeling drained? Chances are you didn’t get to express yourself authentically. Perhaps you felt you had to make small talk or pretend to be interested in topics that didn’t excite you. Have you ever come away from a meeting feeling frustrated and demoralised? I’ll bet you weren’t given […]

  • Higher Purpose: How to find more inspiration, meaning, and purpose in your life.

    Higher Purpose: How to Find More Inspiration, Meaning, and Purpose in Your Life                                                                                 by Robert Holden At some stage we all stop to wonder why we are here. Do I have some destiny to discover and fulfil, or is it up to me to create my life’s meaning? Robert Holden addresses these questions with […]

  • Some quirky quotes

    “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” ~ Albert Einstein “If you live to be one hundred, you’ve got it made. Very few people die past that age.”                                           ~ George Burns “The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to […]

  • Comfort discourages heroism

    Heroes overcome obstacles. Whether it’s a passerby who risks danger to save others in a one-off incident, or a human rights campaigner working tirelessly over a lifetime, a hero doesn’t take the easy road. Most of us don’t aspire to be heroes; we leave that for exceptional human beings. We prefer to mind our own […]

  • School counsellors do a great job

    Gizelle writes: “I would like to make a shoutout to my school counsellors who are so kind and work sooooo hard to help us here at my school. They are the most caring and hard-working people I’ve ever met. I know one of them reads Happy Nation newsletters and tells us all about it.” Thanks […]

  • The art of medicine

    An artist rang the gallery owner to ask if there had been any interest in her paintings that were on display. “Well, I have good news and bad news,” said the gallery owner. “The good news is that a gentleman noticed your work and wondered if it would appreciate in value after your death. I […]

  • Take a moment

    When something confronting or difficult happens, we might react with anger, upset, fear or despondency.  Our reactions can seem so automatic that we fail to recognise that moment – perhaps a split second – between what happened and our response. It’s during that moment that our response is determined. Living a more satisfying and self-determined […]

  • Nature Connection: A Handbook of Practices for Therapy and Self-Exploration

    Nature Connection: a handbook of practices for therapy and self-exploration                                    by Margaret Kerr and Jana Lemke This thin volume, small enough almost to fit into one hand, contains a plethora of ideas for connecting with nature. From crawling through long grass and imagining life from the perspective of a small creature, to sitting quietly under […]