10 THINGS SCIENCE SAYS WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY
Daily habits can affect our well-being. Here are 10 simple actions that
research has shown makes people feel good.
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In the last few years, psychologists and researchers have been digging up
hard data on a question previously left to philosophers:
What makes us happy?
Researchers like the father-son team Ed Diener and Robert
Biswas-Diener, Stanford psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, and ethicist Stephen
Post have studied people all over the world to find out how things like:
money,
attitude,
culture,
memory,
health,
altruism,
and our day-to-day habits affect our well-being.
The emerging field of positive psychology is bursting with new findings that suggest your actions can have a significant
effect on your happiness and satisfaction with life.
Here are 10 scientifically proven strategies for getting happy !
1. Savor Everyday Moments
Pause now and then to smell a rose or watch children at play. Study
participants who took time to ³savor² ordinary events that they normally
hurried through, or to think back on pleasant moments from their day,
³showed significant increases in happiness and reductions in depression,²
says psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky.
2. Avoid Comparisons
While keeping up with the Joneses is part of American culture, comparing
ourselves with others can be damaging to happiness and self-esteem. Instead
of comparing ourselves to others, focusing on our own personal achievement
leads to greater satisfaction, according to Lyubomirsky.
3. Put Money Low on the List
People who put money high on their priority list are more at risk for
depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, according to researchers Tim
Kasser and Richard Ryan. Their findings hold true across nations and
cultures. ³The more we seek satisfactions in material goods, the less we
find them there,² Ryan says. ³The satisfaction has a short half-life -- it¹s
very fleeting.² Money-seekers also score lower on tests of vitality and
self-actualization.
4. Have Meaningful Goals
³People who strive for something significant, whether it¹s learning a new
craft or raising moral children, are far happier than those who don¹t have
strong dreams or aspirations,² say Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener. ³As
humans, we actually require a sense of meaning to thrive.² Harvard¹s
resident happiness professor, Tal Ben-Shahar, agrees, ³Happiness lies at the
intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the
goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and
enjoyable.²
5. Take Initiative at Work
How happy you are at work depends in part on how much initiative you take.
Researcher Amy Wrzesniewski says that when we express creativity, help
others, suggest improvements, or do additional tasks on the job, we make our
work more rewarding and feel more in control.
6. Make Friends, Treasure Family
Happier people tend to have good families, friends, and supportive
relationships, say Diener and Biswas-Diener. But it¹s not enough to be the
life of the party if you¹re surrounded by shallow acquaintances. ³We don¹t
just need relationships, we need close ones² that involve understanding and
caring.
7. Smile Even When You Don¹t Feel Like It
It sounds simple, but it works. ³Happy peopleŠsee possibilities,
opportunities, and success. When they think of the future, they are
optimistic, and when they review the past, they tend to savor the high
points,² say Diener and Biswas-Diener. Even if you weren¹t born looking at
the glass as half-full, with practice, a positive outlook can become a
habit.
8. Say Thank You Like You Mean It
People who keep gratitude journals on a weekly basis are healthier, more
optimistic, and more likely to make progress toward achieving personal
goals, according to author Robert Emmons. Research by Martin Seligman,
founder of positive psychology, revealed that people who write ³gratitude
letters² to someone who made a difference in their lives score higher on
happiness, and lower on depression -- and the effect lasts for weeks.
9. Get Out and Exercise
A Duke University study shows that exercise may be just as effective as
drugs in treating depression, without all the side effects and expense.
Other research shows that in addition to health benefits, regular exercise
offers a sense of accomplishment and opportunity for social interaction,
releases feel-good endorphins, and boosts self-esteem.
10. Give It Away, Give It Away Now!
Make altruism and giving part of your life, and be purposeful about it.
Researcher Stephen Post says helping a neighbor, volunteering, or donating
goods and services results in a ³helper¹s high,² and you get more health
benefits than you would from exercise or quitting smoking. Listening to a
friend, passing on your skills, celebrating others¹ successes, and
forgiveness also contribute to happiness, he says. Researcher Elizabeth Dunn
found that those who spend money on others reported much greater happiness
than those who spend it on themselves.
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