Tools To Expand Happiness In Your Life
Following is a short list of take-aways from the course of study with The Science Of Happiness offered by BerkeleyX. Positive psychology is fifteen years young and this is what the findings are revealing.
Genetics accounts for our set point of happiness. Our external circumstances accounts for ten percent of our happiness and forty percent can be effected by our activities and thoughts. Focusing our minds on gratitude, empathy and compassion enriches our lives. Being involved in activities of kindness, meditation and awe, inspire us in ways that bring us joy and happiness.
Happiness Awareness Practices
Compassion ~ Connection ~ Empathy ~ Forgiveness ~ Gratitude ~ Happiness ~ Kindness ~ Mindfulness ~ Self-Compassion
- 3 Good Things
- Active Listening
- Random Acts Of Kindness
- Mindful Breathing
- Body Scan Meditation
- Loving Kindness Meditation
- Gratitude Letter/Journal
- Awe Walk
Mindfulness Is Presence Of Heart ~ Jon Kabot-Zinn
Four Traits That Destroy Relationships
Contempt, criticism, stonewalling and defensiveness close off communication and keep us separate.
- Contempt
- Criticism
- Stonewalling
- Defensiveness
Four Traits That Build Relationships
Bringing our attention to humor and gratitude can only bring us closer in relationships. Forgiveness keeps us open to loving and being open to one another brings depth to our relationships.
- Humor
- Gratitude
- Forgiveness
- Disclosure
How Attachment Styles Impact Relationships
How we attached as a child can still have an impact on your romantic relationships. Which attachment style did you develop as a child?
- Secure: “Being close is easy!”
- Anxious-preoccupied: “I want to be emotionally intimate with people, but they don’t want to be with me!”
- Dismissive-avoidant: “I’d rather not depend on others or have others depend on me!”
- Fearful-avoidant: “I want to be close, but what if I get hurt?”
The Big Five Personality Traits
Psychology David Buss has proposed that an evolutionary explanation for these five core personality traits, suggesting that these personality traits represent the most important qualities that shape our social landscape.
- Openness
- Conscientiousness
- Extraversion
- Agreeableness
- Neuroticism
Effective Apology
Our mistakes are what make us human.If we’ve done something that offends someone else—whether or not we feel we are to blame—should we apologize?
- Acknowledgement Of Offense
- Explanation
- Expression Of Remorse
- Shame, Humility And Reparation
Money And Happiness
Up until the early 2000s, most young people strongly believe that earning a lot of money, material consumption, actually leads to happiness and there was a dramatic shift in our culture. Think about how people rearrange their lives in fundamental ways in the pursuit of materialism and money. So they’ll do longer commutes for that better job when we know scientifically long commutes deteriorate not only your happiness but your health and your cardiovascular profile.
More money doesn’t guarantee more happiness. Some of the wealthiest people in the United States, in the world, actually were less happy, 37% of them than the average American. The wealth in the United States as a culture really doubled up to 1995 from 1957, but the happiness levels didn’t change. A wealthier society didn’t guarantee more happiness. Once you’re above a certain level, in some studies $75,000, money doesn’t seem to matter as much as we think. Dacher Keltner
Social Connection
The vagus nerve activity is strongly related to feelings of connection and care toward others. We are biologically endowed with tools for connecting with others, and these tools of connection are intimately tied to our general health and well-being. This research challenges a narrative we’re often told about humans–namely, that we’re primarily a fight-or-flight-driven, self-interested species.
Scientists have long known that oxytocin plays an important role in childbirth and in mother-child bonding (such as during breastfeeding), but recent research suggests that its role in promoting connection is even more extensive than that. For example, oxytocin is also instrumental in fathers forming bonds with newborns, and in the stress-relieving effects of a supportive friend’s comforting touch.
It’s been called the cuddle hormone, the holiday hormone, the moral molecule, and more—but new research suggests that oxytocin needs some new nicknames. Like maybe the conformity hormone, or perhaps the America’s number-One! molecule.
Loving Kindness Meditation
Sending Loving-Kindness to All Living Beings: Expand your awareness and picture the whole globe in front of you as a little ball. Send warm wishes to all living beings on the globe, who, like you, want to be happy:
- Just as I wish to, may you live with ease, happiness, and good health.
- Just as I wish to, may you live with ease, happiness, and good health.
- Just as I wish to, may you live with ease, happiness, and good health.
- Take a deep breath in. And breathe out. And another deep breath in and let it go.
Notice the state of your mind and how you feel after this meditation.
To Touch Is To Give Life
Recently, scientists have started to document how fundamental touch is to our social lives; touch signals safety and trust, boosts health, and reduces stress. Results highlight another system that has developed precisely for connecting with others–and highlights the role that simple touches can play in our happiness and health.
Films On Happiness
- Happiness
- Hector And The Search For Happiness
- Happy
- Finding Happiness
- The Pursuit Of Happiness
- Happiness Is
- I AM
In closing…The Science Of Happiness study included so much valuable information. These notes are just a few take-aways to consider. Increase the happiness in your life and in your relationships. Try a practice…take a awe walk. Incorporate mindful breathing into your day. May your happiness expand with each breath.
This is the type of study that can benefit all of us. A life study on happiness.
“A free eight-week Science of Happiness course that will offer practical, research-backed tips on living a happy and meaningful life.” – The Huffington Post
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