One of my favorite quotes is from David Lykken, a behavioral geneticist who discovered:
“Happy is as happy does.”
The point being that nearly half of our happiness is determined by our thoughts and actions.
So even when it’s difficult to be happy you can still act happy.
How are you “doing happy” today?
Studies show that people who make “to-do” lists get more done.
As you are making your list today, don’t forget to add at least one of the following (better yet, come up with one of your own):
You do plan to feel happy today, don’t you?
Then why wouldn’t you be as deliberate about that as you are the “important” stuff? I mean, what’s really important, after all?
Today is the first day of spring break at my house. That may explain why this article, Why a Vacation Will Make You Happier than a New Car, caught my eye this morning. I’m not in the market for a new car, but taking a trip always makes me happy. I also am pleased whenever science agrees with me. Today I get to enjoy both.
Bon Voyage!
It’s been a week since my last Habitual Happiness class, so I have happiness on the brain. Not a bad thing to be thinking about during the holidays (or any time for that matter.) This morning I ran across a map that was published in The New York Times in March which shows survey results from a Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index which attempts to “measure what it is that people believe constitutes a good life, who is feeling good about life, and who is in need of a helping hand.”
Overall the west coast reports being happier than people living on the east coast. No surprise there. But Oregon is ranked less happy than California, which I attributed that to rain and gray skies until I noticed that Washington is happier than Oregon as well. So, by the west coast’s higher happiness standards, we aren’t doing quite as well as our neighbors to the north and south. Any ideas on why that might be?
Knowing that there is a growing number of people in Oregon who are becoming “habitually happy” makes me optimistic that we can affect future results of this survey. Are you with me? What are you doing to contribute to the happiness of the state?
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