Half of your happiness is owed to your family. This is a scientific fact: 50 percent of your high spirits are heavily determined by inherited personality traits. That still leaves the other half. Jeff Haden set out to address this portion in an article for Inc., coming up with suggestions that are scientifically supported and (here’s the best part) actually doable without completely rearranging your life.
RealClearLife selected our five favorite tips. And stick around after reading it for a quick life hack from Stanford.
Exercise For 20 Minutes When You Wake Up. Exercise improves mood almost immediately, with benefits lasting up to 12 hours. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of such a quick and easy boost?
Do What You Do Best Frequently. “Everyone has at least a few things they do incredibly well,” Haden notes. “Find ways to do those things more often.” (As a bonus, he observes that you’ll likely also be “a lot more successful.”)
Show Gratitude. “Happy people focus on what they have, not on what they don’t have.” The side benefit, of course, is that people around you will feel better about themselves and about you. Related to this…
Help Others. Yes, it’s nice. Yes, it makes others more likely to help you. But from a happiness standpoint, the real benefit is the feeling of taking control of your life and the sense of security and contentment that comes with it.
Continually Take Steps to Reach a Goal. Again, by taking action, there’s a feeling of taking control of your life. It’s not about reaching the goal—though obviously, that’s great—but knowing you’re not at the mercy of the universe.
To read Haden’s full list, click here. And now, for the Stanford method.
For their book Designing Your Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans came up with a condensed version of the “AEIOU” technique. Essentially, it enables you to analyze a peak moment in your life to determine why it means so much to you. First, find that moment. Then determine the moment’s:
Activities: What were you doing?
Environment: Where was it?
Interactions: Who (or what) were you dealing with?
Objects: Did any specific devices contribute to your good feelings?
Users: Who was there, and how did they make it beneficial? (You can also ask yourself if there was anyone present who in some way detracted from the experience.)
With these insights, you can strive to ensure larger and larger chunks of your life live up to this ideal moment. To read more, click here.
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
