happiness
Work
Avoid The “Hedonic Treadmill” Trap If You Want To Be Happy
5:30AM Azadeh Ensha | We recently offered tips on finding happiness in your work as well as how to find the environment where you thrive. New reports also suggest that happiness is related to your intrinsic verses extrinsic motivations and your response mechanisms. More »
Work
The Road To Happiness In Your Work Lies In The Hooray! Zone
8:30AM Azadeh Ensha | It’s been said that there’s no formula for happiness when it comes to our professional and personal lives. Maybe so. But according to weblog What Consumes Me, there is a Venn diagram. More »
Organise
“Glass Half Empty” Worldview Easier In The Short Term
5:30AM Gina Trapani | In an attempt to nail down what psychological aspects factor into “the successful life,” researchers have been following 268 Harvard students from the 1940s until now, conducting extensive physical and psychological tests each year. More »
Communicate
Happy People Watch Less TV, Study Shows
5:00AM Gina Trapani | Researchers at the University of Maryland found the one activity unhappy people do more than happy people is watch TV. The New York Times reports: “We looked at 8 to 10 activities that happy people engage in, and for each one, the people who did the activities more — visiting others, going to church, all those things — were more happy,” Dr. [John] Robinson said. “TV was the one activity that showed a negative relationship. Unhappy people did it more, and happy people did it less.” The study doesn’t indicate whether TV-watching is a symptom or a cause of unhappiness, so turning off the TV won’t necessarily make you happier. Have unhappier times in your life involved more TV-watching, less, or the same as happy times? Let us know in the comments. What Happy People Don’t Do [NYTimes.com] More »What gives you happiness in life?
4:00PM Sarah Stokely | I just read a really interesting article by Adele Horen in The Age, about a conference on happiness held by buddhist teaching group, the Vajrayana Institute. One of the presenters was a Harvard psychologist, Daniel Gilbert, who says that people are very bad at predicting what will make them happy.He said that while often people choose having kids as a path to happiness, studies have shown that happiness is in fact adversely affected by having kids, and doesn’t return to its previous level until the kids move out of home (ouch!).The upshot was that we have a biological urge to reproduce, but we don’t have a biological urge to do things to make us happy.Another presenter – a professor of psychology and psychiatry – had studied MRIs of buddhist monks and said that meditation is a way of changing the “hardwiring” of our brains to achieve greater happiness and compassion.Most people do seem to struggle with balancing their short term versus long term goals, and their need versus wants. So my question is – what gives you happiness in life – and if it took you a while to figure it out, how did you get there?
Happiness is… not having children [The Age] More » Improve your life by treating yourself like a cat
1:56PM Sarah Stokely | If you want to increase your happiness, check out this list of 9 ways you can improve your life – by treating yourself like a cat! It was the best thing I read yesterday by a long shot – it was nice to be reminded that while we might lavish our feline friends with the best care, we sometimes neglect ourselves.
The list includes those perennial feline favourite activities like stretching, napping and bathing, as well as a call to pay attention to what you eat:
“I stopped free-feeding my cats and they lost weight, yet I kept
stuffing my own face and stayed overweight! Eat protein, eat vitamin
and mineral rich foods and the right sort of fats. Check out the
complexity of your pedigree cat food and compare to your own diet. Eat
grass. I provide cat grass for my cats and they chew on it every day
before each meal. Fibre and fresh leafy greens are essential for us every day.”
The list comes courtesy of the multi-talented Kate Conroy – the producer and presenter of environmental online radio show and podcast A Climate Affair.
Like what Kate has to say? Check out her Lifehacker interview and her Climate Affair podcast.
Treat yourself like a cat [Serenity Now] More » 
Improve Your Mood by Pruning Your Goals
2:30AM Kevin Purdy | Does waking up in the morning always feel like lining up for a race you’ll never finish? If so, Trent at The Simple Dollar finance blog has a suggestion for both your mood and your daily tasks. First off, make a list of every goal you’re trying to reach, ranging from “Clean the fridge” to “Start long-term investment plan.” Then … Go through that list and eliminate a lot of them. Eliminate the ones that don’t leave you yearning to achieve them. Keep them only if you absolutely must do them. Try really hard to winnow the list down as small as you can. More »Jumpstart your day by building mood lifters into your morning
11:47AM Sarah Stokely | A bad start to the day can set the tone for your whole day – so The Simple Dollar suggests building a morning routine which starts each day on a positive note. Writer Trent says: “My average morning starts off with a shower, a small and energetic
breakfast, some logic puzzles, and then, eventually, a period of time
with my kids.”Here are some of his suggestions for creating a positive mood for yourself in the morning:
*A breakfast of fruit or oatmeal Something healthy, natural, and full of energy to start your day.
*A shower Start off things by taking a long, soaking
shower, cleaning you off, revitalizing you, and getting you ready to go
for the day.*Meditation or prayer Early morning might be the best
time to get in touch with your spiritual side, especially if it’s
something that brings positive value to your life.
*A brief taste of your favorite hobby Read a book chapter or play a quick game to start things off.
I’d add one other suggestion – a burst of enjoyable outdoor activity. A mild walk or something a bit more energetic to get your heartrate up for a few minutes. Exposure to some sunlight gets you a dose of Vitamin D and can help lift your mood. I love going for a morning walk in the park near my house because lots of people walk their dogs there and I get to watch them playing. It always puts a smile on my face.Got any suggestions for the best way to start your day on the right foot? Please share in comments.
Investing in Yourself: Feel Good [The Simple Dollar] More » 
Feel-Good Ways to Make Someone Else’s Day
5:00AM Tamar Weinberg | Today is as good a day as any to put your friends and family first and to make their day. Need inspiration? Socyberty offers ten ideas, from giving movie tickets to someone who has been working quite hard lately to leaving a generous tip to your waiter. Be spontaneous and write a thank you note to someone who has had an impact on you or someone you care about. Lend a shoulder to a co-worker who has had a bad day and add some humour to the events to make them smile. Give a homeless person some food to eat. Read a story to a friend’s child. How do you give of yourself to those who live around you? Let’s hear your feel-good tips in the comments. 10 Ways to Make Someone Else’s Day [Socyberty] More »
