I almost killed someone walking their dog and I realized mindfulness actually works.

From the Happiness PhD Project with Jackson Kerchis...

It was a Friday afternoon in college.

I was on my way home jamming out in my new (used) convertible. I whipped into a side street just as a guy and his dog were starting to cross. I slammed on the brakes. And he jumped backwards.

We froze – staring at each other in mutual startle, confusion, and anger.

He started mouthing and gesturing at me. Autopilot took over - I gave it right back. Next thing I know I threw open my door and started out after him.

As he turned around I paused. And said - “hey that was my bad”.

*Hard Stop*

He couldn’t believe his ears. Frankly I couldn’t believe mine. "I came in too fast. It was my bad. I'm sorry." He said it was all good and we parted ways.

As I got in my car I thought – what the f--k was that?!

Then I realized – that’s mindfulness. That’s meditation. It's working on you even when you don't know it.

Meditation isn’t like running where you see faster mile times or step on the scale and see you lost weight.

With meditation, progress is invisible. It’s not a 1-to-1 relationship. It’s nonlinear. Progress goes slowly, then all at once.

When you practice mindfulness you might be transformed and not even notice... Until life happens – and you realize you’ve transformed for the better.

In addition to longer articles — every 2 weeks I share a short lesson or thought on happiness like the one above.

Here are the latest resources from The Happiness PhD Project…

The At-Home Meditation Retreat is one of my favorite ways to deepen my practice. If you’re considering going deeper into meditation you may want to try this. »HERE« is a guide on how to pull off an at-home retreat.

While we’re on the topic… If you’re thinking of a new year’s resolution around mindfulness/meditation and haven’t been able to make it stick, this book is perfect — How to Stick to Meditation.

Did you know you there’s something called “The 90-second Rule”?

It’s an idea from Harvard neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. It means emotional stresses only exist in the body for about 90 seconds if we allow them to dissipate and don’t reactivate. »HERE« is short video on how to control emotions using that rule.

Let me know what you think or request a topic by replying or commenting!

Your happiness nerd,

Jackson K.