Friday, July 31, 2009

Be Happy

If you've ever wanted to be happier, now is your chance. Join in an experiment to see what increases happiness. All you have to do is to fill out a short form about your current level of happiness, watch a YouTube video about a one-minute happiness-boosting technique, and then use it once a day for a week. At the end of the week you will be emailed a follow-up form to see if the technique has helped. I'm going for it.

You don't have to wait for the experiment either. The Science of Happiness Blog has ten tips for greater happiness. I already do or have done quite a few of those, although I don't stroke dogs I stroke cats. I stopped listening to the news some time ago and that certainly boosted my happiness.

If you have any favourite happiness tips then maybe you could share them.

13 COMMENTS:

Lisa said...

I'll check out the list later but petting a cat would be at the top of my list
love that contented purring complete with contorted head curl. Oh do cute
attitude must be high on the list too!

Robin B. said...

I pet my cat, don't watch the news, and do a couple other of those things - but I don't do one that I think makes all the difference. I don't exercise enough. I used to be an exercise 'addict' where now I'm a Diet Coke 'addict',and I was genuinely calmer and much happier with the exercise. Of course I wasn't working then, either...I was home with my girls, and when they were in school, I had loads of time to myself. That's key for me. Down time.

Anyway, this looks really interesting, and I'm thinking of trying it myself, FH.

Bevie said...

I do four out of the ten suggestions. Guess that makes me about 40% happy, huh?

What I enjoy doing is overdubbing my own dialogue over television shows and movies. Son and I get a big kick out of that.

Of course, we're both easily amused.

JaneyV said...

I like the thought of buying experiences over stuff. Hubby and I have started going out again after years of having no dosh and no babysitter. It feels a bit like dating.

I like, so many others, gave up watching the news about 18 months ago. It wasn't just that being bombarded by bad news was bringing me down, it was also because the quality of reporting is appalling and I was constantly frustrated by how truth is regularly sacrificed for sensationalism.

I walk every day and I pet my dog. I like to listen to silence or the natural sounds around rather than music these days. There's still time for music though. I just don't have it on in the background all the time like I used to.

And as for the telly - well it has to be good for me to even bother to switch it on.

Maybe we just figure this happiness stuff out naturally as we get older.

Sarah Laurenson said...

Hey Bevie - that sounds like a lot of fun.

Working out - even though I really don't want to - does get the endorphins flowing. Plus I finally lost the 15 pounds I started out to lose back in October. I celebrated by eating a very decadent cupcake. ;-)

You know, if I wasn't paying a trainer I would've stopped this whole working out thing a long time ago. Would be nice if I just took care of myself because it was a good thing to do.

At home petting the pupster today since he had surgery yesterday. He's my cancer poster child but doing really well.

Lisa said...

Happy to report that after reading the list I do follow most of them, sometimes, on some days, all of them.

I signed up for the exercise - as it happens, I inadvertently already to execute the suggested exercise.

Another point that I would be oh so helpful would be for people to try to relish that they are another year alive rather than lamenting 'aging' and all that can go wrong.
This weekend I had someone saying how miserable getting older is, when I disagreed, they said 'because you're young' well, just a few years shy of 50, I know that person wasn't thinking of themselves as 'young' at that point.
Ten years from now, you'll look back at ten years before and think it was 'young' so might as well see the attribute in it now!

I had a nice giggle over Bevie's idea - would be fun to record for others to watch too!

SillyBoy said...

Ha! I'm going to watch all four of their videos, and make myself the happiest person in the world! Muahahahaha!

Re Bevie's idea: Another fun idea is to mute the TV and play some songs. It's quite amazing how often the two match up. Hilarity guaranteed!

fairyhedgehog said...

Lisa: I could have guessed that petting the cat would be near the top for you! I'm glad you're going to try the exercise. The one I was given is something I do anyway so I'll just have to make sure I do it every day for that week.

Robin: I hope you do give it a go. I'd be interested to see how you get on. I think having a job that you don't much like doesn't help. I was lucky when I was working that I adored my job.

Bevie: 40%? That's great! You've got 60% room for feeling better!

Jane: Going out again is brilliant. You're right about the news. I never feel I'm missing anything important, just a lot of drivel.

I wonder if we do figure the happiness stuff out as we get older. That would make sense.

Sarah: I think it's really good to work out and if paying a trainer makes it happen, then that's a great idea.

SillyBoy: I can't wait to see you being four times more happy than all the rest of us. You must tell us how that goes!

Sophie in the Moonlight said...

All signed up. This exercise is perfectly in line with some other stuff I'm trying to work on. Thank you again for finding the most intriguing bits & parts of the internet.

Alice Scradcza said...

I like to do some really difficult welding - like oxy-acetylene welding of duralumin with no flux or filler rod. I am very happy when I make good finish.

fairyhedgehog said...

Sophie: I'm glad you signed up too. We can all compare results at the end of the experiment.

Alice: that sounds really hardcore. I can imagine it must be very satisfying although I think I'd find it pretty scary too.

Richard said...

Alice: If you can do Dural without flux or filler you're pretty damn good... I'd be happy to make a decent weld let alone a decent finish using OA rather than TIG.

*I am unworthy*

Alice Scradcza said...

Richard, it is very very hard and nearly impossible. But there is an old Lithuanian saying which is difficult to translate but says something like "small happiness is easy. Big happiness comes after overcoming big problems."

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