Creating lasting well-being requires shattering those habitual tendencies that lead to stress, frustration and heartbreak. Here are three paths I've been working on for years, and while I'm many miles from mastery, the more I practice, the more peace and happiness I find.

I've discovered six paths that lead to well-being -- some work instantaneously and some generate a much more lasting result. This week, I'll focus on the ones that work instantly.

Today I'm reminded that one of my biggest challenges is to do first what really matters -- and to do it before I respond to the siren call of getting as much done as I possibly can. And I know in my heart I'm not alone.

We can't stop feeling stressed. What we can do this year is prime our brains so that stress is no longer something to fear, but rather a sign of something we need to pay attention to, and a chance to figure out how we want to spend each precious moment.

So as we approach what I consider a sweet holiday, a suggestion. That you spend an extra few seconds with each of those little doorbell ringers. Try to imagine what it would be like to be their age, going to such extremes to get candy.

Modern life is full of distracting clamor, from text messages and emails to window displays in the mall. Other people tug at you with their priorities, which may not be your own. If you don't make a sanctuary for what is important, it will get overrun by the Bermuda grass of B and C priorities.