I’ve been told by several important sources that expressing gratitude can improve one’s happiness baseline. However per my usual ways, I haven’t sorted out where to write these gratitudes. A private online journal? A paper journal (dreadful)? A file on my computer? Where do you write your gratitudes?
Tag: gratitude
From Happify Daily:
People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they’re thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems. And gratitude doesn’t need to be reserved only for momentous occasions: Sure, you might express gratitude after receiving a promotion at work, but you can also be thankful for something as simple as a delicious piece of pie. Research by UC Davis psychologist Robert Emmons, author of Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, shows that simply keeping a gratitude journal—regularly writing brief reflections on moments for which we’re thankful—can significantly increase well-being and life satisfaction.
Vacations and happiness
I have spent a lot of time thinking about happiness. A few years ago I visited Kauai, Hawaii on a vacation with a boyfriend. I was pleased with life: happy to be in a relationship, happy to travel with someone, and happy to be away from the office. The photo below shows my vacation strategy.
- Take photos of every rainbow
- Smile like a goof
- Wear tacky, comfortable Hawaiian shirts
- Let my hair fly in every direction
Can happiness ever be a constant, or is it just one of those things that comes and goes? Can I be happy in the office, working, under a deadline? Can I be happy when I’m old and gray? Do I need a vacation, with rainbows and balmy weather, to be happy? Do I need the wind in my hair and the sun in my eyes?
I have more questions than answers, but I found this book on the subject by Alex Korb to be fascinating and insightful:
https://www.amazon.com/Upward-Spiral-Neuroscience-Reverse-Depression/dp/1626251207
This shorter (and free) article does a mostly good job of summarizing:
http://time.com/4042834/neuroscience-happy-rituals/
According to the Time article, there are four habits that will improve happiness: be thankful; label emotions; make decisions; and optimize touch.
Being thankful and expressing gratitude seems both the easiest, and the most surprising. I’m enthusiastic to do this; you may seem posts expressing what I’m grateful for in my blog.
Labelling emotions also seems easy. Hangry. Done! If I had a dollar for every time hunger ruined my mood, I’d be a millionaire. I recently started carrying around Clif bars. Oatmeal raisin walnut is my jam.
Decisions are a little harder. I have decided I want to publish a novel. I even have 46,000 words written. But getting it published is something else entirely. That task is not 100% within my control. I’m working on breaking it down into achievable steps that are within my control.
Touch also seems a bit out of one’s control, but okay sure, I’ll make sure to get it where I can. Firm handshakes, enthusiastic hugs, massages, the works.
The article seems to overlook two key ideas that were prominent in Alex Korb’s book: get good sleep, and exercise. Why didn’t the article highlight these two items? Is it because sleeping well and exercising are notoriously pesky habits to achieve? Speaking as an insomniac who avoids the gym, I think it’s harder to sell sleep and exercise. Regardless, I am going to try all the ideas from the book, including the hard ones.
Happiness takes work. Though we can’t be happy all the time, and circumstances are what they are, I think choices have a large influence. Happiness is not an island vacation. It’s a journey of an entirely different sort.
Kristen Ankiewicz 