How to Stop Striving for ‘Happy’ and Find True Well-Being
July 1, 2024
Hosted by Ron Roel
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Guest Information
Episode Description
As we enter the second half of the year, it’s a good time to pause and take stock of how we’re feeling about ourselves as we move into the second half of 2024. Are we happy with our life? Well, that’s not really the right question. There’s an unspoken myth that somehow, we “should be happy,” at least most of the time, and when we aren't, we feel like something is wrong—perhaps even something wrong with us. But in today’s episode, Dr. Beth Kurland, a clinical psychologist with three decades of experience, talks about how to stop forcing ourselves to feel “happy” when we’re faced with difficult, uncomfortable emotions that reinforce messages of “not good enough.” Instead, Dr. Kurland, the author of the recently published book, “You Don't Have to Change to Change Everything,” will offer ways we can change our perspective instead of changing ourselves, shifting six “vantage points” to cultivate inner stability, greater awareness of our internal resources, and perhaps most importantly, self-compassion. Rather than strive for happiness, which is dependent on mood, she says, we should seek a deeper well of inner resources that we can draw upon, no matter what life’s circumstances might throw at us, even in our darkest hours. Dr. Kurland will share her own healing journey, and how the six vantage points helped her find ease in the midst of life’s challenges—and how they can become an essential part of our daily well-being toolkit.
45 Forward
Monday at 12 Noon Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Variety Channel
Thanks to advances in medicine and health, most of us are just at half-life when we reach our mid-40s, with many potentially productive years ahead. But there’s no road map to prepare us for this period. That’s where 45 Forward comes in.
My show provides you with strategies to shift the traditional waiting-for-retirement model to a journey of compelling life chapters. Each show tackles an aspect of health, finance, family and friends, housing, work and personal pursuits as part of an integrated plan. Experts discuss topics like revitalizing relationships, creating mini-retirements, managing the maze of technology, finding your next homestead and caring for aging parents.
The show instills confidence, and hopefully some comfort, amid the stresses permeating today’s society. Fear of the future is not knowing how to prepare for it. 45 Forward does not proffer prefabricated answers, but helps you shape your life amid the daily anxieties of our time.
Ron Roel
I’m a veteran journalist who spent a wide-ranging career covering business, politics and social issues, the last two decades focusing on the blend of diverse life skills I call successful aging.
I have written extensively on aging topics, spoken at conferences, radio and TV shows, and launched several entrepreneurial ventures, discovering along the way that the path to aging well also requires an unexpected entrepreneurial vision. I spent 20 years as a writer and editor at Long Island’s daily newspaper, Newsday, helping to found Act 2, a weekly section for 50-plus readers. I created Roelresources.com, a website offering practical advice and inspirational essays for people ages 40 and above. I have been a volunteer and consultant to AARP Long Island, writing articles, advocating for seniors, and developing action plans for the AARP Age-Friendly Communities initiative.
I am active in programs and organizations that support seniors, such as the National Aging In Place Council and the Senior Umbrella Network. I have developed a special expertise in family caregiving, as one of four brothers who took care of their mother for almost 25 years. I regularly collaborate with many professionals who provide services and support for older Americans, and I am completing a book for caregivers on Long Island, “The Caregiving Navigator/How to Plan, What to do, and Where to Turn When Caring for you Aging Loved Ones. And Yourself,” scheduled for publication in early 2021.
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