How we define happiness makes a big difference in satisfaction with life. Self-efficacy — a belief that one has the capacities needed to succeed in particular situations — also plays a major role in feeling successful in life. One of my goals in creating Useful, Pleasant Lives is to encourage you to think about your definitions of happiness and success by writing about mine and the influences that I feel in constructing them. Another is to encourage you to build your sense of self-efficacy by telling stories about my acquisition of skills and efforts to increase my mastery.
The third major goal of Useful, Pleasant Lives is to tell stories about living a luxurious life without spending a fortune.
I am Robin Bisha, Ph.D., and I teach communication at a small university in Texas. My areas of expertise include social media and leadership (and some other stuff as well). My most recent scholarly research concerns the leadership of women who have won the Nobel Peace Prize.
I earned a doctorate from Indiana University and a master’s degree from the School of Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina. I’m a certified yoga instructor and am taking courses that lead to the Certified Financial Planner examination. I’m even certified in the use of Copic markers!
I find intellectual and spiritual inspiration around the world, most recently in the work of Nobel Peace Prize winners, in the mountains of India, Alaska, New Mexico and West Texas and in the rolling waves of the Great Lakes.
Photo by Judith Hoffmann.