subject: How To Get Happiness [print this page] Do you know anyone who has achieved financial success, yet is still unhappy?Do you know anyone who is in a great relationship, but always seems to complain?How about someone who is a skinny minnie and in great health, but still miserablesound familiar?We chase happiness, but no matter what they chase, they come up short.We are all chasing after the same thing. Whether it be a better job, promotion, husband, wife, children, house, good health, money etc. it all boils down to one thing we all want to find true happiness.There is no doubt that happiness is the most precious thing in the world. Without it, life will be empty and meaningless. Happiness consists in contentment. A man who is dissatisfied with his present condition is always in distress.
Science tells us that happiness is a chemical reaction in the brain. It is caused by endorphins and dopamine filling the pleasure centers of the brain, which brings joy and cessation of pain. Underlying the chemistry of happiness, there may be a set of genes that exist to prompt the happiness response, a set of genes that exist to keep the Homo Sapiens surviving and reproducing. The pleasure of eating, the satisfaction of sex, the comfort of teamwork, and the joy of raising children: in all these instances the pleasure response encourages activities that Tiffany Jewelry perpetuate our species. The things that make us feel good generally are the things that will help the species survive. Happiness, then, is one of our tools for survival.
So, in our biology, there may be aspects of happiness that come hard-wired from birth. But that is only a small part of the story. There are many factors that influence happiness, and many ways to enhance your feelings of contentment, joy and pleasure. You can, in fact, practice happiness, like you practice tennis or handwriting. A happy outlook, an awareness of happiness, an aptitude for happiness can be developed.
1. Happiness is a State of Mind. Remember that happiness is mostly dependent on our state of mind, not on our status in society or the size of our bank account. As long as we are not in poverty, as long as we have the means for adequate food and shelter, our level of well-being is determined by what we choose to focus on and by our interpretation of external events. We had little sense of time passing, and we lived in each moment that presented itself, happily and fully. We were less self-aware, and our thoughts were turned outward.
2.Call up a friend to talk about it.Watch a funny movie, preferably one that you've already seen and liked. Or, watch a sad one, that will make you think "huh, my life isn't as bad as theirs!!"
3.Laugh out loud. Just anticipating a happy, funny event can raise levels of endorphins and other pleasure-inducing hormones and lower production of stress hormones. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, tested 16 men who all agreed they thought a certain videotape was funny. Half were told three days in advance they would watch it. They started experiencing biological changes right away. When they actually watched the video, their levels of stress hormones dropped significantly, while their endorphin levels rose 27 percent and their growth hormone levels (indicating benefit to the immune system) rose 87 percent.
4.Create Moments of Happiness. What gives you happiness depends on who you are. Do you enjoy a half hour of exercise? A few minutes of absolute quiet? A evening with a crowd of friends? A hike in the woods? Plan your own happiness for today. If you use a day planner, schedule time for your Moment of Happiness. Give it the top priority. Let nothing distract you from it. Pay attention to how you feel during this experience and let happiness come. Live in that moment of happiness. Relive the moment again later. Journal it. Remember it.
5.Exercise. Go for a walk, a jog, or a bike ride. Doing this will make your body release endorphins and adrenaline through your body which will make you feel better physically and emotionally.
6.Take care of the soul. In study after study, actively religious people are happier and cope better with crises, according to David Myers, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. For many people faith provides a support community, a sense of life's meaning, feelings of ultimate acceptance, a reason to focus beyond yourself, and a timeless perspective on life's woes. Even if you're not religious, a strong spirituality may offer similar benefits.Think about good memories. If you've lived through them once, than you can definitely have them again.Tiffany Jewelry sale Just because things may seem bad right now doesn't mean that tomorrow they will be.
7.Have a good cry. Sometimes the sadness stays inside your head if you try to force yourself to be happy. Try to let the tears out at the most appropriate time, mainly the best time when you are alone. Do this, and you might feel more relieved of your sad feelings, as if it "got off your chest".
8. Simplify! We are generally too busy, trying to squeeze in more and more activities into less and less time. Quantity influences quality, and we compromise on our happiness by trying to do too much.The skill of multi-tasking is highly overrated. Folks who study the brain and how it works say that we really don't multi-task at all. If we try to do two things at once, we slight one of the jobs in favor of the other. We really can't concentrate on two things at once. Either we neglect the one and focus on the other, or we are entirely distracted by a third event. The brain is not like a computer with two central processors running. The brain is more like a single computer processor, which we train to do time-slicing. A brief interval on this task, then an interrupt signal, then a brief slice of time on the second task. Time-slicing works for the computer, because the tasks are programmed for it. For us humans, time-slicing uses up more time than it saves. Multi-tasking makes us anxious.
9.Sometimes taking a nap might make you feel better. Try it and have a good, long nap.We have become a nation of sleep-deprived citizens. Taking a daily nap or getting into bed at 8 p.m. one night with a good book -- and turning the light out an hour later -- can do more for your mood and outlook on life than any number of bubble baths or massages.
10.Count your blessings. People who pause each day to reflect on some positive aspect of their lives (their health, friends, family, freedom, education, etc.) experience a heightened sense of well-being.
There are untold benefits to being a happy person. If you are happy, your immune system is stronger, you have fewer medical problems and you live longer. Best of all, you find pleasure and meaning in this world. Your life is full of activities that are significant and enjoyable. It is my heartfelt wish that you have a very happy day.
I hope life brings you much success.Wishing you peace, joy and happiness through Christmas and the coming year.
