5 things you should do everyday to be happier
The first of these is to connect. That your social relationships are the most important cornerstones of your life. Do you invest the time with your loved ones that you could do, and energy? Keep building them.
The second one is be active. The fastest way out of a bad mood: step outside, go for a walk, turn the radio on and dance.Being active is great for our positive mood.
The third one is take notice. How aware are you of things going on around the world, the seasons changing, people around you? Do you notice what's bubbling up for you and trying to emerge?Based on a lot of evidence for mindfulness,cognitive behavioral therapy, [very] strong for our well being.
The fourth is keep learning and it is so important to be learning throughout the whole life course. Older people who keep learning and are curious, they have much better health outcomes than those who start to close down. But it doesn't have to be formal learning; it's not knowledge based. It's more curiosity. It can be learning to cook a new dish, picking up an instrument you forgot as a child. Keep learning.
And the final one is that most anti-economic of activities, but give. Our generosity, our altruism, our compassion, are all hardwired to the reward mechanism in our brain.We feel good if we give. You can do an experiment where you give two groups of people a hundred dollars in the morning. You tell one of them to spend it on themselves and one on other people.You measure their happiness at the end of the day,those that have gone and spent on other people are much happier that those that spent it on themselves.
Nic Marks: The Happy Planet Index - Ted Talks
