Our full selection of articles exploring happiness.
Pardon the 1980s cartoon reference, but The Care Bears were onto something: Hugs are powerful. via GIPHY More powerful than we want to admit. I’ll sometimes find myself mindlessly ruminating on something or other, assuming that THOUGHTS will solve whatever the problem is. But in reality, it’s my nervous system that needs settling. Why doesn’t…
Premeditatio malorum is the practice of visualizing what could go wrong in life in order to be practically and emotionally prepared for what may come. It is a key component of the ancient Roman philosophy of Stoicism. According to the Stoics of ancient Rome, by shielding yourself from the horrible things that may happen in…
Wondering how to find happiness within yourself? The best way is to treat happiness as a skill that can be learned and refined over time. You’ll make mistakes along the way, but over time, you’ll learn how to experience more joy in each moment. I’m not a happiness expert. Just a happiness seeker. That’s why…
Wondering how to be more playful in your life? Adults often find that responsibilities and seriousness replace the excitement and playfulness of childhood. But by being creative, spontaneous, finding work that feels like play, and being silly, you can cultivate that childlike spirit once again. Ever dream about being a kid again? It’s a common…
The Emotional Vibration Chart maps the range of human emotions to higher and lower frequencies. Peace and joy are higher vibration emotions, while shame and guilt are lower vibration emotions. By using the chart, you can understand which emotions are “higher vibration” and start to cultivate more of those in your life. You’ve heard people…
What makes a good life? According to a Harvard study that’s observed subjects for over 80 years, a good life comes from good relationships. Relationship quality gives a more accurate prediction of whether people will have happy, long lives than their intelligence, genes, or even their cholesterol levels. Most days, we wake up and get…
Happiness is subjective. But measuring happiness can be done using the subjective happiness scale, which you can also use to track your own happiness over time. Some studies also use behavioral observations and biological data to determine happiness. Measuring data by country requires using bigger picture metrics like life expectancy and per capita GDP. Each…
Negative visualization is the practice of imagining worst-case scenarios, popularized by the Stoics of ancient Rome. Negative visualization exercises can help you be grateful for what you have and appreciate the shortness of life. The Stoics of ancient Rome walked around imagining all manner of illnesses, deaths, and worst-case scenarios that could happen to them…
If you’re wondering how to appreciate life, the best way to do it is by practicing gratitude and reminding yourself of your own mortality. We take life for granted because mortality is scary, so it’s easier to ignore it. But ignoring the fact that our time is finite means it’s harder to appreciate our lives….
Understanding the circle of concern vs circle of influence means understanding what we can control, and what we can’t control. The Circle of Concern, Circle of Control, and Circle of Influence deal with exactly this issue. These concepts come from Stephen Covey’s 1989 book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’. It’s tough to accept…
There’s no more time-honored morning routine than sitting down at the kitchen table with coffee, eggs, and the newspaper. But I stopped reading the news because it made me anxious. And it made me anxious because it was outside my Circle of Control. We’ve been trained in this habit. We mirror the behavior shown to…
The Happiness Set Point is a theory that says 50% (or more) of your happiness is determined by genetic factors. The rest of your happiness level is determined by where and how you live your life, and your mindset. Studies have shown the most powerful way to increase your happiness set point is to engage…
According to Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.” Kierkegaard, along with other philosophers like Alan Watts and Rainer Maria Rilke, have argued that when you seek the answers to life, you’re asking the wrong question. Life is something to be experienced, not something…
Sometimes, you just have a bad day. It happens to all of us. But sometimes it’s possible to stop a bad day and turn it into a good one, or at the very least, slow it down. Let’s explore how to turn around a bad day. Whether it’s the proverbial “wake up on the wrong…
