Happiness. Don't wait for it.
Go out and get it!
Have you found the secret to Happiness? A different job, a new home or relationship, fame and fortune,...will they bring you happiness? I did the first three but the results were disappointing - there was still something missing. Many times I wished for that Lottery win feeling sure it was the only way things would improve...and quickly too.
However,like me, YOU may be looking in the wrong place. The SECRET is out and it's simple.
Find out what makes YOU Happy? - and include more of it in your life.
According to Positive Psychology researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, it is something you can learn to do,in the same way that we take on other habits in life. To create any new habit they say, takes 21 days to build the 'pathway' in the brain and then 63 days to consolidate it.
What does the Research tell us?
In 2005 research carried out by Dr. Martin Seligman of the Positive Psyhology movement revealed the following:
- only 50% of a person's happiness-potential comes from inherited character traits
the individual controls the rest
- people who class themselves as very-happy, are no more beautiful, sociable or successful than the average person
How well do you score in the Happiness stakes? Sign in at the
University of Pennsylvania to take the test - it's FUN, FREE and INFORMATIVE!
The research also says that you can change your thought patterns to improve life satisfaction levels. It suggests you should include the following:
- cultivate 'flow' activities - hobbies or activities in which you become so immersed that time is forgotten.
- surround yourself with close friends or loved ones.
- have intimate relationships that include a high level of self-disclosure
Ready to start your action plan. Whether you want to: - feel better about yourself,
- to include more 'flow activities,'
- improve relationships
control negative thoughts, - find out NOW what makes you UNIQUELY HAPPY.
Lighten Up - Live Longer
Further research, this time in Milwaukee in the United States has suggested a possible link between happiness and long life.
A study of nuns in Milwaukee examined the diaries of the sisters of Notre Dame when they joined back in the 1930s and counted the number of times they used positive and negative words.
Some were brimming with joyful thoughts. Others were a bit gloomy.
Enough for modern-day researchers to divide the intake into "joyful nuns" and "not so joyful nuns".
After joining the order their lives were almost exactly the same - same food, same work, same routine. But not the same life expectancy.
Among the less positive nuns, two thirds died before their 85th birthday. Among the joyous nuns, 90% were still alive.
On average the joyful nuns lived about nine years longer than the least joyful nuns.
Lighten Up - Be Healthy
Yes, research suggests that a happier person is likely to have less physical illness than an unhappy one.
In Scotland Mr. Cox. Director of Dumfries and Galloway National Health Service Trust is using Cognitive Behaviour Therapists (CBT)to make people happier.
Mr. Cox is quoted in a BBC news article as follows:
'There is mounting evidence that happiness might be at least as powerful a predictor, if not a more powerful predictor than some of the other lifestyle factors that we talk about in terms of cigarette smoking, diet, physical activity and those kind of things.'
Numerous studies have shown, CBT, which seeks to 'train' people to swap negative behaviours for positive ones, to be as effective as antidepressants.
He argues people are happier if they live in a safe neighbourhood, are given more control at work, and participate in community projects.
How do you know when you are happy?
Remember, you get what you focus on!
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