By Angelica Ribeiro, PhD
Imagine this: You get a new job, which makes you very happy. But soon you realize that the job involves the following aspects, to mention a few:
After experiencing all those issues on a daily basis, you notice that they negatively impact your well-being and happiness level. What do you do then?
By Angelica Ribeiro, Ph.D.
Being aware of our professional purpose can play an important role in leading us to a happier life at work. That’s because our purpose can reveal elements of our identity that encourage us to live up to our values and create meaningful habits. Let me explain.
My professional purpose is to contribute to (a) language learners’ education by teaching, researching, and sharing knowledge with educators and (b) other people’s happiness by writing books and sharing positivity. After identifying my professional purpose, I realized that it revealed three main elements of my identity: a professor, a researcher, and a writer.
By Angelica Ribeiro, Ph.D.
As a writer, you have likely experienced negative emotions at some point. Whether it is receiving a rejection letter for your manuscript, facing criticism for your ideas, or getting stuck in your writing, it is normal to feel this way. The key is to learn how to cope with these emotions rather than trying to eliminate them.
Social connections can be a great tool for managing negative emotions like stress, frustration, and disappointment. Robert Waldinger, the leading author of The Good Life, explains how warm social connections can regulate your negative emotions:
By Angelica Ribeiro, PhD
In her book The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky points out that about 40 percent of our happiness comes from intentional activities. She writes, “Our intentional, effortful activities have a powerful effect on how happy we are, over and above the effects of our set points and the circumstances in which we find ourselves” (Lyubomirsky, 2008, p. 64). That means we can create happiness by being mindful of our actions. Regarding our professional lives, one action we can take is to attend conferences related to our fields, such as the TAA conference.
After attending the TAA conference in Nashville, I realized that it goes beyond simply providing a platform for people to share knowledge. It encourages attendees to engage in what Lyubomirsky (2008) calls “happiness activities.”
By Angelica Ribeiro, PhD
Do you want to feel good after a writing session? If so, here’s what you should do.
As writers, we should consider three essential writing practices: Write daily or regularly, write in short chunks of time, keep a writing log.
By Angelica Ribeiro, PhD
Do you have a writing accountability partner? If not, you should consider having one. A writing partner can help you more than simply holding you accountable for your writing. Here’s what they can also do.
According to Shawn Achor, author of Big Potential, not only are social connections the best predictor of happiness, but they are also one of the greatest predictors of success. One reason for that is the fact that social support can positively impact your perception of challenges.
