Top image photo credit: Navy Blue Stripes / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND.
Feelings are contagious – as we all learn early on. Even infants instinctively look for emotional cues on people’s faces. This concept of “emotional contagion” assures that people can “catch” other people’s feelings – and that you can spread and share happiness throughout your personal social network. Sadness and unhappiness can also spread – fortunately just not as rapidly, neatly explaining why it’s so fun to be around happy people and so depressing to be around those who are depressed.
Here are six strategies that will sustainably increase your feelings of happiness – and give you more happiness to share:
1. Savor Your Best Moments. Think about three of your most memorable accomplishments. Jot them down, if you’d like. Now, take a moment or two to reminisce about what you did, how you did it, and your feelings about it. Let those feelings sit with you for a moment. Savoring is an easy and positive activity to do; and you can intentionally savor all the positive moments of your life – past, present, and future – on a daily basis to increase your feelings of happiness.
2. Look for Kindness Opportunities. Kindness is not a new concept. Plato said around 400 B.C., “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” His words were true then – and they are true now. Find an opportunity to perform one act of kindness each day for someone. It can be a member of your family, a co-worker, or a stranger struggling with an armload of groceries. Any small or large kindness will do – as long as it is welcomed by the recipient. Notice what kindness means to others… and to you.
3. Love Actually. Stop what you’re doing and, if you can, pick up the phone and call someone you care about deeply. Tell that person how much you appreciate that they are a part of your life, some quality that you admire about them, and how much you care for them. That’s all! Nothing else!
If they are surprised (and they may be) and ask why you’re doing this, tell them you’ll explain later – and do so… later. For now, just reach out and tell someone how much they mean to you. Be sure to notice both how they react and how you feel. And, if this works for you, do it more frequently – as often as you can.
Photo credit: Rakesh JV / Foter.com / CC BY-NC.
4. Practice Gratitude. Create your own daily gratitude inventory. Write down five things about your life that you are grateful for today. Notice your feelings when you read your list. Gratitude for what you have and how fortunate you are is the antidote to corrosive envy and jealousy and can even diminish anger, bitterness, and greed – all of which sap your happiness. Just keeping a Gratitude Journal each Sunday evening for a few weeks can increase happiness by up to 25 percent and produce positive feelings that can last up to six months.
5. Find Time for Fitness. Fitness can be simple. Go outside today, as soon as you can, and just walk about for 15-20 minutes. Occasionally take some deliberate deep breaths along the way. Notice how you feel. Then, schedule time right now on your calendar to do this 4-5 times each week. You can also combine walking with savoring some aspect of nature – focusing on the trees, clouds, and sky. Try it and see how you feel.
6. Take Control of Your Days. Just organizing our days can help us feel more in control of our lives. At end of each day, write a simple “To Do” list for tomorrow. Then, as you finish each task, make sure to check off everything you do on your list – and enjoy the delicious feeling of completion. Pat yourself on the back – physically and mentally – for each task finished. Personal control is important for our happiness; and doing this each day is one simple way to retain at least some feeling of control amid the often chaotic world swirling around us.
Sustainable happiness is partially about the frequency with which you intentionally do certain activities. If you are willing to do these six simple, intentional strategies, you can sustainably increase the amount of shareable happiness in your life each and every day. And the more you flourish and thrive in your life, the better chance that those close to you will “catch” those feelings of happiness you will have. Try it and see!
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