Happiness

Learn about Happiness

In-depth analysis of what it takes to achieve real happiness.

Happiness & Money Secret #2: Anticipate As If You’re Going to Kiss Mila Kunis

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Anticipation is one of the strongest emotions that bring happiness.

Do you remember that feeling… of the night before Christmas, of being so excited and full of anticipation that you couldn't fall asleep?

I do, but I've really got to squeeze my brain. That youthful luster is a long gone memory.

Maturity happened.

As an adult in training, my natural urge to anticipate was discouraged. For some reason, that urge was associated with childlike immaturity.

As an American male, expressions of excitement and joy were further discouraged. To be ‘cool' is to be composed and in control.

That's a shame.

We're missing out on a lot.

This is part two in a four-part series on money and happiness.

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Money Secret #1: Buy Many Small Pleasures

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Can money buy happiness?

It can. At least in some ways.

Financial security from money management reduces divorce rates, increases life span, and just plain feels good.1,2,3

Wealth purchases life-changing vacations, variety – the spice of life, and free time – with which to actually live life.

Despite this, the average person with a family income greater than $75,000 is just 12% happier than the average person with a family income of $30,000.4 They've adapted. To them, a juicy steak tastes just a bit better than $1 ramen tastes to me.

The common refrain of money doesn't buy happiness is true, but with a caveat – for the average person, money doesn't buy happiness.

There are outliers – people who have very little money but smile like kings, and people who double their income, and in the process, also double their happiness.

I am not one of those people. Most people aren't.

After all, dozens of studies have shown it mostly true – for the average person, money doesn't buy happiness.5

There's a fix. We just need to stop being average.

Daniel Gilbert, the author of Stumbling on Happiness, says,

If money doesn't make you happy, then you probably aren't spending it right.5

Money does buy happiness, but only when used in particular, often counter-intuitive ways.

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Self Compassion – How Caring for Others can Bring you Success and Happiness

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Afraid of public speaking? You're not alone – more than 70% of Americans suffer from speech anxiety.

The butterflies, light-headedness, sweaty palms, fidgety legs, shaky knees, and incoherent mumbling? All normal.

But accepting that it's normal? Not so normal.

By skipping, ignoring, and even resisting the truth that failure is normal, we're losing out on a powerful tool for change – for getting over speech anxiety or for finally losing weight.

Don't worry, this isn't another post about the dangers of optimism.

This is a lighthearted story of defeat, inspiration, and redemption. Of what a person can accomplish when they have the courage to look bleak reality in its face.

Or something like that.

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How Grateful Are You? Interactive Quiz + Seven Strategies for Cultivating Gratitude

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Gratitude increases our happiness, improves our relationships, and makes us healthier. And it does so reliably. Over 40 research studies have shown the same thing – gratitude rocks. So how can we get more of it? It depends. How grateful are you already? Let’s figure that out. The quiz below only takes 30 seconds. (Side … Read more

Positive Psychology Progress A breakdown of the 2005 paper.

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Using a sample recruited through the Authentic Happiness website, the authors of the study wanted to compare the effectiveness of five different happiness techniques, each delivered via the internet. The five techniques chosen were: gratitude visit, three good things in life, you at your best, using signature strengths in a new way, and identifying signature strengths. The Steen Happiness Index … Read more

The Startling Truth about How Psychostimulants Effect your Body and Mind (and a Better Way)

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What is a psychostimulant?  How can it affect your mood and happiness? What is a common pyschostimulant that most adults consume on a daily basis? How does this stimulant effect your body?

Is there a better way to get the same positive effect as a psycostimulant  without any side effects?

This article will answer all ths questions on the effects of pyschostimulants and give you a simple idea to get the same effects with no negative side effects.

Ready? Lets get to it….

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The Inside Job: How Happy Happens

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Joy begets joy.

You probably know at least a few people who are eternal, effervescent bundles of bliss: no matter how tiring or challenging their day, they just exude happiness. And whenever they enter a room, every person inside it lights up like a holiday tree, catching some of their pleasure, if only momentarily.

Ever wonder what they're doing differently?

Here's their ‘secret', according to Jonathan Haidt, author of The Happiness Hypothesis:

They were born lucky. They won the cortical lottery. Digest these quotes from the research article, Beyond the Hedonic Treadmill:

  1. Research has shown over and over again “that one's level of well-being is reasonably stable over time (Eid & Diener, 2004).”
  2. “Behavioral genetic studies show that well-being is moderately heritable.” Identical twins raised apart “were much more similar in their levels of well-being than were dizygotic [fraternal] twins who were reared apart.” (Tellegen et al. 1988)
  3. “Whereas any single demographic factor typically correlates less than .2 with well-being reports…. personality tends to correlate much more strongly with well-being.” Personality… changes little over a person's lifetime (Deiner & Lucas, 1999).

Hmmm. That's great news for those born happy. Kinda sucks for me.

I definitely didn't win the cortical lottery. 

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