Happiness is…..

Hello all, my name is Chad and this is my first blog for CAN, in fact this is my first blog ever. I always enjoy reading the contributions here so I feel a little intimidated to be among such creative folk.

I am in my last few months of school and feel like I really have to put some serious effort into just getting through when not long ago I was quite happy to be in class and learn what I could. Now it’s like torture. So what happened? The school didn’t change (it seems nothing does) so maybe it’s me. Recently 60 Minutes did a segment about happiness I found to be enlightening to me in these tough times. The clip is here at http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/140/happiness or here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shepBx2ogJo
It is about twelve minutes long.

The segment featured a Harvard professor named Tal Ben-Shahar who teaches a class called “Positive Psychology” which has become the most popular class on campus. Here are his tips for happiness as given in an NPR interview: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5295168

Six Tips for Happiness

Advice from Tal Ben-Shahar

1. Give yourself permission to be human. When we accept emotions -- such as fear, sadness, or anxiety -- as natural, we are more likely to overcome them. Rejecting our emotions, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.

2. Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable. When this is not feasible, make sure you have happiness boosters, moments throughout the week that provide you with both pleasure and meaning.

3. Keep in mind that happiness is mostly dependent on our state of mind, not on our status or the state of our bank account. Barring extreme circumstances, our level of well being is determined by what we choose to focus on (the full or the empty part of the glass) and by our interpretation of external events. For example, do we view failure as catastrophic, or do we see it as a learning opportunity?

4. 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.

5. Remember the mind-body connection. What we do -- or don't do -- with our bodies influences our mind. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits lead to both physical and mental health.

6. Express gratitude, whenever possible. We too often take our lives for granted. Learn to appreciate and savor the wonderful things in life, from people to food, from nature to a smile.

I would personally add “get acupuncture” to tip five. A comment the Professor makes is “The number one predictor of well-being is close friendships and close relationships in general…..much better predictor than affluence”. He also recommends keeping a gratitude journal, some advice I am going to start doing myself if I want to come out the other end of school smiling, or maybe I just need to lower my expectations.

~Chad