Happiness Secret: 9 Scientific Ways to Boost Your Mood
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“Remember that just because you’re happy doesn’t imply that you have everything you want.
It’s a straightforward expression of gratitude for what you already own.
– Unknown
I will never forget the time that I was riding the subway in New York City with my valium, lithium, and many other medications that my psychologist had just given me.
The tears were flowing down my cheeks.
I was at my wit’s end in this dark place that I had learned to recognize as depression.
A miserable, hopeless, and terrifying state of depression.
The unforgiving metal of the metro seat left me feeling exposed and vulnerable.
I was completely ineffective.
I was unable to control my tears.
My mind kept racing with the thought that this would be my new normal.
That is only one instance out of many during my life.
I was able to move on from that.
And there were further incidents involving this beast.
I eventually became sick and weary of being ill and exhausted.
It was a vicious cycle.
I still vividly recall that day.
I had just had another round of despair when, out of the blue and seemingly out of nowhere, I began to feel the warmth of appreciation.
I found myself truly experiencing gratitude!
And it was a wonderful experience overall!
I was aware that my thoughts and feelings may have started to change.
At that very moment, I made a solemn promise to myself to figure out how I might make happiness a more constant part of my life.
It was inevitable that I would experience challenging circumstances, but I resolved to make the most of every opportunity to cultivate a constructive attitude toward life.
I came to realize that achieving pleasure is an inside endeavor as well as a process.
There is a methodical approach to achieving happiness.
I’m here to inform you that it’s not impossible to achieve your goals.
It’s possible that you’ve never felt so low before.
I really do hope not.
But there is assistance available to you if you are experiencing feelings of depression or gloominess.
Now, let’s take a look at the research on what makes people happy.
Researchers led by Sonia Lyubormirsky and her team have shown that it is possible for us to improve our levels of happiness.
According to the findings of their study, a genetic predisposition to happiness accounts for fifty percent of each individual’s level of contentment.
It’s possible that this is why your sister is usually joyful, while you sometimes find it difficult to get through the day.
This is a fixed spot that cannot be adjusted, unfortunately.
The second item to think about is that life circumstances account for ten percent of our happiness.
This includes things like our gender, our age, where we grew up, our employment, key events that have occurred in our lives, whether or not we are married, and so on.
For instance, you may believe that increasing your income or purchasing a new vehicle would make you happy.
However, the truth is that these things will only make you happier to a certain extent.
After that, a phenomenon known as “hedonic adaptation” starts to take place.
Our pleasure levels tend to return to the way they were before we had that “new item” because of this natural propensity we all have, which is to get used to what we already have.
If you are concerned about your ability to stay alive, then having sufficient funds is absolutely necessary.
However, studies have shown that those who are wealthy do not experience any greater levels of happiness than the rest of us.
In point of fact, it has been stated that people assert that they experience a greater number of headaches and anxieties.
To reiterate, happiness is something that comes from the inside.
The good news is that deliberate actions still account for forty percent of the total satisfaction we experience.
This is the point at which we have a choice.
Our mental state is something that can be altered and controlled by us.
This is the forty percent of our lives over which we have some say in determining how happy we are.
Although we may not be able to modify our set point, we are in control of the amount of enjoyment we experience!
It is up to us to decide.
There are a lot of activities that we may include in our list of deliberate habits.
Not only may we engage in acts of kindness, but we can also learn to forgive, connect with people, and take care of our bodies (by engaging in both physical exercise and meditation), and these are just some of the options.
One of the most effective ways to get started is to make a habit out of expressing gratitude every day.
Daily, jot down three things for which you have reason to be thankful.
Pick something completely unusual to do every day.
Jot down the reasons why they inspire gratitude in you.
The question of why is a very significant one.
According to the findings of studies conducted at companies like Google, this technique raises overall levels of optimism.
Make this something you do intentionally every day.
At first glance, it can seem ridiculous, yet research has shown that it is effective.
Your way of thinking is certain to shift after reading this.
There is a whole field of study dedicated to the study of happiness, and one component of this study is a set of everyday practices that I like to refer to as “happy hygiene.”
You go about doing these things in the same manner that you would clean your teeth.
They help you maintain a greater degree of contentment.
You decide what works best for you and make doing it a regular part of your routine.
For example, research published by Harvard Health Publishing found that moving your body in any way, whether it be via exercise, walking, dancing, or the practice of yoga, was, in most instances, just as helpful as taking an antidepressant.
Exercise performed at a low level and for an extended period of time stimulates the production of proteins known as neurotrophic or growth factors.
These proteins encourage nerve cells to expand and generate new connections.
The enhancement in our brain function contributes to our enhanced sense of well-being.
When I was in such a bad place in the past, I had an epiphany and understood that if I wanted to have better days, I was going to have to do things for myself in order to make it happen.
It was going to be necessary for me to figure out what factors contributed to the transformation of my negative mentality into a good one.
The pursuit of happiness is not something that, once accomplished, guarantees a lifelong supply of contentment.
It is a continuing process that requires daily maintenance with the tools that have been found by the science of happiness.
A few examples of these tools are:
1.
I now have a purpose as a result of setting objectives that are not only doable but also personally important.
My objectives evolve into exciting and motivating tasks for me to work on.
I established intrinsic objectives as opposed to extrinsic goals.
These interests make me joyful and keep me youthful.
I no longer base my ambitions on gaining ego satisfaction, financial success, or power.
My objectives are important to me, and I take full responsibility for achieving them; they are not based on the values that were instilled in me by my family, friends, or other people from the outside world.
2.
Finding genuine happiness in the act of savoring happy experiences has become more important.
When I come across a breathtaking dawn accompanied by a moon that is illuminated, I cling to that feeling of amazement and take pleasure in it.
Seize the beautiful moments, and focus on the bright side.
3.
Establishing meaningful relationships with other individuals may be a game changer.
Keeping in touch with wonderful friends, even when I don’t feel like it, has enabled me to feel more connected to the world and, as a result, more satisfied.
4.
If I tell a trusted friend what’s going on in my life, it helps to lift a weight off my shoulders, and I also have the chance to spill some of my deepest, darkest secrets.
You are only as ill as the things you keep to yourself.
Caring is sharing, after all.
Simply taking the time to listen to supportive friends may be therapeutic.
5.
I have developed compassion for others via the practice of random acts of kindness, such as letting someone go ahead of me in line or sending a letter to say “thank you.”
These little deeds have had me thinking about how I may be of help to others.
Being of service to others shifts attention away from myself and onto other people.
Where are the opportunities for me to have a positive impact on the life of another person?
6.
I have found that deepening my spiritual connection is a source of both hope and strength for me.
My connection with the global source, which I draw from on a daily basis, was established via practices like meditation, prayer, and contemplation.
7.
Recognizing and redirecting my critical internal monologue has been of tremendous assistance to me in maintaining a happy outlook.
A significant step in the right direction was realizing when I was engaging in negative discourse, such as catastrophizing (“This is dreadful”), all or nothing thinking (“It usually comes out like this”), negative prophecies (“My finances will be in ruins”), labeling (“I’m so foolish”), and so on.
It is not always easy for me to capture these ideas, but at this moment I am looking out for them.
I instantly put a halt to my train of thought and replaced it with one that is more optimistic and truthful.
The ego gives us falsehoods and distorts reality in order to keep us believing what it wants us to believe, which are our negative beliefs.
It all depends on how we take in the information.
8.
Keeping a healthy mental space requires that I pay attention to the smallest of details in order to do so.
My attitude can nearly always be improved by doing something as simple as putting on some of my favorite music, getting up off the couch, and dancing around.
9.
Finally, I was able to remain free of anguish by focusing on the present moment as much as I could and avoiding dwelling on the past or being pessimistic about the future.
I did this by trying to stay in the here and now as much as possible.
The “now” is where one may find genuine tranquility.
The knowledge of the present moment is straightforward, but it is not always easy.
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Therefore, any combination of the aforementioned activities and others might constitute our 40-percent option point.
Through the consistent application of healthy hygiene behaviors, we may improve our overall state of well-being.
It has been shown through scientific research that engaging in these behaviors contributes to the transformation of low-level pessimists into low-level optimists.
If I’m capable of doing that, then anybody is.
And you are included in it!