What's All the Fuss About Happiness? (By Julie Marsh)

Ever wonder what the fuss about happiness is all about? Ever wonder why the writers of the U.S. Constitution said that the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right?

Interestingly, happiness studies have exploded over the last few years. It seems like new books on the subject are popping up regularly. The volume of research-based, best-selling books indicates that this is a topic that people are very interested in, though the interest can hardly be thought of as new. Even the Founding Fathers had it in mind!

In The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Anderson (played by Will Smith) is continually frustrated by his son's daycare, who can't get the word happiness right.

Have you been feeling like you can't get happiness right either? How hard is it to be happy anyway?

There are a number of things that have been shown to make people happy. The ingredients are all pretty simple and it is fairly easy to identify ones that are missing. For instance, not having enough money to take care of your family's basic needs. Having family members in crisis. Lacking specific goals to change outcomes. These are things that make us unhappy.

We Can All Identify Things That Are Contributing to Unhappiness

So why do many people still, at least mostly, feel happy? Why does hope and optimism continue to rise even when many of the basic ingredients are missing?

Is there anything you can do to fan this little spark of happiness into a flame? Does it even matter if you are happy? Current research in the field of positive psychology offers insights into these questions.

Shawn Achor is a former Harvard professor and the current CEO of Good Think Inc., a Cambridge-based consulting firm which conducts research to understand where human potential, success and happiness intersect.

According to Achor, "We're finding it's not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality. And if we can change the lens, not only can we change your happiness, we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time"

If You Can Change Your Lens, Will You Change Your Life?

Research conducted by Achor indicates that a positive brain is 31% more productive than a negative, neutral or stressed brain. According to Achor, raising your present level of positivity allows your brain to experience what is called a happiness advantage. This simply means that your intelligence, creativity and energy levels increase.

This indicates that not only do you need to change your lens, but you specifically need to make your lens more positive. There's more to this good news. When you are positive, dopamine floods your system, not only making you happier (and counteracting stress hormones), but also turns on all of the learning centers in your brain!

Sign Me Up! What Do I Need to Do?

Happily, Achor gives several ways you can rewire your brain in just a couple minutes per day. You can do one or several. Each will help increase your happiness.

• The first is gratitude. The exercise is to write three new things you are grateful for every day for 21 days (no repeating of things you are grateful for). This retrains your brain to look for positive things instead of negative.

• Second, journal about one positive experience per day.

• Third, teach your brain that behavior matters by exercising.

• Fourth, meditate - which allows your brain to relax and unplug from multitasking.

• Finally, Achor recommends practicing conscious acts of kindness, such as writing one positive email to a friend or relative each day.

Haven't We Always Wanted to Be Happy?

Even the Mayo Clinic has an article about how to be happy. They recommend investing in relationships, practicing gratitude, cultivating optimism, finding your purpose, and living in the moment. Many of the same things that Achor's research has found to be helpful in increasing happiness. There are even (research-based) happiness quizzes so you can see how happy you are. Some even track your happiness level over time!

I hate feeling unhappy, depressed, or anxious. In fact, I try to avoid triggers that are going to make me feel this way, like news reports (which are all pretty much negative). However, when circumstances in my life cause me to experience all three of these emotions, I know I need to take a step back. It is easy to spot a general sense of negativity and gloom because it seems to lodge in the middle of my chest. This definitely affects happiness, or more accurately, unhappiness. The good news is that happiness doesn't have to be tied to circumstances.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Whats-All-the-Fuss-About-Happiness?&id=9453390

You Have the Power to Rewire Your Brain for More Joy

Seeking to find happiness through a job before you find happiness on a personal level is like trying to stand on stilts in quicksand.

That’s how Anahita Moghaddam feels about it, anyway. As founder of Neural Beings, a coaching practice that helps people and companies identify a purpose and hone in on a process to get there, she believes it is our “primary responsibility” to cultivate love and happiness within ourselves, first and foremost.

Speaking last October at The Feast social entrepreneurship conference in Brooklyn, N.Y., Moghaddam said that if you only look to your professional achievements to sustain your sense of purpose and well-being, a sense of emptiness or desperation is almost inevitable.“When that job is gone or when you get fired or you get really disillusioned by what you thought, then you are going to suffer.”

Instead, she guides people to an idea of living mindfully as a way to improve our focus and provide more joy in life.

Image credit: Anahita Moghaddam

Moghaddam, who was born in Iran and grew up in Germany, bases her teachings on Eastern, ancient philosophies combined with a technical, scientific understanding of how the brain functions. In addition to her work as a coach, she serves as an ambassador to the Tibet Fund, an organization supporting Tibetan refugees living in India, Nepal and Bhutan.

If you can’t remember the last time you did something other than sit at your computer and work, fret not. You -- and your brain -- are more flexible than you think. The brain evolved to be relational, meaning that it changes and grows depending on what it interacts with, says Moghaddam. Positive thoughts will reinforce neuron pathways for the feeling of joy; negative thoughts will reinforce neuron pathways for feelings of sadness.

“The number of possible combinations of neurons that fire and wire together is 10 to the millionth power in your nervous system. In comparison, the number of atoms in our entire universe is estimated to be around 10 to the 80th power. If we are 10 to the millionth power, that makes us almost infinite. So what are we? Who are we? And what can we do with this?” she said, speaking to an audience of a couple dozen conference attendees.

Unfortunately, human brains have several biological predispositions to negative thoughts and feelings. First, the human brain evolved to identify and avoid threats. Often, that means that other humans instinctually register as competition, instead of teammates or comrades. Second, we’re biologically predisposed to remember a single negative incident more than multiple positive experiences. Echoing neuroscientist Rick Hanson, Moghaddam says our brains are “like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive experiences.”

Despite our Darwinian preferences, we can control their thoughts with mindfulness, a sort of meta cognition or skillful use of attention. Instead of letting your attention be co-opted by the nearest or next distraction or perceived threat, a practice of mindfulness will train an individual to focus his or her attention and energy strategically and purposefully.

Even if you haven’t got hours each day to sit in a lotus position wrapped in a toga on the beach, you can take 10 minutes on the subway, for example, to sit calmly and quietly. Notice your body and your thoughts and where you are feeling stress or tension. If you can evoke a feeling of joy -- whether by remembering a person, a moment or a situation -- and hold your attention or awareness on that positive experience for 10 to 25 seconds, then you can begin to replace negative neuron pathways with more positive ones, explains Moghaddam. After as few as 11 hours of meditation practice, a human being’s brain will begin to change, she says.  

Moghaddam’s teachings may feel too-good-to-be-true hippie soft science. But they are rooted in chemistry and build on the work of doctors and neuroscientists. A popular 2011 study led by Massachusetts General Hospital researchers compared the brain images of 16 study participants before and after an 8 week-long mindfulness meditation. The study found that meditation, practiced over time, leads to physical improvements in brain matter. “By practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life,” said Britta Hölzel, an author of the paper, in a statement.

As neuro-psychologist Rick Hanson explains, changes in your thoughts can change the grey matter in your skull, and vice versa. “Mental activity is like a spring shower, leaving little traces of neural structure behind,” he wrote in an article published in an industry journal. “Over time, the little tracks in the hillside draw in more water down, deepening their course. A kind of circular self organizing dynamic gradually develops, and then the mind tends to move more and more down that channel, and soon enough you've got a gully.”

There are benefits to living mindfully, other than happiness. People who try to live more mindfully can focus for longer periods of time. Think about sitting at your own computer. The distractions from email, instant message, social media, co-workers, office noise, a boss going on a rant. You could spend the entire day at the office and not get anything done. The ability to focus more strategically “makes you more clear. It makes you show up to your own life more fully,” according to Moghaddam.

Ideally, repaving the neurons in your brain will help you lead a more satisfied life, but it also, as the ripple moves outward, a more productive and connected community. “Happiness and creativity are the purpose and they are also the byproduct of living mindfully, living with purpose,” she says. “Social change really starts in your mind. Otherwise it is a social idea, and a concept that we grasp at, but it really starts in your heart.”

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241800

3 Ways to Overcome Fear Immediately

If there is one thing that holds millions of people back each day from growing as an individual, achieving high levels of success and becoming the best version of themselves, fear is definitely at the top of the list.

High achievers, regardless of occupation, understand that taking risks and massive action is a vital part in getting from where you are to where you want to go. And that goes for in life -- and in business. But often these risks are met with fear, which can cause people to question their ambitions and prevent them from taking action.

One thing I want you to understand is that fear is absolutely normal. Even the best experience fear from time to time. The key is to not let fear hold you back and prevent you from taking action and go after what you want in life.

Here are three ways to overcome fear immediately.

1. Rewire your brain. Rewiring your brain is one of the surest ways to overcome your fears and develop the courage that is needed to get to where you want to go. Develop mantras and affirmations that build you up and increase your self-confidence. Read uplifting books to help interrupt the negative inner dialogue that goes on in your mind. Beginning as a child, we are told negative things that we can’t do, be or have. If you don’t take the initiative to rewire your brain, life will do it for you.

2. Have a well thought out plan.

 We begin to worry and over analyze situations when we don’t have detailed and well thought out plans for our life. Set extremely clear goals with a detailed plan on how to achieve those goals. After you have a well detailed plan, take action.Taking action towards meaningful goals helps to relieve stress and gives you a huge sense of enjoyment. Fear creeps in and paralyzes us when we don’t take the time to plan our lives.

3. Do one thing every day that scares you. Living in our comfort zone is not the best way to live. Not doing the things that frighten you will increase the likelihood that your fears will become bigger – and taking over your life. It can even be something small that you choose to do, but do something daily that scares you. Step out of your comfort zone and work on becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. When you form the habit of doing something daily that scares you, your courage grows little by little. Soon enough, the barriers that once were holding you back vanish and your potential maximizes tremendously.

Making the bold decision to not let fear hold you back any more is one of the best decisions you can make to ensure future success. It’s not something that happens overnight, but taking intentional action and running towards your fears daily will give you a promising result in the long run.

Everything that you want in life is past your comfort zone. Don’t let fear be the reason you lived a half-lived life.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236465