Maximising the profits of life
Small changes to
your daily routine can make you a lot happier. Here’s a list of tweaks you can
make to your schedule for a positive day
Sometimes it’s the big things that make us happy — an
impressive promotion, cracking an important deal or a vacation you have been
waiting for.
But other times, it’s the small things. Think
capturing the most beautiful photo of a flower garden on your way to work, or
hugging a friend you haven’t seen in a while.
The second type of happiness boosters are the ones
that we should focus on. These changes can make you happier, healthier, and
more productive. Read on for the ideas you can implement starting today.
Be grateful
List three things you are grateful for. According to
UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, here’s how it works. Every night
before bed, write down three things that went well for you, along with an
explanation of why they went well. Make sure you include as much detail as
possible, as well as how the event made you feel. The researchers found that
people who used the three good things exercise felt happier and less depressed
for six months.
Set one priority for the evening
It’s tempting to waste the hours after you get home
from work — you’re tired and there aren’t any hard deadlines to meet like there
are at the office. So, productivity expert and author Laura Vanderkam
recommends setting one (simple) priority for every weekday evening. Maybe you
want to go for a walk with your family after dinner, or call a friend, or read
100 pages of a novel, or go to a gym class.
Plan something joyful for
tomorrow
Forcing yourself to be happy generally backfires. A
2014 study, published in the journal Emotion, found that the key is
‘prioritising positivity’, or structuring your day so that it includes
activities that are likely to make you happy. To schedule your days to maximise
happiness, you should ‘reflect on the activities that bring you contentment or
joy and make time for these events in your daily life’. For some people, this
could mean regularly setting aside time for gardening and cooking; for others,
it could mean making time to connect with good friends. The idea is not to
force yourself to feel any specific way at any given moment.
Jot down your thoughts and
feelings
Author and investor Tim Ferris recommends jotting
down your thoughts in a journal every morning. Ferris uses The Artist’s
Way Morning Pages Journal by Julia Cameron, and emphasises that the
process of writing matters more than the final product. What’s more, journaling
allows you to get fears and worries out of your head so you can stop fixating
on them. Another journal option is the ‘Five Minute Journal,’ which comes with
inspirational quotations and thought-provoking questions. You can switch things
up and journal in the evening if that’s more convenient.
Take a beautiful photo on your
way to work
That’s a tip from Mo Gawdat, author of Solve
for Happy. Every day during his walk to the office, Gawdat searches for
something beautiful and snaps its photo. The idea behind searching for one
perfect photo is that it prevents Gawdat from thinking distressing thoughts,
since he’s fully engaged in searching for beauty.
businessinsider.in
ETP 7DEC17
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