How to Be Happier

It's harder than you think.

Studies show that we all have a fairly stable baseline for long-term happiness.
In other words, regardless if something amazing or something tragic happens to you, within a few months, you will tend to return to roughly the same level of happiness as before.

That's really great news if you're happy with your current overall level of happiness.
However, if you, like most of us, wish you could have more long-term happiness, what can you do?

Research has found that one of the most effective ways of increasing your happiness level boils down to one word:  gratitude.

There's a study on gratitude written about in Robert Emmon's book, Thanks!:  How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier.  Emmons took 200 people, split them up into three groups and asked each of them to make a list every week for ten weeks.

1. The first group was asked to list five things in their life they were grateful for.
2. The second group was asked to list five hassles in their life that annoyed them.
3. The third group was asked to list five things that had an impact on them.

Those in the gratitude group were significantly happier than those in the other two groups.  They felt better about their lives overall, were more optimistic about the upcoming week, had less physical complaints and also spent more time exercising.

I try as much as possible to keep a gratitude journal.  I used to jot a few things down everyday in my journal that I was grateful for, but lately, I've been putting them in this pretty neat app I found.

It looks like this, and also has inspiring quotes and a place to put your own photos:

My challenge for you today- jot down three things that you are grateful for.  It only takes a second, it helps remind you of the positive things in your life, and it can increase your overall happiness.

What are three things you are grateful for today?

TED Talk Tuesday: Less Stuff, More Happiness

For someone who really hates moving, I seem to do a lot of it.

There was a nomadic stretch of my twenties that I moved 9 times in 6 years.

No matter how often I move, I invariably end up saying to myself at some point during the packing process,

"Why do I have so much stuff?!"

When I move into the new place, I have this little game I play with myself.  I vow to keep things pared down, and I promise that this time I will keep my desk neat.  That I will have a place for everything, so things don't end up cluttered.  This time will be different.


But a few months later, and I'm back to my shopping, accumulating, buying ways.  And then a few years later when it's time to move, I'm in an all too familiar place- staring at a mountain of boxes, asking myself,

"Why do I have so much stuff?!"

Here We Go Again

The interesting thing is, when I think of the times that I was the happiest, it's usually times when I barely had any stuff at all: backpacking through Europe, being dirt poor in college, traveling the world.  I had less stuff, but I was more happy, more free, and more ME.

In today's TED Talk, Graham Hill makes the case that editing your life and taking less space can actually make you happier.

Here are his three rules for living little:

Check out his TED talk here:

In what way can you edit your own life today?

Quote of the Day: The Grand Essentials of Happiness

Happiness is Like a Butterfly

Continuing with the Happiness theme from yesterday's TED Talk post, here's the inspirational quote of the day.

Just for today, stop chasing.

TED Talk Tuesday- The Secret to Happiness

Have you met my friend, TED?

If you haven't, I think you should go to the site immediately and check it out.

Like now.

Seriously.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and it all started as a super rad, invitation-only conference that brought together pioneers, visionaries and experts in those three fields to share their ideas in 18 minutes or less.  

The amazing thing is, a few years ago they started airing the videos online.

For FREE.

They even have an app, so you can watch them on your phone.

I just love TED Talks.

I truly believe that watching one TED talk a day is arguably a better education than many formalized educational programs.

So in honor of my deep admiration and overall giddiness for all things TED, I've decided to make Tuesdays "TED Talk Tuesday," where I could share my absolute favorites with you.

Today's talk is by Harvard Professor, Dan Gilbert, who also wrote the best selling book, Stumbling on Happiness, which I highly recommend.  

What is the secret to happiness?  Dan presents research that challenges the idea that happiness comes from getting what we want, and shows us that happiness is actually something we create, even when things don't go as planned.

What do you think?  Do you think that happiness is created?