3 Ways to Get Happier

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try2again
try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Came across this today and thought it might possibly benefit some people. I know for many of us, our mood is a big factor in our ability to address our health & fitness. I particularly enjoyed the list of 3 simple behaviors that encourage happiness. I also liked the point at the end that, because our instincts are sometimes based on fear, we can't rely on our intuition when it comes to making choices that promote happiness.

https://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/can-you-actually-learn-how-be-happier-ncna1045316

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  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
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    I can't click the link Can you post the article or at least tell us the main points?
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    My personal list:

    1) Don't view happiness as something you deserve. View it as something you earn/accomplish.
    2) Find an appropriate balance between happiness and sacrifice. Don't be willing to sacrifice all your happiness thinking you will have more at some later date.
    3) Manage your expectations. Life may have some big happy moments but day to day it will most likely contain tiny ones that you should appreciate.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    Yes, @lporter229 , I can attest to this as well. I often get in extended funks where I rarely leave the house, but eventually I have to go get some groceries or return the kids' books to the library or something, and it's almost bizarre how being forced to smile at someone and have a brief interaction can somehow cut through some of the haze. :)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,154 Member
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    NovusDies wrote: »
    My personal list:

    1) Don't view happiness as something you deserve. View it as something you earn/accomplish.
    2) Find an appropriate balance between happiness and sacrifice. Don't be willing to sacrifice all your happiness thinking you will have more at some later date.
    3) Manage your expectations. Life may have some big happy moments but day to day it will most likely contain tiny ones that you should appreciate.

    I like your list, but #2 is severely fraught, for me. I'd double-underscore "appropriate balance" if I could.

    I get that many people arrive at a place like MFP ready to "give it all up" to reach the magical nirvana of thinness, and that's a bad (no win) route.

    But I got fat in the first place by allowing short-term pleasure-seeking to overwhelm good sense about long-term health (which turns out to be future me's happiness, once I get there). (I see people around me have bad results in analogous ways with financial decisions, too, among others.)

    Balance. Balance, for sure.

    And #4 (as a good buddy for #1): Focus on what you personally can influence or control. Those are the levers for change, because they're the only things you personally can change. Focusing on unmoveable obstacles wastes energy, fosters resentment, reinforces feelings of powerlessness, and ultimately leads to stasis.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    NovusDies wrote: »
    My personal list:

    1) Don't view happiness as something you deserve. View it as something you earn/accomplish.
    2) Find an appropriate balance between happiness and sacrifice. Don't be willing to sacrifice all your happiness thinking you will have more at some later date.
    3) Manage your expectations. Life may have some big happy moments but day to day it will most likely contain tiny ones that you should appreciate.


    And #4 (as a good buddy for #1): Focus on what you personally can influence or control. Those are the levers for change, because they're the only things you personally can change. Focusing on unmoveable obstacles wastes energy, fosters resentment, reinforces feelings of powerlessness, and ultimately leads to stasis.

    I very much like your #4 and it would make a good addition to the original list. Circumstances may not matter as much as we think, but certainly there are some situations within our control where changes can be very helpful.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    So what do you think, @NovusDies , do we share a woo-stalker in common that is trying to get their fix? :D
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    try2again wrote: »
    So what do you think, @NovusDies , do we share a woo-stalker in common that is trying to get their fix? :D

    Could be. I have a couple of them I think.
  • Hannahwalksfar
    Hannahwalksfar Posts: 572 Member
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    Happiness isn’t a natural state. It’s an earned state. You also have to believe that you are worthy of joy to experience it. If you strive for it but you don’t think you really deserve it then it’ll continue to dodge you.

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