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Showing posts from January, 2014

One word to get happy

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For Happiness Say Yes “Yes” creates opportunity. Saying yes a lot makes more things happen. And research shows that lots of little good things are the path to happiness. Spending money on many little pleasures beats rare big positives. One researcher, for example, interviewed people of all income levels in the United Kingdom and found that those who frequently treated themselves to low-cost indulgences— picnics, extravagant cups of coffee, and treasured DVDs— were more satisfied with their lives. Other scientists have found that no-cost or low-cost activities can yield small boosts to happiness in the short term that cumulate, one step at a time, to produce a large impact on happiness in the long term. Saying yes to activities and events keeps you busy — and studies show you’re happier when you’re busy. The happiest people are those that are very busy but don’t feel rushed: Who among us are the most happy? Newly published research suggests it is those fortunate fo

The best way to get smarter, happier, healthier and ..

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 A scientifically validated way to get smarter, happier, healthier and calmer? Stop reading this right now and go for a walk. ---------- Exercise Powers The Body — And The Mind ---------- They used to say you don’t grow new brain cells. They were wrong. ---------- As an illustration of just how new this territory is, I’ll go back to the story of neurogenesis, the once-heretical theory that the brain grows new nerve cells throughout life. “Ten years ago people weren’t even convinced that it happened,” says neurologist Scott Small. It was at his Columbia University lab, in 2007, where they witnessed telltale signs of neurogenesis for the first time in live humans. “Five years ago people said, OK, it might happen, but is it really meaningful? Now there isn’t a week that goes by where there’s not another study that shows neurogenesis has some kind of effect on the brain.” What really feeds those baby brain cells? Hitting the gym. ---------- A 3 month exercise regimen increase

Happiness with P..P..P..P.. !

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Happiness with 4 P’s. Purpose Perspective People Play Work those into every day and you’ll be smiling more. Purpose This one gets short shrift in the modern era so we’ll put it first. You don’t need to live and die by the Bushido code but the best lives have purpose. Studies of older Americans find that one of the best predictors of happiness is whether a person considers his or her life to have a purpose. Without a clearly defined purpose, seven in ten individuals feel unsettled about their lives; with a purpose, almost seven in ten feel satisfied. - Lepper 1996 This can be religion or a set of ethics or goals. But your vision of your life needs structure. Research on the effect of religion on life satisfaction found that regardless of what religion people affiliated themselves with, those who had strongly held spiritual beliefs were typically satisfied with life, while those who had no spiritual beliefs typically were unsatisfied. – Gerwood, LeBlanc, and Piazza 19