Spend time with your mates

What a night! Spent last night with a group of Big Peacers at the wonderful and inspirational launch of Planet Positive. Steve Malkin, my wonderful Big Leaping client has created an way of us all saving the world and reducing our carbon footprint.

"Planet Positive is all about: action not words. It is about taking responsible steps to reduce global warming and also to help people in the developing world have a better life.

We want you to become Planet Positive. Measure and reduce your carbon footprint, then offset the remainder by 110%. Be positive about tackling climate change, take Planet Positive action," said the wonderful Steve from the front of the room. 

I'm a great believer in action. So join Planet Positive today and create a better way of living.

Apart from the inspirational message we also got to raise a glass (or, er two or three) with some of the lovely Big Peacers who have been following this blog. Great to meet you Lucy and Caite (wow! I loved your dress, Caite is a fashion designer....check out her website!) Lovely to see you again Tina and got to meet a brilliant website designer Tracey - I also love your concept. The Simple Web Company.

And not to mention the wonderful Ali Atwell, motivational speaker who makes you laugh - a lot!

And so many other interesting people. I got rather enthusiastic over a bio-degradable plate that you can use at festivals or parties, which comes with a sunflower seed. So once you've eaten your nosh, you plant the plate AND seed in the ground. June you have a barbecue with your mates, and by August, you have a sunflower field in your back garden! www.uutensil.com How cool is that. Brilliant idea.

A great night -  inspirational, fun, lots of wine with wonderful people. It made me happy but no surprise there.

Virtually all the happiness exercises being tested by positive psychologists have found that those that make people feel more connected to others work best.

That seems to be the most fundamental finding from the science of happiness.

 "Almost every person feels happier when they're with other people," observes Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow:The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

 "It's paradoxical because many of us think we can hardly wait to get home and be alone with nothing to do, but that's a worst-case scenario.  If you're alone with nothing to do, the quality of your experience really plummets."

A 2002 study conducted at the University of Illinois  found that the most salient characteristics shared by the 10% of students with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression were
their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.

Today is a simple exercise - book a night out with your mates who you love and who love you.

Cheers!

Comments

[Caite]

I'll second that Suzy...what a truly amazing evening....I was also impressed with the thoughts of Guy Battle too(though I cant promise to become a vegetarian). It was lovely to meet you and share this very positive moment. Thanks for your comments re my dress....I have passed your blog and Big Leap onto quite a few like minded friends of mine, one of whom lives in India, she is very impressed with your sites. I am doing exactly what you suggest today and this evening I'm out with people I love and who love me.
Merry Christmas :-) x