The Dr. Darlene Mininni Show

I'm just back from Clear Channel Studios in Burbank after taping the first episodes of my new radio show. It was so much fun! 

I've designed each program to give you the latest cutting edge strategies to boost your optimism and resilience and even reverse your physical age up to 16 years in the process. And like all my work, it's based on science so you can trust you're getting the real deal to live your happiest life. And of course, I've got lots of free stuff to give away.

So listen in. And you'll learn how people just like you are making their lives the best they can be. What a perfect way to start the New Year!

Although the show is based on Los Angeles radio, you can listen on your computer wherever you are! Just go to KTLK.com and click "Listen Live." The show premieres Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 8:30am PST (that's 11:30am on the east coast).

From my family to yours, have a wonderful holiday.

Honoring Studs Terkel

Last month we lost an American icon. His name was Studs Terkel. For those of you not familiar with the man or his work, he was a Pulitzer prize-winning author, storyteller and radio host.

But perhaps Studs is best known for his uncanny knack to show us ourselves. He interviewed and told the stories of America's unsung heroes: men and women working every day to earn a paycheck and take care of their families.

Studs left behind an oral history of our country that wove his conversations with real people against a backdrop of the day's events. As one journalist recalled, "When Studs listened, people talked." And we all benefitted. Thanks Studs.

Click here to find out more about Studs Terkel.

What's RIGHT With Your Life?

Do you feel inundated with bad news? The financial shifts, the election, the housing market? Descriptions of "crisis, panic, and meltdown" seem to be all you hear from the media. When your primitive nervous system hears these words, you freak out, just as Mother Nature planned.

No one is denying that these are challenging times, but what if you step away from the stories of doom and gloom that boost television viewer ratings, and take a break? What if, instead of focusing solely on your 401K losses, you acknowledge what you still have? 

Do you have good health? A loving relationship? Happy kids? Caring friends?

There is a time and place, with calm heads, to figure out how you'll respond to the changes in the market. Your brain will guide you better when you're calm. And there should also be a time and place to notice all the good in your life that fluctuating markets can never take away from you.

The Times They Are A-Changing

Summer is my favorite time in Greenwich Village -- the busy, artsy town just a train-ride from my old home on Long Island.

Every time I return to New York, my friend Erin and I go to the Village, always stopping for a cappuccino at our favorite place, Le Figaro Cafe. The 50-year-old haunt was the original gathering place for the likes of Bob Dylan and the Beatniks, a cultural fixture on Bleecker Street, and a personal landmark for us.

Then we saw the sign on the door. CLOSED. Le Figaro Cafe will become a burrito chain restaurant.

Have you ever lost something you thought would last forever? It doesn't feel too good. Now, in the grand scheme of things, Le Figaro is not groundshakingly important, but for Erin and me, it was a piece of our personal history, and it was gone. As Dylan once sang, "The Time They are A-Changing."

I was stunned, but rather than stay focused on something gone, I thought about the good things that still remain, like the fact that I was walking down Bleecker Street with the same wonderful friend I've known since my first ventures into Greenwich Village. 

"Well," we said, "Let's walk across the street to the Cafe Del Mar and try their cappuccino." And we did.

Happiness Is Just A Click Away!

I just stumbled across a website called MindHabits, and it's utterly fascinating. Its' creators claim that by playing their specially designed computer games you can get happier, and they've got the research to back it up.

Each of the four free games challenges you to focus on the smiling faces or positive words displayed on your screen. The authors' research suggests that people who played MindHabits just five minutes a day were able to boost their confidence and self-esteem and even reduce the stress hormones in their bodies.

I really liked the game "Matrix." Wanna give it a try? Click here. Then drop me a line. I'd love to know what you think.

Are You A Biophiliac?

Millions of Americans will tell you they are, and they're proud of it! Chances are you're a biophiliac, too!

So what is biophilia? Pulitzer prize winning biologist Edward Wilson coined the term to describe, "the connection human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life."

That means you have a deep need to interact with your natural world whether it's a walk in the woods, sitting in a garden or just playing with your dog. You do it because it makes you feel good, and science shows it makes you happier and healthier.

So get out this weekend and enjoy some nature. Can't wait until then? Here's a dose of biophilia right now.

How To Get Rich

There are lots of ways to get rich, and making money is just one of them. The other is cultivating the relationships that matter most to you. That's the path I'm taking. 

Yes, I love nice things just as much as the next girl, but I'm banking on the richness I get from the people I love. Spending time together watching a movie or going to the beach outweighs most anything I can think of. Here's a picture of my husband Bryan and our daughter Sophia at Disneyland doing just that!

So next time you're feeling down, ask yourself this question, "Do I have one person in my life who loves me and I love back?" If so, you are rich indeed.

WHAT'S YOUR REAL AGE?

You've probably already heard of the Real Age guys, Dr. Mehmet Oz, a frequent Oprah Show contributor, and his partner Dr. Michael Roizen. I love them both! They offer practical strategies to help you feel and look your youngest, and their tips are easy to implement into your life.

Here's a statistic from their book that really grabbed me. According to these super docs, when you learn to manage your emotions, you can slow or reverse your physical aging up to 16 years! Once again, the connection between our emotions and our health is clear.

In addition to their many books and TV and radio shows, they have an amazing website that allows you to calculate your actual age and your body's "real age" based on your health habits and emotional tendencies. Check it out. Follow their advice and you may just be younger by your next birthday!

I LOVE TED!

No, TED isn't a guy. TED is a conference that happens once a year to give some of the greatest thinkers of our time 18-minutes each to share their innovative ideas with the world.

One speaker in particular really moved me. In part because her story is so amazing, but also because her vision speaks to everything I believe. She is neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Taylor. Watch as she explains how tapping into the power of our right brain can transform our lives. 

 WATCH THE VIDEO

SAVORING THE MOMENT

Saturday was my daughter Sophia's 10th birthday. Living in Los Angeles, of course we had a Hollywood Movie Party, complete with red carpet and plastic Academy Award, courtesy of The Party Store.

The next day, we celebrated my own birthday. How's that for timing! For my special day, we drove to the mountains. Although it was 85 degrees and sunny, the snow was just an hour away. I guess no one was thinking about snow on such a warm day, because we had the mountain completely to ourselves. Imagine the three of us -- my husband Bryan, Sophia and me -- having a private snowball fight at 7,000 feet.

When it came time to leave, my daughter said, "Wait one minute; I want to savor this moment."

As a parent, I sometimes wonder if the lessons I hope to teach my child will really get absorbed. In that one moment, I saw she got it. I deeply believe that appreciating what we have, no matter how small, is an important part of creating happiness, and she saw that too.

We stayed a little longer, then headed down the mountain to dine on birthday hamburgers. It was a perfect celebration. I'm savoring it.

BE HAPPY, DAMMIT!

Karen Salmansohn is SIRIUS/Lime radio's lively host of  Be Happy, Dammit! and best selling author of 29 books including, How to Be Happy, Dammit. I like Karen because she does something I love. She takes scientifically tested ideas and makes them user-friendly. 

Everything she writes and talks about on happiness is backed up by data, but she makes it all sound so fun, so easy, and so doable that you don't even realize how scholarly she is. She has a wonderful 1-2 punch. Tell people what works, then teach them how to do it in a simple way. It's real stuff for real people.

That's why I'm honored Karen's chosen to feature my work on her blog. Check out her March 16, 2008 article, "7 Booster Shots for Happiness."

WHAT IS HAPPINESS, ANYWAY?

Happiness. If we don't have it, we want it. If we've already got some, we'd like more. Not only have philosophers and spiritual leaders weighed in on the subject of happiness, now scientists and psychologists have jumped into the conversation too.

What's Wrong With You?

It used to be that psychology focused intently on what's wrong with us, and how to fix it. But a new breed of thinkers is studying what's right with us, and how to capitalize on it. I like that.

These thinkers have learned that there are lots of practical things we can do to increase our optimism and joy. But we need to understand what happiness is all about in the first place. When we're happy, we don't feel deliriously joyful every minute. Even if we're blessed with health, love and comfort, we still have to do the laundry and pay our taxes, which is less than thrilling, to be sure.

You see, happiness isn't always about what's happening in our lives today. If it were, we'd be happy that we found a parking spot, then sad that the meter is broken, then happy we found a new spot, then sad that it's a further walk, and on and on forever. Get the idea?

Becoming Happier

We can learn to become happier when we view the world in new ways, connect with others, find deeper meaning in the ordinary, practice mindfulness, take care of our health, and many other strategies.

Still, that doesn't mean we'll never be sad or upset. That's because our emotions have a primitive purpose -- to tell us important information about ourselves. If we try to deny our unhappy moods, we'll lose valuable insights. Plus, putting on a happy face when you're sad takes a lot of work. Sometimes you just need to be sad for a while before you're ready to feel good again. But science shows us that we can feel good again.

The Truth About Happiness

The point is that happiness, like many things in life, isn't always what it appears to be. Happy people have high points and low. Laughter and tears. Triumph and struggle. The difference is that happy people have the emotional tools to navigate life's inevitable ups and downs.