Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Happiness

    Remember when mom use to say, "your eyes are bigger than your appetite." That phrase is about expectations and what we imagine in our mind. As a child we imagined the pleasure we would receive by consuming a large amount of our favorite treat. If a small amount is heavenly, we imagine the induced exhilaration of a large amount. Unfortunately, the expected reward of overindulging did not necessarily meet reality, and often we became physically sick. The same may be true of any happiness enhancing futuristic thought. We get more out of the thought than the actual action.

    Sonja Lyubomirsky, happiness scientist, suggests that happiness is getting pleasure from our daily activities, in the moment, and not from something imagined in the future. While "Different people seek after happiness in different ways and by different means, and so make for themselves different modes of life...Aristotle", living in the future makes happiness the illusive carrot.

To increase daily happiness start by,
Considering what you value in your daily activities,
Get in touch with your feelings around your valued activities,
Reflect on your daily experiences,
Take some time, everyday, to connect with people.

More to come...