5 Ways to Be Happier Today
Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it.”
Joseph Smith said that in 1842, and I agree with him. Recently, I’ve been reading a book titled, The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It. The author compiled the results of hundreds of studies on happy people into 100 individual steps we can take to improve our happiness now.
Here are five I found to be very helpful.
1. Cultivate friendships
“Close friendships, more than personal satisfaction or one’s view of the world as a whole, are the most meaningful factors in happiness. If you feel close to other people, you are four times as likely to feel good about yourself than if you do not feel close to anyone.” (12)
2. Turn off the TV
“Watching too much TV can triple our hunger for more possessions, while reducing our personal contentment by about 5% for every hour a day we watch.” (14)
3. Root for the home team
“Rooting for a local sports team was found to have positive effects by providing a common interest with others in the community and increasing happiness by 4 percent.”
4. Make your work a calling
“In research on working women, researchers found that even for those working in the same kinds of jobs, work was alternatively viewed either as a series of hassles or as a positive experience in which the women were in control of their lives. Among those who felt control, life satisfaction was 28% higher than among those who did not.”
5. Help the next person who needs some minor assistance
“Life satisfaction was found to improve 24% with the level of altruistic activity.”
Put them all together and we’d….
Work hard today and approach our work as if it is our calling in life, be aware of others who we can assist in some minor way, leave the TV off and, instead, call up a good friend and attend a sporting event to watch the hometown team play while we catch up on our lives over a hot dog.
Sounds like a great day to me!
There are 95 more great tips! Check out the book: The 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It
Also see:
Improve Your Memory and Increase your IQ
Understand What Motivates You to Act
Learn to Create Value in the World
Get Better at Anything You Want
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