17 Jul 3 ways to enjoy even MORE than happiness!
Here at The Happiness Institute we are, not surprisingly, big advocates of positive emotion and happiness.
Too often, we believe, the benefits of (real) happiness are ignored or underestimated. But there are real benefits to happiness and these should be acknowledged and utilised to live our best possible lives!
That being said, we accept that living a great life involves more than just the experience of positive emotion and this thought provoking article highlights some of the additional strategies we should all give due consideration to in order to thrive and flourish…
by Chris Deaver from the Huffington Post
Some say it's impossible to "have it all" and that you need to make tough choices and move on. Choose the promotion. Or choose family time. Or choose exercise. Or pick a hybrid and give as much as you can knowing something will suffer along the way. Others say if you lean in enough, you'll have everything. But what's the truth?
A few years ago, I found myself chasing after happiness full speed–pushing for the promotion, maxing out family time, and exercising like a freak. I'd assumed it was a math equation and if I inputted the most to each thing, it would equate to happiness. But that didn't happen. Instead, I never felt wealthy enough, I always felt like my relationships were near implosion, and I witnessed my waist line growing like a baby koala. But I was so bent on managing myself out of it, I kept pushing–to the breaking point. Literally. One day I was exhausted after work, having run a few miles, and sat listening to my wife talk about her day…expecting the "happiness switch" to suddenly click to the "On" position. Instead, I found myself unconscious on the floor…. carted off in an ambulance. Clearly my strategy wasn't working.
Here's what I learned:
1. Skip Happiness, and Live for Meaning – Keep a Daily Purpose Journal
When I went through what I did, I realized I had to change my concept of happiness. I had to look deeper. Why did I want to be happy? I really wanted more meaning. So I started a purpose journal, writing to inspire my family, future kids, and others–and it's made all the difference. Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker examined experiences of 397 people who described their lives as happy and others who described their lives as meaningful. She found those who considered their lives happy focused on what was happening to them in the present moment and were "takers", and those who considered their lives meaningful found insights exploring their past, future, and present and were "givers". Focusing on meaning is the best way to find what you're looking for. Keep a daily purpose journal.
Gary Dixon, President of the Foundation for a Better Life lives a meaningful life creating pay-it-forward messages from Kermit the Frog, Abraham Lincoln, and Superman. And he started with one aspiration: to share simple and powerful messages of perseverance, hard work, and service every day to millions of people…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE