09 Jan 5 things science learned about happiness in 2016
Positive psychology is a relatively new science and so we’re constantly learning more about happiness and how to live a great life.
And 2016 was another year when our happiness knowledge expanded and grew…
via Inc.com by Jessica Stillman
With its constant drip of celebrity deaths, grisly headlines, and political disappointments, 2016 was pretty much no one’s idea of a banner year for happiness. But that doesn’t mean the year just past was a complete wash when it comes to increasing human flourishing.
While most of us were struggling to come to terms with the horrors in the news, positive psychologists were hard at work trying to figure out how to boost joy and decrease suffering. They didn’t come up empty handed.
The field came up with some fascinating and potentially useful findings, according to a recent roundup of the year’s most interesting studies from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. Some will be of interest only to specific groups like teachers, parents of teenagers, and those with heart conditions, but here are the findings with relevance to everyone looking to make 2017 a happier year by far.
1. Getting tough on yourself backfires.
When people start a self-improvement regime, they often begin my vowing to “get tough” on themselves and accept no weakness. Big mistake, says new research. Being kind to yourself is a much better way to affect positive change in your life.
“Self-compassion may … promote growth and self-improvement. In another study published in January, researchers asked participants to write about incidents from their life that elicited regret–like cheating on a loved one–from either a self-compassionate perspective, a perspective emphasizing their positive qualities, or without instruction. When questioned afterwards, those in the self-compassion group reported being more motivated to improve their behavior going forward than people in the other groups,” explains Greater Good…
…keep reading the full and original article HERE