e-newsletter 21: Ten Things Science Says Will Make You Happy

In the last few years, psychologists and researchers have been digging up hard data on a question previously left to philosophers: what makes us happy? Researchers have studied people from all over the world to find out how things like money, attitude, culture, memory, health, altruism, and our day-to-day habits affect our well-being. The emerging field of positive psychology is bursting with new findings that suggest your actions can have a significant effect on your happiness and satisfaction with life. Here are 10 scientifically proven strategies for getting happy:

1. Savour Everyday Moments: Pause now and then to smell a rose or watch children at play. Study participants who took time to ‘savor’ ordinary events that they normally hurried through, or to think back on pleasant moments from their day, showed significant increases in happiness and reductions in depression.
2. Avoid Comparisons: While keeping up with the Joneses is part of our culture, comparing ourselves with others can be damaging to happiness and self-esteem. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, focusing on our own personal achievement leads to greater satisfaction.
3. Put Money Low on the List: People who put money high on their priority list are more at risk for depression, anxiety and low self-esteem, according to researchers* their findings hold true across nations and cultures. The more we seek satisfaction in material goods, the less we find them there. The satisfaction has a short half-life — it’s very fleeting. Money-seekers also score lower on tests of vitality and self-actualization.
4. Have Meaningful Goals: People who strive for something significant, whether it’s learning a new craft or raising moral children, are far happier than those who don’t have strong dreams or aspirations. As humans, we actually require a sense of meaning to thrive. Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable.
5. Take Initiative at Work: How happy you are at work depends in part on how much initiative you take. When we express creativity, help others, suggest improvements, or do additional tasks on the job, we make our work more rewarding and feel more in control.
6. Make Friends, Treasure Family: Happier people tend to have good families, friends and supportive relationships* but it’s not enough to be the life of the party if you’re surrounded by shallow acquaintances. We don’t just need relationships; we need close ones that involve understanding and caring.
7. Smile, Even When You Don’t Feel Like It: It sounds simple, but it works. Happy people see possibilities, opportunities and success. When they think of the future, they are optimistic, and when they review the past, they tend to savor the high points. Even if you weren’t born looking at the glass as half-full, with practice, a positive outlook can become a habit.
8. Say Thank You Like You Mean It: People who keep gratitude journals on a weekly basis are healthier, more optimistic and more likely to make progress toward achieving personal goals. Research revealed that people who write ‘gratitude letters’ to someone who has made a difference in their lives score higher on happiness and lower on depression* and the effect lasts for weeks.
9. Get Out and Exercise: Research shows that exercise may be just as effective as drugs in treating depression, without all of the side effects and expense. Other research indicates that in addition to health benefits, regular exercise offers a sense of accomplishment and opportunity for social interaction, releases feel-good endorphins, and boosts self-esteem.
10. Give It Away, Give It Away Now: Make altruism and giving part of your life, and be purposeful about it. Research says that helping a neighbor, volunteering or donating goods and services results in a ‘helper’s high’, and you get more health benefits than you would from exercise or quitting smoking. Listening to a friend, passing on your skills, celebrating other’s successes, and forgiveness also contributes to happiness.

Food Allergies: Do You Know How to Keep Your Children Safe?

Many thanks goes out to Dentonia Park Co-operative Nursery School for providing us with this very informative tipsheet!

Tip Sheet lists the following:

• Common Food Allergens
• When Looking for Safe Foods, Follow These Tips
• Safe List (but be sure to double check the label every time!)
• Suggestions for Party Days
• Companies Who Will List the Top 9 Allergens (even if they may only be present in trace amounts) — these are just the ones that Dentonia Park Co-operative Nursery School has contacted, but there are more

Recipes:

• Dairy-Free Chocolate Cake (The Joy of Cooking)
• Ultra-Orange Cake (The Joy of Cooking)
• Quick Beer Bread (The Joy of Cooking)

Tip sheet on the PCPC website, members’ section. www.pcpcontario.org

Child Passenger Safety from Safe Kids Canada!

Car crashes kill more children than any other injury. Every year almost 100 children die in car crashes. Imagine* this is equal to about four classes full of children. Every day another three children are in hospitals because they were badly hurt in a crash.

But you can do something to protect your child. Choose the right car seat or booster seat and use it correctly on every ride.

Do you have questions about which car seat or booster seat is right for your child? Maybe you want to know if you are using it correctly. Do you have question about seat belts, air bags, or used car seats? You will find answers to many of your questions on the Safe Kids Canada website (http://www.safekidscanada.ca/SKCForParents/section.asp?s=Safety+Information+by+Topic&sID=10774&ss=Child+Passenger+Safety&ssID=11330)

Congratulations to Ward 9 Co-operative Playschool on their 35th Anniversary (December 5th)!

Best wishes on your continued success!

Read All About It! How Will the HST Affect Your Organization? Let Us Tell You!

In June 2010, the Province of Ontario will do away with its Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) will come into effect. The stated intent of the Ontario Government is that the impact of HST on our nonprofit sector is revenue neutral. Indeed, the provincial government made a significant effort to ensure this was so by establishing an 82% rebate rate for the PST portion of the HST. The government, however, did not have all the information to truly understand the full impact of HST on the sector.

As a result, the Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN), an incubated project of CSI, convened a cross-sectoral work group, which included a tax expert and lawyer, to examine the potential impact of the harmonization of the PST/GST on the sector and its public. Our HST Constellation wrote a detailed brief as well as a guide to help nonprofits assess what the impact will be to their organizations. If you are interested, these documents can be downloaded from: http://bit.ly/3GD90R.
Please read this site and review your centre plan with the How to Assess the Impact of the HST on your Organization link at the bottom of the article.

Time to look at the impact for your centre and put the needed monies into the membership fees for the year of 2010-11.

Childlife.ca!

GET MOTIVATED!

«Fantastic!» «Fun» Useful» «Practical» and Really uplifting!»
PCPC’S AGM heard dynamic speaker Mary Stuart present Motivation and Passion in Life with Kids!

Mark January 19, 2010 on your calendars.

TELECONFERENCE: GET MOTIVATED!
With Mary Stuart

FREE!! TO ALL PCPC MEMBERS!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW!
For this unique and exciting presentation!

More information to follow!

Mary Stuart, E.C.E.D.H, RECE,
Director, Childlife … inspire their best!
www.childlife.ca, justask@childlife.ca
905.420.0799

Behaviour + Understanding = Strategies that work!

What’s happening in… your Centre? your Community? your Province? your Country? your World?

December 5th is International Volunteer Day! This day hopes to heighten people’s and governments’ awareness of voluntary contributions. It also focuses on stimulating people to offer their services as volunteers, both at home and abroad. Over the years, governments, businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals contribute to International Volunteer Day through various activities including:

• Voluntary community projects
• Parades, marches and rallies
• Award ceremonies for volunteers who have made significant contributions to their communities
• ‘Time donation’ campaigns that involve people pledging hours of voluntary service to specific projects
• Companies launching voluntary programs as part of their corporate responsibility
• Volunteer competitions

PCPC can help you ‘thank’ your volunteers for their hard work throughout the year. We have art prints available for your Centre to use as thank you gifts that are terrific framed or dry-mounted. Watch for the upcoming announcement on how to purchase. Please contact the PCPC for more information (info@pcpcontario.org).

Fundraising Ideas

Remember that all of these fundraising ideas, and many more can be found in the Governance Series Workshops (Member’s Only Section) of the PCPC website www.pcpcontario.org

Flea Markets: This type of event can raise quite a lot of funds. Your Centre provides the space for tables, as well as publicity, to people interested in selling their goods. The renters man their own tables; while you simply charge for their use. Although this type of event sounds rather easy, it does require some research and a lot of publicity.

Get to know potential funders!

The Ormston Family Charitable Foundation
Address: 551 Colonial Drive, Waterloo, Ontario, N2K 1Z7
Contact: Charles Ormston, Secretary
Funding Interest: Children
Granting Region: Kitchener-Waterloo Area

The Paloma Foundation
Address: 4 King Street West, Suite 1230, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 1B6
Contact: Lance McIntosh, Secretary-Treasurer
Telephone/Fax: (416) 640-0503 (telephone); (416) 640-0680 (fax)
Email/Website: acole@palomafoundation.ca and http://www.palomafoundation.ca
Funding Interest: Early Childhood Education and Development; Preschools; Special Education; Autism; Child Development; Disabled Children
Granting Region: Toronto Area

The Polar Foundation
Address: 372 Bay Street, 21/F, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2W9
Telephone/Fax: (416) 367-4364 (telephone); (416) 367-0564 (fax)
Funding Interest: Children
Granting Region: Toronto Area

Did you know? (Fun facts and quotes)

Cranberry Jell-O is the only flavor that contains real fruit flavoring!

Going Green!

Extra Ideas…

1. Close the Refrigerator Door. By leaving it open for just a few extra seconds, you waste a lost of energy. Decide what you want before you open the door, then get it and close it right away!
2. Avoid fast-food. Most fast-food is over-packaged and most fast-food companies are responsible for producing mountains of trash. By avoiding fast-food whenever possible, you’ll help reduce this needless waste.
3. Don’t Buy Aerosols. There are environmentally better packages for most products. Aerosols can’t be recycled — which means that they are guaranteed to end up in landfills — and some of their ingredients contribute to air pollution. Instead of aerosols, look for spray bottles, liquids and powders (all in packaging that can be recycled).

PCPC member schools

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New and recommended

e-newsletter 25: Bill 168, preventing violence in the workplace · June 17
Free seminars on Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) · May 18
e-newsletter 24: Full Day Learning · May 18
Full-Day Learning Act passed: update and links · April 29
PCPC centre featured in Star article · February 8

Going Green!

All 'Going Green' articles on one page »

Going Green 23 · January 15
Going Green 22 · December 17
Going Green 21 · December 4
Going Green 20 · November 20
Going Green 19: A Brief Overview of “Green IT for Dummies” · October 27

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