With the current economic conditions, it's easy to lose your way to daily happiness. I mean, it's easy to be down when your job is at risk, your home is losing value and you're worried about your future.
The team here at Living Healthy Chicago strives to show you ways to live a healthy lifestyle in Chicago, but it's not always about going to the doctor on a regular basis, eating right and working out.
While those are very important to staying healthy, being HAPPY is sometimes just as important.
U.S. News and World Report posed the following question to leading happiness researchers - Can we truly find happiness today?
Here's a few of the top 10 secrets they discovered to be happy!
Recognize your strengths.
In times of difficulty, we get to test our mettle and see what we're made of, says Kashdan. The bestselling book Man's Search for Meaning, written by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl more than 50 years ago, has seen a recent spike in sales as people search for ways to draw on their inner strength after losing their jobs, homes, and health insurance. As Frankl writes, "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
Count your blessings.
We all hate to hear, "Well, at least you have your health," when times are tough--especially if those words come from those who are financially secure. Being grateful, though, has been shown to improve happiness, says Lyubomirsky. The key to conjuring those feelings may lie in spending time with others who are less fortunate. Visit a cancer ward at a local hospital, or volunteer at a soup kitchen for an afternoon. Stop for a moment to chat with the homeless fellow you pass every day on the sidewalk.
Keep an optimism journal.
It may sound corny, but evidence suggests this can actually improve your outlook on life. In a recent study, Lyubomirsky asked volunteers to spend 10 minutes a week writing about their dreams for the future and how to achieve them. She then measured an increase in their optimism levels two months later. When she checked in with them again after six months, she found that they were still happier, even if they had given up their journaling. "Of course, I would encourage you to journal a little every day," Lyubomirsky says. "It's like diet and exercise; you get out of it the effort that you put into it." You can start simple. "Every time something bad happens, think of one positive side to it," she suggests. "It's really hard at first, but then it gets easier."
Read about the other secrets here.
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