Nicole Bensen

the Tea Time blog

Welcome to

Since moving, I’ve been looking to make local friends, and I (randomly) grabbed this book and opened to a page about friendship. Woah.

It’s BBQ Season! Serious question…what’s the best BBQ food? Burger, hot dog, or something else? Well, no matter what’s on your plate, I’ve got a simple mindfulness practice that takes just 60-seconds. 1-minute Mindful Eating Now…let’s get BBQing! P.S. Last week I shared a resource to swap windows for a mental health boost. Check it out […]

Last week I shared that we went from Californians to Washingtonians, and how grateful I am to now see this beautiful greenery outside my office window. (If you missed last week’s note, catch up here to see who visited our backyard). if you were to look out your dream window, what would you see? Tall high-rises in […]

Hello from The Evergreen State! Last week I relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area to the greater Seattle area, and I’m calling it a great experiment. (Not to be confused with Queen Charlotte and King Edward’s great experiment. Anyone else a Bridgerton fan?) It’s no secret that I intentionally seek awe to boost my happiness—I […]

Last week I led a workshop for a team at eBay, and one of the things we talked about was building resilience for when things inevitably don’t go the way we want them too; whether that’s not getting the job, the project, or the relationship. In my self-paced, online program, Next Level You (open to teams and […]

How are you? Really, how are you? What’s something that made you smile recently? What’s something you’re hoping for? Last week I facilitated two corporate workshops online. For Netflix I led, “Increasing Happiness, Resilience, and Success,” and for Align Technology (the makers of Invisalign), I led “Why and How to Practice Gratitude.” One of the things I shared in the gratitude […]

I’ve asked hundreds, if not thousands, of corporate employees what they would do with their time if they could have any job in the world (time, money and skill notwithstanding). Common answers include: What do you think it is about these professions that is so appealing? This is a twist on the “Best Possible Self” […]

Want a quick way to boost your happiness this week? Stop and smell the roses. (Or click here to see the roses!)

Watching the 90’s movie, Ghost, introduced me to two things: Anyway, ~20 years after seeing the movie, I’ve fulfilled my dream of taking a pottery class. I signed up for a 5-week, “parent and teen” pottery class at the local community center, and throwing is so much harder than it looks! I found myself wanting to […]

You’ve probably heard “we should practice gratitude” – but have you heard why? Take 2 minutes right now to give yourself a spring boost!