How To Be Happy By Focusing On The Aspects You Control

HOW TO BE HAPPY by focusing on the aspects of life that you can control According to multiple studies, including a University of Edinburgh personality study involving more than 900 identical and non-identical twins, HAPPINESS IS THOUGHT TO BE INFLUENCED BY: ATTITUDES + GENETICS ACTIONS Our feelings, thoughts, and how we choose to handle life The body's wiring 40" 50 LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES 10% Relationships, health, wealth, and work 50, WHERE'S OUR HAPPINESS WIRING? In short: All over. Scientists now believe that the brain's pleasure receptors operate like a communication web. BUT WHAT CAN WE ACTUALLY Factorialis Happiness is linked to pleasure, and the brain's interpretation of pleasure is a complex mixture of desire, anticipation, satisfaction, and DO SOMETHING everything in between - processes not easily reducible to cells and chemicals. ABOUT? Many parts of the brainn including the nucleus accumbens, prefrontal cortex, ventral pallidum, ventral tegmental area (VTA), septum, and amygdala, work in concert with endorphins like dopamine to create pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation to pursue it again. WORK Whatever profession you're in, small changes make work a happier place:.... > * Lend a helping hand * Strive to find meaning in work * Keep a future-oriented perspective * Get enough sleep * Take vacations * Eat lunch with co-workers *People who have plants at their workplaces are happier than those who don't. * Recognize the contributions of others * Celebrate success 1 SCHOOL PRINCIPAL 2015's Other professions with high work satisfaction include 2 EXECUTIVE CHEF 3 LOAN OFFICER jobs that influence people and express creativity. happiest jobs: AUTOMATION ENGINEER RESEARCH ASSISTANT According to an analysis of more than 25,000 company reviews SALARY = HAPPINESS..BUT ONLY TO A POINT -0% % increase increase in life satisfaction in life satisfaction With a jump in annual salary from $25,000 to $55,000 After earning $75,000 a year, more money makes virtually zero impact Focusing too much on money may cause: $ More stress $ More anti-social tendencies ·$ Less likeliness of enjoying life's simple pleasures In experiments in which people were primed to think of money, test participants. A survey of University of Liege employees revealed that wealthier individuals are less likely to enjoy simple things like savoring a piece of chocolate. $ .were less willing to help a stranger. $.chose solitary activities over social ones. STUFF VS. EXPERIENCES Experiences often have a social aspect, which also makes us happier. Unlike physical stuff, experiences are personal and difficult to measure against one another. Constant comparison with the latest version, gadget, or style can easily ruin the enjoyment of Material purchases bring massive initial excitement, but the new stuff. Great experiences become entrenched in our memory, so the joy lasts much longer. hype diminishes over time. ....... FRIENDS AND FAMILY The #1 happiness booster is spending time with close friends and family. People experience the best moods when socializing with loved ones. Universally, a sense of community and frequent community celebrations are among the greatest happiness triggers. This explains all of our Christmas dinners, birthday bashes, Sunday potlucks, and keg parties. Playıng with kıds brings more positive vibes than almost any other common activity. GRATITUDE JOURNALS GRATITUDE Through writing and collage, journaling is one of the easiest and most popular ways to focus on the people you're thankful for. .............. .................. Happiness and gratitude go hand in hand. Positive psychology and happiness experts recommend multiple ways to recognize your thankfulness: GRATITUDE LETTERS Unexpected hand-written (and hand-delivered) notes to people you're grateful to have in your life can be a powerful boost to happiness levels. But any form of direct communication counts. MEDITATION AND WALKS Taking time to cleanse the mind, showing gratitude for simple things like breathing, the sounds around you etc. GENEROSITY Donatıng precious time or money Is not a waste of either. It has been shown that spending just this much on others rather than on ourselves makes us happier. %245 Spending on others while sharing the moment together results in the happiest feelings of all. O People who donate money to charity are happier in poor and rich countries alike. You don't have to have a lot to experience the emotional benefits of giving. 99 -Dr. Elizabeth Dunn, Professor of Psychology, University of British Columbia A Gallup World Poll surveying 200,000+ people in 136 countries found: Most people who had donated to charity during the past month reported greater life satisfaction. FINDING A LIFE PARTNER Married couples are happier than singles, even after controlling for prior life satisfaction. Being married has some protective effect against the slump that many people feel in their 40s and 50s, a.k.a. mid-life crisis. The happiest couples are those who married their best friends. Researchers John F. Heliwell and Shawn Grover, using data from the Gallup World Poll and wo UK surveys 0.24 kid HAVING KIDS! %, per There are conflicting reports. While many parents say that raising children brings them the greatest joy and fulfillment, certain studies show having a child depletes happiness. Decrease in life satisfaction US General Social Survey But the answer is more complex Your life stage, parental role, and marital situation play a role: Nelson. S. K. et. al. 2015 *Single parents * Married parents Those * Young parents without * Older parents (17-25 at 1st child's birth) kids (26-62 at Ist child's birth) Usually less happy Usually happier The sense of joy and fulfillment may be stronger during later life stages. Mothers Fathers Usually less happy (compared to their childless counterparts) Usually happier These stages are especially rough on Parents: Toddlers Teens BEING A KID... The most important factors for childhood happiness are: * CLOSE FRIENDS * PLAYING SPORTS * A STABLE HOME There is no association between family income and a child's overall life satisfaction WEALTH HAPPINESS Factorialist According to research from Gundi Knies at the U. of Essex Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), YOUR LIVING SPACE A beautiful house increases satisfaction in the house itself, but does little to improve overall life happiness. However, its distance from work Congestion is a happiness killer. Taking a less congested but slightly longer route can help. ..** ... . *** COMMUTE DISTANCE LEAVE WORK ISSUES BEHIND. Use the time as an opportunity to create a If shortening your drive isn't an option, changing your perspective can combat the negative effects of a long commute. mental shift between work and home. CONSIDER THE TIME AS A BREAK from commitments and responsibilities. Managing to fit some physical activity into your day helps with a long commute, even if it's a simple walk during lunch. DO SOMETHING FUN. Listening to music, enjoying the scenery, or simply being alone with your thoughts may help you view the commute as leisure time, OWNING In studies comparing Ohio homeowners and renters: Neither group was happier, but homeowners were 12 pounds heavier on average. Speaking of..... RENTING =12 LBS? EXERCISE 20 > 12 minutes hours The mood benefits of just 20 minutes of exercise can last 12 hours. actorialist IT'S NOT JUST CARDIO Strength training, yoga, and tai chi have been shown to relax the mind/body, reduce anxiety, and relieve stress. DON'T FORGET TO LAUGH Laughter therapy: Laughter is so natural and beneficial that it's even used as therapy, improving health, mood, and social skills through fun and humor. 2-in-1 Laughter yoga was started in Mumbai by Dr. Madan Katarina, who is now gleefully running over 5,000 clubs worldwide. 400 12% increase in mental performance VS. 15 In experiments where people watched a funny film: Laughing releases happy chemıcals Participants immediately performed 12% better at mentally challenging Kids burst out 400 chuckles a day, whereas adults eke tasks, compared to those who watched a neutral film and those Including dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in feelings of pleasure and happiness out a mere 15. who watched no film at all. IT WILL GET BETTER TIME A study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that happiness is not a downhill slide after college, but a U-curve. At graduation and the start of young adulthood, people are generally pretty happy. That's before the disillusionment of life sets in. Slowly, nagging spouses, whiny children, and unmerciful bosses Then things start looking up, psychologically. Mature people have better control of their emotions, better at bring us down until we round the bend around solving conflicts, and less likely to pass judgment. middle age. There are also studies that find mid-life to be a happy period (when not statistically controlling for a host of circumstantial factors). 66 The elderly grow better at living for the present. Older people know what matters most. - Laura Carstensen, Professor of Psychology, Slanford University. Director of Stanford Center on Longevity WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF HAPPINESS RESEARCH? Well-being studies are on the rise; so are efforts to integrate those ..... (sometimes contradictory) findings into a framework, which should help us make sense of how everything fits together. Who knows, maybe one day, we'll discover that grand unified theory of happines. Quoidbach et, al. 2015 Factorialist THE STORIES BEHIND THE FACTS SOURCES: Alexander Weiss, Timothy CE Sample. Paychological Science 19 Michelle Luciano. "Happiness is a Personakity) Thing: The Genetics of Personality and Well-Being ina Representative Baleta), 205-210. Sonja Lyubomirsky. Kennon M. Sheldon, David Schkade. "Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change" Review of General Psychology 2005, Vol. 9. No. 2. 1-131. Lyubomirsky, Sonja (2008). The How of Happiness. Penguin Books. Kringelbach, Morten L. and Berridge. Kent C. The Joyful Mind" Scientific American. August 2012. "Pleasure and Pain." The Brain From Top to Bottom. McGill University. Retrieved September 7, 2015. Ulrich Schimmack, Shigehiro Oishi, R Michael Furr, David C. Funder. Personality and Lite Satisfaction. University of Toronto. http://www.gallup.com/pol/165269/worldwide-employees-engaged-workaspx Crabtree, Steve. The Economics of Happiness." Gallup Business Journal. January 10, 2008. Jordi Quoidbach; Elizabeth W. Dunn. Money Giveth. Money Taketh Away: The Dual Effect of Wealth on Happiness, Psychological Science. 2010. Smith, Tom W. "Job Satisfaction in the United States." NORC University of Chicago April 17, 2007. Dunn, Elizabeth and Norton, Michael. Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending. 2013. http://www.careerbliss.com/lacts-and-figures/careerbliss-happiest-and-unhappiest-jobs-in-america-2015/ Lambert, Craig. The Science of Happiness" Harvard Magazine. January-February 2007. Gundi Knies. Life satisfaction and material well-being of children in the UK ISER Working Paper Series 2012-15. http://www.gallup.com/pol/10296Vcharitable-giving-differs-canada-uk-us.aspx Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin, Michael I. Norton. Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness. Science Vol. 319, 2008. Dahl, Melissa. "Married People Are Happier People." New York Magazine. January 2015. John F. Helliwell Shawn Grover. New Evidence on Marriage and the Set Point for Happiness, NBER Working Paper No. 20794. 2014. S. Katherine Nelson, Kostadin Kushlev, and Sonja Lyubomirsky. The Pains and Pleasures of Parenting: When, Why, and How Is Parenthood Associated With More or Less Well-Being? Psychological Bullefin 2014. Teng Guo, Lingyi Hu. Economic Determinants of Happiness: Evidence from the US General Social Survey. Smith, Tom W. "Job Satisfaction in the United States." NORC University of Chicago April 17, 2007. Sibold, J.S., Berg. KM. (2010) Mood enhancement persists for up to 12 hours following aerobic exercise. Brown RP, et al "Sudarshan Kriya Yogic Breathing in the Treatment of Stress, Arciety, and Depression: Part - Neurophysiologic Model" Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (Feb. 2005): Vol. 11, No. L pp. 189-201, Saper RB. et al. "Prevalence and Patterns of Adult Yoga Use in the United States: Results of a National Survey. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine (March-April 2004): Vol, 10, No. 2, pp. 44-49. "Laughter Therapy.: The Guardian. Sunday 6 July 2008. Wolfe, Alexandra. "Sophie Scott and the Science of Laughter. The Guardian. May 15, 2015. http://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/12/07/want-to-be-happier-change-your-commute-or-changeyour-attitude/ Margo Hibrecht, Bryan Smale & Steven E. Mock (2014) Highway to health? Commute time and well-being among Canadian adults, World Leisure Journal 56:2. 151-163. The U-bend of Life. The Economist. December 16, 2010. Blanchflower, David G. Oswald, Andrew J. "Is Well-being U-Shaped over the Life Cycle?" Social Science & Medicine 2008. Emmons, R (2007). "Pay it forward." Greater Good Science Center. Vincent, E (2014). Writing power: Kont state professor studies benefits of writing gratitude letters. Kent State University. Jordi Quoidbach, Moira Mikolajczak James J. Gross. "Positive Interventions: An Emotion Regulation Perspective." Psychological Bulletin. 2015. Ф FACTORIALIST.Cом 2016 (Everyone's different, so these influences are estimates) HAPPINESS HAPPINESSi