Minnesota Psychologist Embarks on a Mission to Find the ...says Glaser, who in his book helps people...
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Minnesota Psychologist Embarks on a Mission to Find the Key to Happiness By Rachel M. Anderson, Contributing Writer (St. Louis Park, Minn.) – If someone were to ask if you are truly happy, how would you reply? Despite overwhelming debt, a minimum wage job, and a mental illness—conditions many people associate with misery—Jenn says yes, because she possesses what’s even more important. She has discovered who she is inside and retains a wonderful circle of friends she can count on. Mia says yes, too. She goes out of her way to be friendly and inviting, and appreciates the fact that people she encounters do the same in turn. She also finds great joy in making the most of the present moment and in expressing gratitude for even the simplest gifts in her life. And Gretchen is overflowing with optimism, and thus always able to focus on the silver lining, even when faced with a difficult situation. So yes, she is happy too. Jenn, Mia, and Gretchen are three of the nine subjects author Tom Glaser includes in Full Heart Living: Conversations with the Happiest People I Know. To Glaser, a psychologist and life coach, happiness is “about wholeness and good living.” While today Glaser considers himself a very happy, optimistic person, it wasn’t so long ago that he went through the unhappiest period of his adult life. Glaser had his dream job as counseling psychologist at a college. He planned on working there through retirement. That all changed when a new person was hired. “Unfortunately, we did not get along. I tried everything I could to make it work with this person. I feel like I scaled mountains,” says Glaser. Despite his best efforts, nothing made a difference. After doing a lot of soul searching, he made the difficult decision to quit his job. “Around the same time, I read a copy of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, and the book was an inspiration to me,” says Glaser. “It helped me put together all kinds of things I have passion about—positive psychology, wellness promotion, resilience training, and emotional intelligence—and tap into them for a new mission.” Glaser went from only occasionally seeing private patients on the side to opening up a full-time private practice. He also developed the curriculum for a class on happiness and started teaching it through community education programs in Edina, Minn., his hometown of St. Louis Park, Minn., (a suburb of Minneapolis), and in the city of Elk River, which is about a half hour drive away. In addition, he has contributed to the conversation about happiness through mini documentaries. The webisodes are available on his website, www.fullheartliving.com. Feature Article Tom Glaser FULL HEART LIVING
Transcript of Minnesota Psychologist Embarks on a Mission to Find the ...says Glaser, who in his book helps people...
Minnesota Psychologist Embarks on a Mission to Find the Key to Happiness By Rachel M. Anderson, Contributing Writer (St. Louis Park, Minn.) – If someone were to ask if you are truly happy, how would you reply?
Despite overwhelming debt, a minimum wage job, and a mental illness—conditions many people associate with misery—Jenn says yes, because she possesses what’s even more important. She has discovered who she is inside and retains a wonderful circle of friends she can count on.
Mia says yes, too. She goes out of her way to be friendly and inviting, and appreciates the fact that people she encounters do the same in turn. She also finds great joy in making the most of the present moment and in expressing gratitude for even the simplest gifts in her life.
And Gretchen is overflowing with optimism, and thus always able to focus on the silver lining, even when faced with a difficult situation. So yes, she is happy too.
Jenn, Mia, and Gretchen are three of the nine subjects author Tom Glaser includes in Full Heart Living: Conversations with the Happiest People I Know. To Glaser, a psychologist and life coach, happiness is “about wholeness and good living.” While today Glaser considers himself a very happy, optimistic person, it wasn’t so long ago that he went through the unhappiest period of his adult life.
Glaser had his dream job as counseling psychologist at a college. He planned on working there through retirement. That all changed when a new person was hired. “Unfortunately, we did not get along. I tried everything I could to make it work with this person. I feel like I scaled mountains,” says Glaser.
Despite his best efforts, nothing made a difference. After doing a lot of soul searching, he made the difficult decision to quit his job.
“Around the same time, I read a copy of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, and the book was an inspiration to me,” says Glaser. “It helped me put together all kinds of things I have passion about—positive psychology, wellness promotion, resilience training, and emotional intelligence—and tap into them for a new mission.”
Glaser went from only occasionally seeing private patients on the side to opening up a full-time private practice. He also developed the curriculum for a class on happiness and started teaching it through community education programs in Edina, Minn., his hometown of St. Louis Park, Minn., (a suburb of Minneapolis), and in the city of Elk River, which is about a half hour drive away.
In addition, he has contributed to the conversation about happiness through mini documentaries. The webisodes are available on his website, www.fullheartliving.com.
Feature Article
Tom GlaserFULL
HEARTLIVING
During his interviews, Glaser discovered that the three key components of happiness are: 1. Connecting with yourself in a meaningful, heartfelt way. 2. Connecting with others—being a part of a community you care about and that cares about you. 3. Engaging in activities you are passionate about, especially when you offer those in the service of others.
“One of the beautiful things about finding your passion is that it inevitably leads to creating better connections with yourself and with others. I like to call it the ‘Circle of Passion,’” says Glaser. “As you may have experienced, happiness can be contagious. So it was for me in conducting the interviews. Simply being in the presence of these very happy people boosts my own spirits. Furthermore, talking with happy folks about what happiness is and how to cultivate it lifts both their spirits and mine even more. Interviewing the happiest people I know for this book, in fact, is a prime example of practicing the number one component of Full Heart Living: enhancing relationships.”
Though he is a psychologist, Glaser says he wrote this book for a general audience. “Full Heart Living is for the average American,” he says, “who is well off materially but still somehow feels something is missing. In modern life, it’s so easy for us to find something to complain about.” Constant complaining, of course, can ruin even the most perfect day.
“The Dali Lama says everyone wants to be happy,” Glaser continues. “It’s inscribed in our Constitution. The right to be happy seems to be a universal human drive. It also seems to be something people take for granted,” says Glaser, who in his book helps people define happiness for themselves.
Full Heart Living: Conversations with the Happiest People I Know has been endorsed by Dr. Henry Emmons, an integrative psychiatrist and author of The Chemistry of Joy. Emmons calls Full Heart Living, “An outstanding contribution to the growing literature on happiness. Filled with warmth, curiosity and hope, this book tells a story of real people living authentically, where being happy is more a natural outcome than a goal to be driven toward. In these pages you will find clear, simple and achievable steps toward your own authentically happy life.”
In her review of the book, Vicky Swedenburg, an educator from Maple Grove, Minn., says, “Full Heart Living is a treasure of authentic, practical advice for living a happy life. Personal stories about achieving happiness interwoven with the author's own insights make for an uplifting and inspirational read.”
Kit Naylor, a writer from Minneapolis, says, "Full Heart Living persuaded me to exercise — not to get thin enough for some man to love me — but because endorphins truly do help with depression. Tom Glaser is warm, funny and wise, and so is his new book.”
Copies of Full Heart Living: Conversations with the Happiest People I Know are available for purchase at www.fullheartliving.com.
Feature Article FULLHEARTLIVING
Tom Glaser
About Tom Glaser
Tom Glaser has over 30 years of experience as a life coach and psychologist. Whether counseling individuals or groups, hosting a radio show, or teaching, his passion for helping people live their best lives flows though. A runner, dog lover, gardener, and performer, Tom lives in Minneapolis with his husband and son.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is being offered for your use copyright free and cost-free. High resolution photography is available for free as well upon request. To arrange an interview of your own with Tom Glaser, or request a review copy of Full Heart Living: Conversations with the Happiest People I Know, contact Rachel M. Anderson, Publicist, at 952-240-2513 or [email protected].
Title: Full Heart Living: conversations with the happiest people I know Author: Tom Glaser Category: Self-help, inspirational Publisher: Morejoy MediaPublicist: Rachel M. Anderson RMA Publicity (952) 240-2513 [email protected] Website: www.fullheartliving.com
