Recently there have been an abundance of articles being passed around in cyberspace about happiness. Huffington Post had the Habits of Supremely Happy People and (my favorite of all of these) How to Get Flat Abs, Have Amazing Sex and Rule the World in 8 Easy Steps. Pick the Brain had How to Love the Life You Already Have and How to be Instantly Happy. I posted Shawn Achor’s awesome TED Talk on “The Happy Secret to Better Work“. Time Magazine had a double issue dedicated to The Pursuit of Happiness this summer. I especially like Time’s infographic “game” on The Pursuit of Happiness with pithy happiness statistics. There are lots of great blog posts on the topic, too. Check out Cori’s great post from earlier in the summer.
There is a site called Happsters that is “A Movement Dedicated to Spreading Happiness”. They had this awesome fall happiness bucket list on Instagram recently:
All of these articles and posts had me wondering if there are always a ton of things about happiness or if I just suddenly noticed them. I imagine it is a little from column A and a little from column B as the husband likes to say.
So what is the key to happiness that is unlocked by reading all of these articles?
1. Happiness is a choice. You can be deliberate about being happy and even work on it.
2. Happy people look on the bright side. This one can be hard. I have been trying to retrain my brain to do this. I think a corollary to this is that unhappy people choose only to look on the dark side or at the negative. Like my Instant Peptalk said, “You can either be awesome or negative. Pick One.”
3. Happy people volunteer and share. People who volunteer time or help others report less depression and more satisfaction in life. A win-win.
4. Happy people are grateful and focus on the big picture. Several of these articles point out that if you can read this, are online and have a computer, you are likely to have many/most of your basic needs met. Life’s bumps and bruises are annoying, and sometimes painful, but can be less severe problems than we make them out to be when put in perspective.
5. Happy people ask for help and/or let others help them.
6. Happy people are kind to others. It really does make you feel better. That’s why I am planning to participate in Caitlin’s Random Acts of Kindness month in October (you don’t need a blog to participate!)
7. Happy people acknowledge their mistakes and apologize accordingly.
8. Happy people exercise. Serotonin is a real mood booster – exercise increases it. I do believe in this one!
9. Happy people unplug. Ooh. I need to work on this one. Really. Happy people are also present and connect more in real life than online.
10. Happy people smile and laugh more. Several authors suggest that just smiling while you are commuting or running can make you feel better. I think randomly smiling on public transit might make me look a bit too insane, but I have tried the running suggestion and it really does work! When people cheer for me in races I smile and instantly feel a boost. No one cheering? Just smile and imagine a cheering “fan.” It works!
Are you buying this? What brings you happiness? What blocks your happiness? Read any good happiness articles? Please leave a link in the comments.