Everyday Happiness - Finding Harmony and Bliss

648-Happiness Science Pt.1

Did you know there are two types of happiness? Natural and synthetic happiness! In this mini-series, we discuss happiness science, the difference between the two, and how we can use both to our advantage.

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and while I certainly wish that happiness science was a subject they taught in school, it is something we tend to have to learn all on our own. In this and the next couple of episodes, we will be exploring the science of happiness, synthetic vs. natural, and how you can create a happier life for yourself in a straightforward manner.

 

Let’s start with the difference between natural happiness and synthetic happiness. Natural happiness is what we get when we get what we want or work for. It’s like winning the lottery, getting a perfect parking spot, winning the race, and receiving a promotion - when we get what we want, we get a jolt of happiness.

 

On the other hand, synthetic happiness is what we make when we don’t get what we want. It is basically the glass ½ full analogy where you redefine the situation to turn the results in your favor. So, you didn’t get the job you wanted, but because you didn’t take it, another job came by after that made you very happy. Had you taken that first job that you wanted, you wouldn’t have often gotten this one.

 

Harvard professor and scientist Dan Gilbert gave a TED Talk in 2004 where he explained “The Surprising Science of Happiness.” In his talk, he shares stories of people who had terrible experiences but said they were happier for them. Let’s take a look at a couple of them.

 

After a scandal forced him to resign in disgrace as Speaker of the House, former Congressman Jim Wright was quoted saying: “I am so much better off, physically, financially, mentally, and in almost every way.”

 

Another example is Pete Best, the original drummer for the Beatles. Had the rest of the band not dropped him for Ringo Starr, he believed his life would have been worse. He said, “I’m happier than I would have been with the Beatles.” You hear that, and many of us think that it’s crazy, but humans have a remarkable ability to alter their views to make themselves feel better about the world they find themselves in.

 

However, you may think, “Katie, these are incredible people, big names in history.” So, what if we looked at our own lives? Tune in tomorrow to learn how we average Joes’ can do the exact same thing!

 

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness.  Get the exclusive happiness email, the happiest email in your inbox, delivered with a smile twice a month. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email 

 

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

647-Building a Happiness 401(k) Pt.3

Did you know there are seven buckets of happiness we can add to now that will improve our happiness decades later? We’ve already discussed the first half, so today’s episode will cover the remaining 3 buckets and how you can build these happiness savings into your life with ease! 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and welcome to day 3 of 3 in our chat about building a happiness 401(k). Yesterday, we dove into the first four happiness buckets, and today we are finishing it off with the last three…and these are doozies!

Without further delay, emotional resilience comes in as the fifth happiness bucket. Life can be tough; I certainly don’t deny it. There are days when happiness can seem just out of reach or so far away that you can’t even see the light. A critical effort we can put into our happiness buckets now is creating and practicing coping mechanisms. If you live long enough, you will face hardship. That unfortunate fact of life can be an accident, a death, an illness, and other unfavorable situations. By building these routines in our lives now, we will benefit in the long-term as we will be adequately prepared for when ill luck strikes rather than taking a less healthy alternative.

Moving on to the sixth bucket, I want to share a quick quote. A friend of mine’s dad used to tell her, “the day you stop learning, you put one foot in the grave with the other soon to follow.” Education is a happiness bucket we must take advantage of every day. Continued lifelong learning is a pillar of happiness we have discussed before. To keep learning through the years means to engage the mind. Not only does this help to prevent age-related cognitive declines, but it keeps people passionate. When you learn, you act, keep moving, and dream.

Lastly, it comes as no surprise that relationships are on the list, coming in as the seventh bucket. Here at Everyday Happiness, we talk about building social bonds and connections all the time. Having a close network of individuals provides you with an invaluable support system that can aid you through the most challenging aspects of life and celebrate all the joys. By continually building and maintaining good relationships throughout life, you can benefit here and now as well 50 years down the line. 

As you go through the years, filling these buckets may be easy or hard. You might be able to fill some of the buckets but not the others. That is okay! Just like with a monetary 401k, there will be days, weeks, months, and years where you can only add so much. You can only do what you can, and every effort will benefit you in the long run. If you can only work on one bucket, Brooks recommends the last, building relationships. Healthy relationships may have been last on the list, but they are the most potent factor of happiness.

Now you may be thinking, can you use Intentional Margins to aid your happiness buckets? Absolutely! If this mini-series has inspired you to make some small changes or tiny habits, I encourage you to build them into your intentional margins. You don’t have to do all seven at once, but you can add one at a time until you have a healthy routine. Some will be easier than others, but I believe in you!

Along the way, I encourage you to add a little kindness to your happiness mission. Sending a little dose of sunshine and sparkle into the world can make a difference in your happiness 401(k) and others’. 

And in case you missed it, we are pivoting this podcast to a bi-monthly email at the end of the month.  I invite you to join happy mail, the happiest email in your inbox, just jump over to www.katiejefcoat.com/email  and subscribe.    

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

646-Building a Happiness 401(k) Pt.2

Did you know there are seven buckets of happiness we can add to now that will improve our happiness decades later? In part 2 of my mini-series on building a happiness 401(k), we discuss the first half of this list. Tune in to hear these timeless secrets!

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat; yesterday, we discussed Arthur Brooks’ theory of the happiness 401(k), and today we are diving into the first half of the buckets. It is critical to remember that how you adhere to these buckets in your youth and even into mid-life will drastically determine your long-term happiness. Let’s analyze these, shall we?

First, smoking! It comes as no surprise that smoking isn’t good for you. You likely know that if you are a smoker, but I encourage you to quit. Smoke-free years can increase longevity, reduce health risks, and even lead to more money in your pocket! Plus, it removes the emotional strain placed on the loved ones that want to see you live a long and happy life.

Next up is drinking. Similar to smoking, drinking isn’t good for you either. While an occasional glass of wine or a night on the town will have minimal long-term effects, excessive drinking can lead to a plethora of physical, mental, and emotional conditions. If you feel as though drinking has become a heavy aspect of your life, or you recognize that alcohol abuse is a shared family trait, it would be wise to ease off in your youth and keep that practice maintained throughout your years.

Number 3 of the 7 buckets is maintaining proper body weight. Obesity is a common problem here in the USA, but it often goes unaddressed. Maintaining a healthy body weight is critical to your long-term health, with the CDC citing that the medical costs for adults with obesity were $1,861 higher than medical costs for people with a healthy weight in 2019. As you know, maintaining a healthy weight can be tricky, but a regular diet of quality food and moderate serving sizes is the place to start.

Along with maintaining a healthy body weight, exercise is the other key pillar of physical health. As discussed in my podcast episodes 239-242, exercise boosts happiness. Making an effort to practice daily movement starting when we are younger will have exponential benefits as we age physically, mentally, and emotionally. Whether you want to dance around in your living room, go on a walk, or (my favorite) play tennis, making an effort to incorporate daily movement into your routine is critical.

Tune in tomorrow to discover the final three happiness buckets and how you can start building them today!  

And in case you missed it, we are pivoting this podcast to a bi-monthly email at the end of the month.  I invite you to join happy mail, the happiest email in your inbox, just jump over to www.katiejefcoat.com/email  and subscribe.    

Let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

645-Building a Happiness 401(k) Pt.1

Have you ever wondered if it would be possible to store up some of the happiness we have now to utilize later? In this mini-series, we discuss building a happiness 401(k), and what actions we can take today to improve our happiness decades down the road. 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and while Tax Day is still a month away, one of my new year’s goals was to get on my taxes early, so I won’t be scrambling come April. As I was sifting through receipts and 1099 forms, it got me thinking about Arthur Brooks’, the Atlantic contributing editor and professor at Harvard, theory on a Happiness 401k.

For our younger listeners, a 401(k) is a long-term retirement plan offered by employers to help individuals slowly build a robust savings portfolio they can utilize when they stop working. While doing that with money is all well and good, wouldn’t it be great if we could invest in our happiness, perhaps even tax the joy we experience now to use later? Brooks says we can, that there is a way to invest in your happiness when you are young to enjoy the fruits long into life.

I have mentioned this pivotal study before in my podcast, but I will take a quick minute to reiterate it here. In 1938, Harvard started a study following a group of men from youth to adulthood, asking every so often how they felt they were on their happiness scale, among other things, to understand their well-being. Each participant had all different walks of life, relationships, and life goals, so no two people were the same.

This long-term study, of course, evolved, and they greatly expanded the number of participants beyond the small group of men from Harvard. As results began to fill in over the decades, researchers categorized participants into a spectrum of happiness describing their happiness with life and their physical health. For example, one end of the scale would be “happy-well,” with the opposite being “sad-sick.”

It comes as no surprise that some factors of happiness were beyond participants’ control, such as generational wealth or DNA-based health conditions. However, what was within participants’ power is the most fascinating, and as Brooks says, “[this] can teach us a great deal about how to plan for late-life happy-wellness.”

Researchers discovered that seven specific buckets affect our happiness into our 70-80s that we can start to fill now. Those seven categories are: smoking, drinking alcohol, body weight, exercise, emotional resilience, education (i.e., lifelong learning), and relationships. Tune in tomorrow to discover the first half of the 401k buckets! 

And in case you missed it, we are pivoting this podcast to a bi-monthly email at the end of the month.  I invite you to join happy mail, the happiest email in your inbox, just jump over to www.katiejefcoat.com/email  and subscribe.    

Let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

644-Build Yourself a Happiness Jar

Would you like an easy way to record happy thoughts and moments without having to do a gratitude journal? Today, I share with you the art of the Happiness Jar. Tune in to learn what it is, how it works, and the benefits you can enjoy. 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness. I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and I have a special programming note.  At the end of this month, we are taking a break from our beloved daily happiness podcast. We are transferring all of the research, the insights and happiness good vibes to our email subscribers.  The happiest email in your inbox.  The pivot is just the delivery system.  From podcast to email.  Our team has created almost 650 podcast episodes and we haven’t missed a day, which we are very proud of. 

 

I invite you to jump over to www.katiejefcoat.com/email  and subscribe so that we can have virtual coffee in your inbox.       

 

Over here at Everyday Happiness, we have talked about gratitude journals and kindness elf mail, but we have yet to talk about Happiness Jars. Have you heard of them? Brought into popularity by Elizabeth Gilbert nearly a decade ago, Happiness Jars are a phenomenal way to record the happy moments of life quickly and easily.

A Happiness Jar is exactly what it sounds like; it is a jar for happiness. All you do is take a small piece of paper, write down your happiest moment of the day, date it, and drop it in. Takes all of 30 seconds. You can add to the jar daily, once a week, or whenever the moment strikes you. Gilbert explained that when she created this Happiness Jar, it allowed her to identify, appreciate, and remember the genuine moments of happiness, which were often little blips during the day that would otherwise go unnoticed, such as the warmth of the sun shining on your face, a funny conversation with your mother, an awesome nap, or a hug from your child. Then, when she was feeling down, she pulled out some notes and reread them to spark a little extra joy.

Therapists agree that a Happiness Jar practice can benefit your life. They said this type of gratitude practice can:

-          Increase overall mental and physical health

-          Improve relationships and satisfaction

-          Help shift away from a negative mindset

-          Improve self-esteem

-          And aid in savoring life

If you are interested in making a Happiness Jar for yourself, it is really quite simple. All you have to do is find a container of some sort, decorate it, and place it in an easy-to-remember spot with a pen. It can be as fancy or as simple as you like. Remember, this is YOUR happiness jar; you can do with it as you please. Maybe instead of writing a happy moment one day, you write a prayer, add a ticket stub, or let someone add their own happy memory. When the jar gets full, make a new one! Keep the old notes in a box, make a scrapbook, or burn them for good luck. The possibilities are literally endless. So, if you are looking for an easy way to jot down your happy moments, I encourage you to make a Happiness Jar.

Until next time, remember kindness is contagious. Maybe your kind action will end up as a note in someone else’s happiness jar. 

Join the club and get the happiest email in your inbox over at www.katiejefcoat.com/email  

 

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

 

643-How to Address Happiness Outside of Societal Norms

Living outside the traditional norms of society can make it challenging to talk about happiness. Today we address that concern with four ideas. 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and today I was reading a thoughtful piece from Very Well Mind about modern femininity and how it can be stressful to talk about happiness. As we know, society tends to emphasize the traditional milestones of life. I’m sure you’ve all heard the phrases of “getting married, the house with the white picket fence, and having 2.5 kids.” While that is great for some people, including myself, it doesn’t leave much room for women to step outside the box and be celebrated for alternative accomplishments.

Of course, getting married, buying a house, and having a baby is lovely. But we accomplish so many things throughout our lives that deserve the same recognition, support, and celebration that, sadly, go underappreciated.

For example, one of my team members told me about a time when they were talking with her boyfriend’s dad about her business success when he switched the topic to when he could expect to have a grandchild…yikes! These kinds of situations can make it very stressful and debilitating for anyone.

Therefore, I encourage you to do four things.

First, reaffirm your own path. If you are not living a traditional lifestyle, that’s perfectly okay and likely exciting! Take a moment every now and then to reaffirm why this path is the right path for you. I encourage you to stay honest with yourself and connected with your goals and passions.

Second, talk to people about your priorities. People don’t know what they don’t know. They may think what you are doing is just a chapter in your life when it is really the plot of the whole book. It is unlikely they are being malicious, but they don’t truly understand your goals. I encourage you to talk to them about your passions and priorities. Be honest and tell them you are hesitant to share good news because it doesn’t fit the status quo. It could open a path to greater understanding, even if it doesn’t change their minds or beliefs entirely. I also suggest finding like-minded friends who may have a greater understanding and maybe even insight into your goals.

Third, confront your own societal biases and be an open channel for happiness. I encourage you to be curious about other people’s lives and goals, never assuming they will follow a traditional path or your path either. Leave accomplishment questions open and vague so they can fill in the blank freely, whether it is buying a new car, paying off credit card debt, or renting an apartment.

Fourth, remember that kindness is contagious. Even if you don’t understand someone’s choices, I encourage you to celebrate their successes and support their happiness. Even just being a listening ear can go a long way. 

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

642-Tips to Increase Happiness Summary

For the past few episodes, we have been covering methods to increase our happiness. In this episode, we wrap up the mini-series with a few final thoughts and challenges to you!

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and over the past few episodes, we’ve been diving into the scientific concepts to really give our happiness a boost, and my reflections from an online happiness course from Yale professor, Dr. Laurie Santos.

 

So, let’s review, experiences are better than material stuff, even the best, most awesome stuff. So this is our invitation to really think about experiences.  This is true because we create memories, happy memories, when we have experiences.  

 

Next was all about savoring.  Both in terms of savoring the good stuff, the taste of a cookie or time with a beloved relative.  And also, keying us into how we, as humans, might be sabotaging our own savoring of experiences by being in a hurry and thinking about the future, among other things. 

 

Next, we dove into negative visualization and this idea that if we think about what might not be, we can get ourselves to look at things differently and appreciate it more.  This would be thinking about what if I didn’t get into the college I went to, and how different my life would be, the friends I would not have made, the experiences I would not have had, etc.  It helps you appreciate this experience more.  

 

 After the negative visualization, we went down a similar path by thinking about what if this was our last day.  Now, not in the sense that we would die tomorrow, that’s morbid, but more about this idea of thinking about what if this great thing would end. For example, college.  We talked about that above.  The study was showing how when you think about something ending, quickly, you appreciate it more verus thinking you have a whole final year of college.  

 

I was thinking about this concept during the global pandemic when everything suddenly ended. People seem to appreciate visiting a coffee shop and relationships a bit more.  Maybe even appreciate small talk more - go figure. 

 

Finally, we know, and Dr. Santos also highlights that gratitude is critical in boosting our happiness.  I hope this mini-series gave you as much food for thought as it did me.  

 

 Until next time. 

 

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness.  Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email 

 

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

641-Tips to Increase Happiness #6

We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about gratitude. 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she says if we can find gratitude, feel thankful, feel appreciation, we can boost our happiness.  But we already knew that - right? 

 

Well, studies have shown that even gratitude lists scientifically boost happiness and, more importantly, it thwarts our hedonic adaptation, that feeling of being used to everything around you.  Gratitude also, scientifically, reduces physical symptoms, like not feeling well. 

 

The data also suggests that sharing gratitude with others has a massive positive effect on you and the other person too. 

 

Researchers are also looking at gratitude between couples.  They think that having a gratitude heavy relationship can nullify a bunch of bad traits, like withdrawal and not having good communication between one another.  Folks that are feeling grateful are better off on the happiness scale and frankly, it’s better for your health to practice gratitude.  

 

So, in that vein, I am grateful for you.  For listening, subscribing, sharing, supporting this podcast.  It really does mean the world to us.  

 

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through gratitude.  Until next time, smash that subscribe button and consider leaving a 5-star review - we would really appreciate it. 

 

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness.  Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email 

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

640-Tips to Increase Happiness #5

We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about fleeting time.  

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she asks: if we can reflect on the good things as if they were about to end, how would we feel?  She has this concept “make your day your last” and she’s not talking about a terminal illness or something tragic like that, but more in the context of what if this great thing was about to end.   

 

So what if tomorrow you are about to lose this thing you love a lot.  The act of feeling just about to lose something, that’s the moment you really realize that gratitude, that happiness.  So what researchers found was when they did a study with graduating seniors.  They said you have 1200 hours left in college or you have ¼ a year left in college.  The people that heard 1200 hours, felt as if they had little time left, and when plotting their feelings on a happiness scale, they were happier than the students who were told they have ¼ a year left. Thinking about imminently losing something, what will it be like to not have that, quickly bumps you out of the hedonic adaptation trap (the idea that our minds get used to stuff) - and bumps you higher into happiness. 

 

This is a great trick when you are feeling the ho-hums of the day, the churn of the day, that everything feels the same - where is the excitement?   I invite you to try it out.  If you are so inclined, let me know it worked for you.  And, if you are feeling generous, share this podcast with a friend - or two - getting the word out organically is how we grow and create a ripple effect of kindness and happiness in our small part of this world.  

 

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through what it would feel like if something you love was more time-bound. 

 

Until next time. 

 

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness.  Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email 

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

639-Tips to Increase Happiness #4

639-Tips-to-Increase-Happiness-#4

 

Description: 

 

We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about negative visualization. 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she says if we think about the reverse of what could happen, called Negative Visualization, it can actually increase your happiness.  That sounds crazy to me.  

 

Dr. Santos uses the example of the movie It’s A Wonderful Life where Jimmy Stewart imagines what his life would be like if he were never born.  This works with your loving partner.  Imagine what life would be like if you never met your partner. You can use this to break out of your hedonic adaptation and realize, oh wow, I really do love these things about this person and I am so glad we found one another. 

 

What the scientists find, if you write about how it might not have been, you can increase your happiness. This can be anything from getting into the college you wanted, the life partner you choose.  You think about the subtle things that might not be, but for these events. What this does, is it breaks you out of the hustle and bustle of the here and now and you can have a moment of gratitude for what you have.   

 

This can be an incredibly useful journaling or gratitude practice. We go into this in more detail in episode 18.  

 

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through negative visualization - which sounds so crazy and “unhappy” to say.  Tomorrow, we will talk about this similar concept “make this day your last” - but I promise, it’s not as morbid as you think.  

 

See you tomorrow. 

 

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness.  Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email 

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

 

Description: 

 

We all want to boost our happiness! That is why I am providing you with a mini-series on how to improve your happiness. In this episode, we talk about negative visualization. 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she says if we think about the reverse of what could happen, called Negative Visualization, it can actually increase your happiness.  That sounds crazy to me.  

 

Dr. Santos uses the example of the movie It’s A Wonderful Life where Jimmy Stewart imagines what his life would be like if he were never born.  This works with your loving partner.  Imagine what life would be like if you never met your partner. You can use this to break out of your hedonic adaptation and realize, oh wow, I really do love these things about this person and I am so glad we found one another. 

 

What the scientists find, if you write about how it might not have been, you can increase your happiness. This can be anything from getting into the college you wanted, the life partner you choose.  You think about the subtle things that might not be, but for these events. What this does, is it breaks you out of the hustle and bustle of the here and now and you can have a moment of gratitude for what you have.   

 

This can be an incredibly useful journaling or gratitude practice. We go into this in more detail in episode 18.  

 

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through negative visualization - which sounds so crazy and “unhappy” to say.  Tomorrow, we will talk about this similar concept “make this day your last” - but I promise, it’s not as morbid as you think.  

 

See you tomorrow. 

 

Life is heavy enough, we shouldn’t have to search for happiness.  Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email 

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

 

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/