Exit
Kramer, resilience, not happiness,
is the opposite of depression: Happy people know how to bounce back
from failure. Resilience is like a
padding for the inevitable hardship
human beings are bound to face.
As the Japanese proverb goes, “Fall
seven times and stand up eight.”
They Try to Be Happy.
Yep — it’s as simple as it sounds:
just trying to be happy can boost
your emotional well-being, according to two studies recently published in The Journal of Positive
Psychology. Those who actively
tried to feel happier in the studies reported the highest level of
positive moods, making a case for
thinking yourself happy.
PHOTO OR ILLUSTRATION CREDIT TK
They Are Mindful of the Good.
It’s important to celebrate great,
hard-earned accomplishments,
but happy people give attention to their smaller victories,
too. “When we take time to notice the things that go right — it
means we’re getting a lot of little
rewards throughout the day,” Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. told The
Huffington Post in May. “That
can help with our moods.” And,
as Frank Ghinassi, Ph.D. explains,
being mindful of the things that
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do go your way (even something
as simple as the barista getting
your coffee order right) can make
you feel a greater sense of accomplishment throughout the day.
They Appreciate
Simple Pleasures.
A meticulously swirled ice cream
cone. A boundlessly waggy dog.
Happy people take the time to appreciate these easy-to-come-by
‘I wish I’d had the courage
to express my feelings,’ is one
of the top five regrets of the
dying — a sentiment that hints
at the fact that people wish
they’d spent less time talking
about the weather and more
time delving into what it is
that makes their heart swell.”
pleasures. Finding meaning in the
little things, and practicing gratitude
for all that you do have is associated
with a sense of overall gladness.
They Let Themselves Lose
Track of Time. (And
Sometimes They Can’t Help It.)
When you’re immersed in an activity that is simultaneously challeng-