The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. Marcus Aurelius
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Tag: happiness (Page 2 of 3)
In this TED talk, Ida Abdalkhani enagages the audience in a laughter yoga session. Laughter session forces oneself to laugh but within 2 minutes the forced laughter becomes real. “We laugh 300 times a day as children but only 30 as adults”. Laugh makes people release a flood of positive neurotrasmitters which stimulate our brains, our immune and our nervous system.
As Ida Abdalkahni concludes, “it’s within your power to make your narrative a joyful one”.
How to make your life ‘flourish’, living up to your potential? Here are three good tips in Aristotelian thought, developed 2.300 years ago:
1. Having to do with our conduct, this is a matter of ethics and you have to cultivate Eudaimonia, which may be translated as ‘having good demons’. This indicates the capacity to raise all the functional, concrete aspects of life of humans as rational creatures who live in societies.
2. What enables you to flourish is also virtue: this essentially means knowing to what extent traits of human personality should be used and exploited on each occasion to achieve an optimal result.
3. You can become more virtuous through education, looking at accomplished, flourished people and through good habits you may develop, which help you flourish.
For more details have a look at this article: The 3 Key Ideas from Aristotle That Will Help You Flourish by Charlie Gilkey
Image source: Flickr – Jon Wallach (CC BY-NC 2.0)
According to UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb, you can create an upward spiral of happiness in your life through 4 simple rituals:
1. Ask yourself what you are grateful for
The benefits of gratitude start by improving the dopamine system, but it also boosts the serotonin production. And gratitude doesn’t just make your brain happy, it can also create a positive feedback loop in your relationships. So express that gratitude to the people you care about.
2. Label Negative Feelings
Studies demonstrate that consciously recognizing the emotions reduce their impact. Meditation has employed this skill for centuries. Labeling is a fundamental tool of mindfulness.
3. Make That Decision
Ever make a decision and then your brain finally feels at rest? That’s no random occurrence. Brain science shows that making decisions reduces worry and anxiety.
4. Touch people
No, not indiscriminately (that can get you in a lot of trouble). But we need to feel love and acceptance from others. When we don’t, it’s painful. Touching is incredibly powerful. We just don’t give it enough credit. It makes you more persuasive, increases team performance, improves your flirting… heck, it even boosts math skills.
To learn more, read the full article by Eric Barker on Time.
Image: Flickr – Moyan Brenn (CC BY 2.0)
Positive living is definitely an attitude, at least for some lucky people.
However, it can also be a conscious choice: with a strong commitment and the right awareness, anyone can make a concerted effort to redress the balance and start the path to happiness.
In this article, you can find eight steps to move in the right direction:
1. Find a happy place;
2. Indulge yourself in a hobby;
3. Exercise;
4. Find affirmations;
5. Exploring new things;
6. Do not walk away from a challenge;
7. Ignore the rules;
8. Visualise.
Source – Flickr – Muffin (CC BY 2.0)
The Diplo calendar 2016 realized by Stefano Baldi and Ed Gelbstein presents a selection of quotes from the Classical World for living and working better.
For the month of February the selected quotation is by Epictetus, Greek speaking Stoic philosopher. To Epictetus, all external events are determined by fate, and are thus beyond our control; we should accept whatever happens calmly and dispassionately.
There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will
Photo credit: J. E. Gómez Rodríguez – (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
The article 7 steps to relieve stress and anxiety suggests to take positive actions in order to overcome stressful situations. The following 7 steps can help managing pressure:
1. Establish a routine
2. Establish a support
3. Be good to yourself
4. Practice acceptance
5. Tackle what you can
6. Have fun
7. Avoid overuse of dependant substances.
The full article can be found here.
Image source: Flickr – bottle_void (CC BY 2.0)
Jeff Haden has published an excellent list of “10 Things Holding You Back From Being Happy at Work“.
Here are the 10 Things to avoid:
1. Assuming your past dictates your future
2. Gossiping
3. Saying yes when you mean no
4. Interrupting
5. Being late
6. Resenting
7. Deciding you just don’t have the time
8. Fitting in
9. Ignoring your parents
10. Waiting
For more details read the full post on Inc
Image source: Flickr/donireewalker (CC BY 2.0)
Joseph Lalonde, a leaders’ coach, explains there are 10 Things Happy Leaders Do Differently.
1. Exercise: Happy leaders know they need to take care of their bodies.
2. Care: Happy leaders care for their team.
3. Relax: Happy leaders know they need to take a break here and there.
4. Share: Happy leaders know they can’t keep everything to themselves.
5. Eat: Happy leaders know they need to eat. Eating can be a catalyst in getting to know others.
6. Teach: Happy leaders are also teachers.
7. Help: Happy leaders are always looking for the next person they can help.
8. Quiet: Happy leaders realize quiet times are a godsend.
9. Pass: Happy leaders are willing to pass on ideas that don’t align with their vision.
10. Laugh: Happy leaders are fond of laughing.
Read more: 10 Things Happy Leaders Do Differently.
Image source: Flickr – cindy47452 – (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Which ‘mindset’ do you possess? ‘Mindset’ is a simple idea discovered by Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success, a simple idea that makes all the difference.
According to Carol Dweck everyone has either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is one in which you view your talents and abilities as ‘fixed’. In other words, you are who you are, your intelligence and talents are fixed, and your fate is to go through life avoiding challenge and failure. A growth mindset, on the other hand, is one in which you view life as a series of challenges and opportunities for improving and you see yourself as fluid, as a work in progress.
The good news is that mindsets are not ‘set’ and we can cultivate a growth mindset to achieve success and happiness. At any time, we can learn to open our mind to develop our ability to learn new things across a broad range of skills. The more we learn, the more our brain grows and can learn more easily.
In this TEDx talk Eduardo Briceno, co-Founder and CEO of Mindset Works, explains the principles.