Thursday's Psychology Trivia: In 20 Years, What % of Americans Will Be Overweight or Obese?

Thought for the Day: Today's Trivia Question is related to physical health, however, the answer has a huge impact on the mental health of our nation's citizens. Here's the question:

In 20 years, what percent of Americans will be overweight or obese?
     a) 35.7%
     b) 50.5%
     c) 63.1%
     d) 75.6%
     e) Over 95%

What do you think the answer is? Take a guess and read on to see.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom: Dr. Barbara Lavi The Power of #Hashtags to #Empower Us

"Hashtags when used wisely have the power to empower the powerless and change the world." Dr. Barbara Lavi

Thought for the Day: We are living in very troubling, yet exciting times. If someone woke up from being in a coma for a year or two, they would be shocked to learn that a simple sign on a keyboard like a hashtag (#) could be changing our world. Hastags played a major role in the Arab Spring revolutions. In the last few days, we had yet another example of the power of hashtags to make a difference. Ramaa Mosley, an LA director and mother of two created the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls after hearing about the kidnapping of 200 Nigerian schoolgirls. The tweet went viral and it has led to worldwide pressure to free the girls from their captors. As a psychologist, I spend my days helping empower people by better understanding themselves and those with whom they live and work. My words of wisdom for today are: "Hashtags when used wisely have the power to empower the powerless and change the world."

Tuesday's Psychology Tip: Retrain Your Brain To Be More Positive

Thought for the Day: On Tuesday's I post Psychology Tips. Often, I start by sharing a 100 character Tip I have shared on HealthTap. Today I wrote a new one and will elaborate a bit on it here. The tip is on how to retrain your brain to be more positive. Current research indicates that retraining your brain can impact on both your emotional and physical health, as well as increase the length of your life. Here's the tip and then some...

Motivational Mondays: Tabitha's Wish and A Video Everyone Should See

Thought for the Day: I have two motivational pieces for today. One is an example of how social media can do good and the other on how important it is to "Look Up" from your phone and computers. The 1st story cam to me via a message from a facebook fan. Duncan K McLindon had left me a note some time ago. His message went unnoticed  since he had posted it on a Facebook page for my psychology practice, ACT Now Psychotherapy.  An intern created the page, but until about a week ago I had not posted anything there. I post regularly on a facebook fan page for  my book, but simply never made time for the other page. Last week, I posted how a 3 year old can teach us about philanthropy. When I read Duncan's message, I was moved and wrote back that I would share his 12 year old daughter Tabitha's story today.  It is yet another story of what children can teach us.
     My plan was just to share Duncan's story, but today I saw another post of a video which we all need to see and share with everyone we know. It has been viewed on YouTube by over 13 million people, so it is clearly a powerful video. I hope you will read on, see both sides of the equation and share it with people you know and care about. On the one hand, social media can enhance our lives. However, on the other hand, too much of a good thing can detract from our lives.  

Sunday's Comic Strips: A Funny Clown & A Dog Photographer

Photo from GaborFromHungary on Morguefile.com

Thought for the Day: I love Google+. It has exposed me to some wonderful communities including many amazing photographers. I had fun putting two photos together to bring you the clown in the photo above. The second "comic" strip photo for today comes from a new Google + friend +Assad Bangash. Read on to see his great photo that could give us a dog's view of the world...

Saturday's Songs for the Soul: Vivaldi's Winter & Let It Go for a 6 Year with a Old Heart Transplant

Thought for the Day: Last week +Annie Elizabeth commented on the Saturday's post of Gone, Gone Gone by Phillip Phillips and suggested that Vivaldi's Winter was a piece that inspired her. This morning before I went searching for recordings for today's music selection, I read an update on Katy Murphy the now 6 year old heart transplant recipient who came home Feb 25, 2013. There have been ups and downs since then, but Katy and her family are resilient and hopefully this is just a temporary setback. I chose 2 versions of the Vivaldi's Winter with Katy in mind. Hopefully, her parents will share them with her in the hospital. Here's Aimee, Katy's mom's update and the music. As you listen I hope you will think of and send positive energy to the young Katy "rockstar" Murphy.

#FF Friday's Fabulous Finds: Designing a Good Life, Photos, Homelessness, & Tornadoes

Thought for the Day: Today #FF could stand for Frustrating Friday instead of Friday's Fabulous Finds. I have been finding Flipboard to be a great way to share great finds for the last few weeks.This week, I have been having trouble. I designed a magazine on my computer, but when I load it on my computer only part of the articles load, just the first page. So I used my phone, which is how I designed them in the past. However, the same problem arose with the second magazine. On my phone app the whole thing is displayed. Please let me know if you are able to open all the pages. There are pictures taken of tornadoes devastation, a great article on Uncertainty and designing a good life, some photo highlights and an article on Homelessness in "Happiest Place on Earth."