#solveforhappy

[andrewcookbryan]

What if you were the recipient of this person's gifts around this simple idea of happiness? The equation for happiness? Happiness is equal to or greater than the events of your life minus your expectation of how life should be. @mo_gawdat #solveforhappy #happiness #pilgrimage #innergenius #coregifts #trekepic #explorethegapyear #lifepurpose https://www.instagram.com/p/CMNiHt-HF19/?igshid=6i6n628bwxky

[therealwillsmith]

If social status, fashion, image, possessions and social acceptance are like the cup, then life is the coffee. Why do we try so hard to drink from a fancy cup when all we want is good coffee? If you want to live a stress free life, ignore the cup and just ENJOY THE COFFEE!! ——-Solid read for the morning commute. #solveforhappy https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw-CGCgnnURytCnR9QwKBQZssB6QgExIGd5mt00/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=7x96v5rfwgfl

[coding-pandas-blog]

Solve for Happy book inspirations

Discovered this book and love that its written by an engineer, approaching the search for happiness as an end result to solve and then code ourselves towards. What follows are the thoughts, ideas, and things that popped out as real and relevant to me. 

[9.11.18]

State of Joy defined - per Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi...

begin, by making a conscious choice - for happiness, or suffering - as referenced in ‘feeding the wolf’ story in ‘Tomorrowland’...

then practice and practice...

until the brain is primed to default to happy...

and the default focus becomes on what is desired/desirable, instead of undesirable...

from that point, combined with the brain’s focus on one-thing-at-a-time...

to quiet it from a million racing thoughts, flood it with observations...

[linse-rose]

Happiness

The author of the book "Solve for Happy" spoke at work today and he recommended as a starting point to list out what makes you happy and to look for patterns or ways to increase these things in your life. My themes are being stressed about time and wanting a peaceful, beautiful, relaxed environment (so, the opposite of New York). Here is my list written in the order they came to mind:

What makes me happy: - Relaxing in a fluffy white bed on a day I have no plans or obligations, in the morning with sun streaming in the windows - Birds singing - Fresh flowers - Walking through formal gardens - Speaking French - Being around beautiful things - Being with mom, family, Tonya, close friends - Holding/hugging/kissing my niece/nephew - Dancing ballet or waltz - Accomplishing a difficult task - Being knowledgable on a subject to be able to discuss with and teach it to others, after spending time learning and researching - Good wine with friends and good food, having meaningful conversation and not being rushed to leave anywhere - Dressing up (formal or costume) - Experiencing art, architecture, history, cultures (travel, museums) - Not having to be somewhere at a certain time / being able to not think about time - Mastering a piece on the piano to the point where it is not difficult - Learning new things - Talking about philosophy or science or history or art etc. with someone, especially someone intelligent on the subject who can give me a new perspective - Comfortable, loose dresses in natural fabric that are not constricting but still pretty - Wearing pretty lace lingerie - Classical music especially Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Debussy - Dark chocolate - Living in Europe - Eating a big breakfast and tea with no obligation to be anywhere and no rush - Watching ballet performances or rehearsals - Finishing books - Formal balls in beautiful ballrooms - Breathing clean, fresh air (not city air)

[wearegiftas]

The Happiness Equation

By Sam

“My theory was I was born happy and the more I engaged in life the more unhappy I became, I bought cars, spent money and tried to fill the gap in my soul in any way and it was just not working.”

Mo Gawdat’s ‘Solve For Happy’ gives me food for thoughts when it comes to what is happiness and actually could I be happier. Don’t get me wrong I love my life, my family, my friends but in taking time to contemplate whether I could be happier...it raises the answer that maybe I could (maybe we all could).

“Happiness is equal to or greater than the events of your life minus your expectation of how life should be.”

For me Mo’s equation hits the nail on the head when including expectations as part of the equation. There are always external factors which influence our perceptions on what is a successful / meaningful / full life and actually these are potentially where we all fall down.

I haven’t actually read Mo’s book (this post comes of the back of seeing him on the news) but what it has done has made me stop and think and appreciate everything more...something which I don’t think is a bad thing at all.

Stay in touch.

Like or follow us…somewhere…

http://www.giftas.com/

https://twitter.com/wearegiftas

https://uk.pinterest.com/wearegiftas/

https://www.instagram.com/wearegiftas/

https://www.facebook.com/wearegiftas/