Happiness — Fleeting or a Way of Life?

8/20/2018

I feel happy most of the time these days. It’s become a way of life for me.

It wasn’t always. Happiness used be more of a come-and-go thing for me. I assumed that was just the way happiness was. Not so.

There has been a lot of interest in happiness lately, given the increase in research studies and books about the topic being written. Come to find out, there are specific things we can do to make happiness a way of life.

Here are just a few to get you started:

Don’t Overthink
I used to get caught in this one all the time. I’m happier now because I’ve made a commitment to stop worry in its tracks. The moment a worry thought crosses my mind, I stop.

Then I remind myself that worry is a self-defeating behavior and if I worry, I will make myself sad and depressed. Once I realized I was doing this to myself, it was easier to quit.

Be Grateful
Research shows that people who appreciate things feel a strong sense of satisfaction and are more optimistic—and thus happier.

Just stopping for a few moments throughout the day to think about the people we love and the goodness that surrounds us can boost our feelings of happiness.

Some people keep a gratitude journal and challenge themselves to write something new every day for which they are grateful.

Become Social

The need for social inclusion is one of every human’s strongest motivational forces. Find places you can go where you can be with people you enjoy and admire. Invite people to join you in activities you enjoy. Help them be social, too.

Don’t let being too busy keep you from reaching out!

Be Kind
Kindness is the ultimate happiness secret. When you are kind, you feel good about yourself and eliminate negative feelings like guilt and emotional distress. Make kindness a habit.

Who can you go out of your way to be kind to today? A stranger. A loved one. Your manager. A colleague. Your small act of kindness will brighten their day and you’ll feel happier, too. That’s a win-win for sure!

Learn to Cope
Stress is universal and can be brought on by problems. Look for solutions. Creative solutions always exist if you clear your mind long enough to let them in.

Take things one step at a time.

Don’t procrastinate. Start. Seek advice.

And don’t zone out on your phone or social media. That will be a waste of time. When you finally put your device down, you will feel bad about how much time you wasted.

Research is showing that spending time on our phones not only makes us unhappy, it actively makes us sad and depressed.

Do something that makes you feel good. A walk. A bath. A massage. Make the time. You can’t be happy if you don’t have your own unique, healthy way of coping with stress that works for you.

A special thank you to Leah Cook, Senior Director, Strategic Projects, Finance at Thomson Reuters for sharing her notes on the happiness research with me that I’ve used to spread the word on happiness.

If you’d like to know more about happiness, take a look at Sonja Lyubomirsky’sbook “The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want,” or Shawn Anchor’s book “The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles That Fuel Success and Performance at Work.”

Or, if you prefer TED talks, go to :

Sonja Lyubomirsky - The How of Happiness

Shawn Achor - The happy secret to better work

Happiness
A glimpse into Bliss.
Not in this moment. Here. Now.
Could life be better?

Photo: Downtown Farmers’ Market, Minneapolis, MN
©Barbara Jo Shipka 2018. All rights reserved.
www.kaleidoscopelenses.com

Share what works for you here. We all encounter stress every day. The more ideas we have for coping, the happier we all can be.

Send a note and let me know how you’re becoming happier.