How often have you heard someone boast that they had worked 70 hours last week? Were you impressed and envious or did you think the speaker was either exaggerating or inefficient? Why do some take pride in proving that their work is more effortful, difficult, or even painful than that of others? In too many cases, this need to feel indispensable comes at the expense of one’s health and happiness.

By Dana Arakawa -- Our lives are full of stress: we have 24 hours each day and more activities than we feel we have time for. In this age of multi-tasking and instantaneous communication through cell phones, e-mail, and BlackBerrys that do both and more, the demands on our time are relentless. These demands have increased our levels of stress-related health problems, and as an antidote, the quest for “balance” has become a popular fixation.

By Sherri Fisher -- According to Lyubomirsky, et al, while half of our happiness may be the result of a genetic setpoint and 10% probably comes from our life circumstances, 40% is likely the result of our choices. The point? Make good choices now that improve your well-being. It’s not such a leap to say that well-being improves your health. But Positive Psychology can make 1 + 1 = 3.

By Aren Cohen -- Recently I was talking with an acquaintance of mine who is preparing to leave his job in investment banking to go to an ashram in India to practice mediation and yoga. It was clear that he was excited by the prospect of this new journey, but he was also apprehensive.