{"id":430,"date":"2012-03-28T20:41:07","date_gmt":"2012-03-28T20:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/corbdesign.com\/blog\/?p=430"},"modified":"2012-03-28T20:41:07","modified_gmt":"2012-03-28T20:41:07","slug":"happy-people-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/life\/happy-people-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy People"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

12 Things Happy People Do Differently<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Jacob Sokol of Sensophy<\/a>
<\/strong><\/strong>\u201cI\u2019d always believed that a life of quality, enjoyment, and wisdom were my human birthright and would be automatically bestowed upon me as time passed.  I never suspected that I would have to learn how to live – that there were specific disciplines and ways of seeing the world I had to master before I could awaken to a simple, happy, uncomplicated life.\u201d
-Dan Millman<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies conducted by positivity psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky point to 12 things happy people do differently to increase their levels of happiness.  These are things that we can start doing today to feel the effects of more happiness in our lives.  (Check out her book The How of Happiness<\/a>\"\".)
I want to honor and discuss each of these 12 points, because no matter what part of life\u2019s path we\u2019re currently traveling on, these \u2018happiness habits\u2019 will always be applicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Express gratitude.<\/strong> \u2013 When you appreciate what you have, what you have appreciates in value.  Kinda cool right?  So basically, being grateful for the goodness that is already evident in your life will bring you a deeper sense of happiness.  And that\u2019s without having to go out and buy anything.  It makes sense.  We\u2019re gonna have a hard time ever being happy if we aren\u2019t thankful for what we already have.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Cultivate optimism.<\/strong> \u2013 Winners have the ability to manufacture their own optimism.  No matter what the situation, the successful diva is the chick who will always find a way to put an optimistic spin on it.  She knows failure only as an opportunity to grow and learn a new lesson from life.  People who think optimistically see the world as a place packed with endless opportunities, especially in trying times.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Avoid over-thinking and social comparison.<\/strong> \u2013 Comparing yourself to someone else can be poisonous.  If we\u2019re somehow \u2018better\u2019 than the person that we\u2019re comparing ourselves to, it gives us an unhealthy sense ofsuperiority.  Our ego inflates \u2013 KABOOM \u2013 our inner Kanye West comes out!  If we\u2019re \u2018worse\u2019 than the person that we\u2019re comparing ourselves to, we usually discredit the hard work that we\u2019ve done and dismiss all the progress that we\u2019ve made.  What I\u2019ve found is that the majority of the time this type of social comparison doesn\u2019t stem from a healthy place.  If you feel called to compare yourself to something, compare yourself to an earlier version of yourself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Practice acts of kindness.<\/strong> \u2013 Performing an act of kindness releases serotonin in your brain.  (Serotonin is a substance that has TREMENDOUS health benefits, including making us feel more blissful.)  Selflessly helping someone is a super powerful way to feel good inside.  What\u2019s even cooler about this kindness kick is that not only will you feel better, but so will people watching the act of kindness.  How extraordinary is that?  Bystanders will be blessed with a release of serotonin just by watching what\u2019s going on.  A side note is that the job of most anti-depressants is to release more serotonin.  Move over Pfizer, kindness is kicking ass and taking names.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Nurture social relationships.<\/strong> \u2013 The happiest people on the planet are the ones who have deep, meaningful relationships.  Did you know studies show that people\u2019s mortality rates are DOUBLED when they\u2019re lonely?  WHOA!  There\u2019s a warm fuzzy feeling that comes from having an active circle of good friends who you can share your experiences with.  We feel connected and a part of something more meaningful than our lonesome existence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Develop strategies for coping.<\/strong> \u2013 How you respond to the \u2018craptastic\u2019 moments is what shapes your character.  Sometimes crap happens \u2013 it\u2019s inevitable.  Forrest Gump knows the deal.  It can be hard to come up with creative solutions in the moment when manure is making its way up toward the fan.  It helps to have healthy strategies for coping pre-rehearsed, on-call, and in your arsenal at your disposal.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Learn to forgive.<\/strong> \u2013 Harboring feelings of hatred is horrible for your well-being.  You see, your mind doesn\u2019t know the difference between past and present emotion.  When you \u2018hate\u2019 someone, and you\u2019re continuously thinking about it, those negative emotions are eating away at your immune system.  You put yourself in a state of suckerism (technical term) and it stays with you throughout your day.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Increase flow experiences.<\/strong> \u2013 Flow is a state in which it feels like time stands still.  It\u2019s when you\u2019re so focused on what you\u2019re doing that you become one with the task.  Action and awareness are merged.  You\u2019re not hungry, sleepy, or emotional.  You\u2019re just completely engaged in the activity that you\u2019re doing.  Nothing is distracting you or competing for your focus.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Savor life\u2019s joys.<\/strong> \u2013 Deep happiness cannot exist without slowing down to enjoy the joy.  It\u2019s easy in a world of wild stimuli and omnipresent movement to forget to embrace life\u2019s enjoyable experiences.  When we neglect to appreciate, we rob the moment of its magic.  It\u2019s the simple things in life that can be the most rewarding if we remember to fully experience them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Commit to your goals.<\/strong> \u2013 Being wholeheartedly dedicated to doing something comes fully-equipped with an ineffable force.  Magical things start happening when we commit ourselves to doing whatever it takes to get somewhere.  When you\u2019re fully committed to doing something, you have no choice but to do that thing.  Counter-intuitively, having no option \u2013 where you can\u2019t change your mind \u2013 subconsciously makes humans happier because they know part of their purpose.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Practice spirituality<\/strong>. \u2013 When we practice spirituality or religion, we recognize that life is bigger than us.  We surrender the silly idea that we are the mightiest thing ever.  It enables us to connect to the source of all creation and embrace a connectedness with everything that exists.  Some of the most accomplished people I know feel that they\u2019re here doing work they\u2019re \u201ccalled to do.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  12. Take care of your body.<\/strong> \u2013 Taking care of your body is crucial to being the happiest person you can be.  If you don\u2019t have your physical energy in good shape, then your mental energy (your focus), your emotional energy (your feelings), and your spiritual energy (your purpose) will all be negatively affected.  Did you know that studies conducted on people who were clinically depressed showed that consistent exercise raises happiness levels just as much as Zoloft?  Not only that, but here\u2019s the double whammy\u2026 Six months later, the people who participated in exercise were less likely to relapse because they had a higher sense of self-accomplishment and self-worth.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    12 Things Happy People Do Differently by Jacob Sokol of Sensophy\u201cI\u2019d always believed that a life of quality, enjoyment, and wisdom were my human birthright and would be automatically bestowed upon me as time passed.  I never suspected that I would have to learn how to live – that there were specific disciplines and ways […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","clearfix","post-index"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/woman-girl-freedom-happy-39853-2.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corbinrose.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}