Increase Your Happiness

7 Ways to Increase Your Happiness August 13, 2010 By Eric J. Leech We all want happiness in life, but if it were easy, we’d be happy 100 percent of the time. However, it turns out from research that sadness actually makes moments of happiness that much sweeter, rather than us living absolutely perfect lives. Yet even with a mixture of happiness and sadness, some people still come out on top, reporting more happiness than others. What’s their secret? 1. In Pursuit of the Wrong Happiness Many people are unhappy simply because they’re chasing after the wrong things. Let’s set the record straight once and for all. There’s living above poverty level, and then there’s add-ons: money, food, sex, televisions and fancy cars cannot, will not, and never have been able to produce happiness. True happiness comes from finding your purpose, which can be as simple as engaging in something you enjoy every day. 2. Can’t Buy Happiness, But You Can Buy Happy Memories While money certainly won’t buy you happiness, research suggests that the best way to use your money to help promote happiness is to spend it on experiences. Visiting Yellowstone, learning to fly a plane or donating to charities all create the type of memories that will be looked back upon with happy thoughts. 3. Manufacture Your Own Happiness We are in charge of our own happiness because we are in charge how we choose to interpret life. Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, tells us that our advanced brains have the capacity to build happiness out of any outcome, especially when we have no other choice. Studies show that people will actually develop positive feelings towards choices they’ve made, even if the alternatives may have been more desirable (i.e., “I’m glad I quit law school to become a struggling artist”). In other words, we have the innate gift to manufacture happiness, when our only other option is disappointment and sadness. 4. Think Happy Thoughts This may sound obvious, but research suggests that we can control up to 42 percent of our happiness by choosing to focus on the good things in life. Instead of being envious of what others have over you, the happy thinker is grateful for what they have, which may include anything from health to family and friends. 5. Correction… Make That Fast, Creative, and Happy Thoughts A new study from Princeton and Harvard suggests that thinking fast, creative thoughts, such as when writing a journal or working on a crossword puzzle, helps to create positive, energetic moods. The worst kinds of thoughts appear to be slow and repetitive, which would explain why some jobs create more unhappiness than others. 6. Surround Yourself With Friends and Family Research suggests that one of the most positive influences in our lives from childhood to adulthood is the friends and family we choose to surround ourselves with. Close relationships bring feelings of love, which encourages us to reciprocate those feelings to others, which in turn brings even more love into our lives. Those who choose to alienate themselves from others, also alienate themselves from the possibility of finding happiness. 7. The Turnip Truck is Almost Always Half Overflowing Optimistic people are happier, healthier, and live longer than their pessimistic cohorts. While some people believe optimism is a born trait, it is actually a learned choice. We can teach ourselves to know that we will be successful, taking into account that things won’t always turn out exactly as planned. We can also teach ourselves to see failure as a learning experience, rather than an invitation to disappointment. What are your favorite methods to stay in a positive frame of mind?