Good Lifestyle

Earlier this year, Yale University presented a course called "psychology and good life", a series of conferences taught by the teacherLaurie SantosAbout all things that make people happy in order to help students lead a more joyful life. The "happiness of happiness", as it has become affectionately known on campus and in the media, has instantly become the most popular class in the history of the 316-year-old University.

Given the news that the wholeLevels of happiness of Americans Are at a level of all times, I was delighted to see that Yale decided that these scientific lessons should be available for more people than just yalies. In May, Santos launched a series of free and multi-party seminar styles of the online course. "The well-being science" consists of ten video conferences that cover most recent research on what does and do not make us happy - and what we can do to stimulate our levels of happiness.

The course is 15 hours and you canComplete it yourself via the education platform will run. But if you do not have 15 hours to burn and you are curious to know what Yale's happiness course, read it, because I finished all the thing to give you the biggest take away. So read and plan to apply these lessons to your own life. And for more life tips from the Ivy league, know thatHarvard says that these five things will prolong your life.

Many things we believe will make happy money, a big house, an impressive car - actually. Andstudies Having shown that even if there is a difference in happiness between people living on the poverty line and those who make comfortable wages, after a certain amount, levels of happiness are entirely hiding.

Santos indicates that even if the revenues of the people were much lower in the 1940s - and they had much less comfort (only two-thirds of the houses at the time later had an indoor plumbing) - the levels of happiness reported were higher than ours.

He speaks to a written paradox about the author.David Myers, which explains that even though today's young people have grown up with much more wealth, contemporary young adults are much moreDepression, solitude and social disorders than baby boomers. And longitudinal studies have shown that people with materialistic attitudes report lower life satisfaction levels, regardless of their amount of things they acquire.

In a study, lottery winners reported 4 out of 6 on the happiness scale, which seems impressive until you realize that those who did not win the reported lottery. 3.82. SameWarren Buffett, in certainControversial remarks That he recently made on happiness, said "you will not be happier if you double your net worth."

Despite what Disney films could have promised, find "the one" will not make you happy permanently.

Santos points to a study in which a large group of people has been interviewed for many years. The couples who have married have pointed out to be happier than unmarried peoples during their honeymoon periods, but they returned to the base after the first 18 months of marriage. The fact remains that even if you find a romance worthy of aNicholas sparks Roman, it alone will not make you happy. Finally, you complain of being married in the same way that you have done once to be single. And if you are on the market for great relationships, consult these17 things that men want women to know.

If you look at fitness influences and you think, "If only I looked like that, I'll be happy," You're wrong.

Santos cites a study on which 2,000 obese people were observed for the first four years of their plan. Surprisingly, those who have really lost weight have stated even more depressed than when they started. Santos highlighted another study of adolescents who obtained plastic surgery and followed 13 years after their procedure. You guessed it. None of them were happier than before surgery either.

In your own life, you probably noticed that some people seem happier than others. Then there are those who have everything and that is never enough.

In his book,The of what of happiness,Sonja Lyubomirsky watched the happiness measures of identical twin sets and found that while the circumstances of life affect only 10% of our levels of happiness, a 50% reduction in what determines how happy we aregenetic.

The realization that your levels of happiness are determined by your genetics in such an important way is definitely a little a bummer. But look at the good side! Only 10% of our levels of happiness depend on the external circumstances that we can not control (that is, to meet the love of your life, winning the lottery, etc.). Which means that 40% of our levels of happiness derive things that wecan Control (that is, how we see the world, how we behave, etc.). It does not make you happy?

The brain is wired to fit like a survival tactic that helps us cross the worst moments, but it is also a big barrier to our ability to stay systematically happy.

Say you get a great job, or a new boyfriend, or win the lottery, and you are delighted and think you will never be unhappy again. Very quickly, you get used to your new life and you feel the same as your old life.

This is called the hedonic treadmill or the hedonic adaptation, and the best way to work around this is to recognize that there exists. Understand that you will not be happier if you get all the things you think to make you happy. This seems depressing, but that's not the case, because what it really means is that what happens in your life does not matter, only the way you consider it, which is extremely liberating. And if you feel a little stressed these days, checkThe best way to reduce stress.

No, it's not Buddha or Yoda speaks. It's science.

Although it is true that having a lot of money / a great job / a true love will not make us happy, it is also true thatwanting all these things - and be bitter not to have them - will make usunfortunate.

Santos introduces a great term invented by Tim Wilson at the University of Virginia and Dan Gilbert in Harvard called "Miswanting", the process by which our brain tells us that if we could just have x we ​​would be happy. So, how do we release expectations?

Simple. Discover yourself and keep reminding you that the things you want so bad you do not make you happy, and you already have everything you need to be happy right now. Later in this list, you will see some reconstitution exercises that will help you achieve this state of gratitude and constant satisfaction.

Our spirits do not work in absolutes, which means that we think in relative terms. To prove its point, Santos uses the ebbinghaus illusion, which displays two orange circles, surrounded by blue circles of variable size. Because the blue circles on the left are so great, your brain records the orange circle on the left as being smaller than the one on the right, even if they are both identical. The same goes for our imperfect perception of what will make us happy.

"We care a lot of knowing where we are relating to other people, even more than our own absolute level. This is what psychologists refer as a social comparison," says Santos.

She highlighted a British study that found that the way in which the happy people are in their job does not depend on how much money they actually bring as much as what they do in relation to their colleagues. She highlighted another study that found that unemployed people are not unhappy on this subject, as long as they are in a job in which many others are unemployed, or are experiencing many other unemployed people.

Our natural inclination to compare to others has become particularly extreme in the digital age, and that's the main reasonReport of Social Media Toxicognia Levels of stress, depression and isolation higher, as well as lower levels of self-esteem and satisfaction of life. So do not do it! Remember that you never really know what's going on in a person's life anyway, and simply because someone's life seems perfect does not mean it's.

Santos and his colleagues invented the "G.I. Joe Fallaly" to describe the mistake of thinking that, as you know that something means that you can put it into practice. The name comes from the cartoon of the popular child, in which the superhero would eventually end up each episode saying that "knowing is half of the battle", when it's really not.

Santos uses optical illusions as an example because, simply because you know that an image is wrong does not mean that you can force the eyes to see it differently. Similarly, just because you know what makes people happy that you can make you happy. You must really change the habits to do it. How do you change these habits? Read it for the exercises that Santos suggests.

At the moment, you know that the purchase of things simply played in the hedonic treadmill because you are excited of your new car at first, only to stop taking care of a week later. To fight against this, Santos suggests investing instead in experiences, such as holidays, concerts or even a large glass of wine. These are things you like but you can not get used to it, and the memory of your pleasure remains with you, especially when you look over the pictures later. Need examples? To verifyThe 7 best luxury fitness holidays You can take this year.

According to Santos, Savoring is the "simple act of getting out of your experience to examine it and really appreciate it while it happens." It stimulates our mood by opposing the hedonic adaptation by reminding us of the good in life, preventing our spirit from wandering and making us more grateful for the experiences we encounter. To help practice the act of savor, Santos suggests choosing an activity that you like (like taking a walk or eat a good meal) every day and really enjoy it. To improve the act of savoring, you can share your experience with a friend, take a picture of the activity, take a note at the end of the night.

Research has shown that taking time to recognize and experiment with what you have in life can increase your mood, reduce your stress levels, strengthen your immune system, feel a stronger social connection and reduce your blood pressure.

As such, Santos suggests putting five to ten minutes every night to write five things you are grateful. It can be a person (I am grateful for my mother), one thing (I am grateful for my work), or even something smaller (I am grateful for the beautiful sunset I've seen today ) The key is really aware of what you are writing (for example, imagine the person you write) when you connect to your entries.

A good way to do this is to remind you of reference points by going back to a time when you have no other things you have now. Remember the way you felt before can help you appreciate what you have now, and thus upset the hedonic adaptation. In addition, there is an extra bonus: write things in the eveningwill actually help you sleep better at night.

One of the greatest things that makes people unhappy is that we are always upset in the past or worry about the future. That's why the meditation of mindfulness, with his accent on his being really present at the moment, is so trendy right now.

In addition to making you more grateful for what you have,Recent studies have found that this helps you strengthen brain health. Just notLet yourself be becoming an egocentric jerk about it.

Research has shown that the act of goodness performer provides a major boost at levels of happiness. As such, the course suggests performing at least one act of kindness every day. We must not be extreme. This could be as simple as giving your colleague advice, a few dollars to an interesting cause, or taking a few minutes to help a lost stranger.

We all heard the phrase "the time is money". But Santos indicates several studies suggesting that "the wealth of time" is more crucial for happiness than monetary wealth. And the reason for that simply is that we have already seen that earning more money does not make you happier, while having more time spending with friends or family, traveling , to meditate, to help an old lady crossing the street, and so on really done.

"We should look for notes and not a big salary, but we should look for healthier practices," said Santos. The two crucials that it highlight are sleep and exercise and, indeed, a growing body of research indicates that it is the two lifestyle that leads to a happy and healthy existence.

"Just exercise three times a week, for 30 minutes a day can give you a lot of Bang happiness for your money by taking SSRI or taking something like Zoloft," said Santos. In addition, "sleep more and sleep about seven or eight hours a night can make you happier. For a diet that combines a large part of the search outlined here,why do not sleep clean try?

A disturbancerecent survey revealed that almost half of the Americans Report a feeling of loneliness almost all the time. It is a serious question, since loneliness increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, causes anxiety and depression, increases the risk of suicide, and doubles the risk of premature death in men and women.

Research found that people who have very strong family ties live the longest and happiest lives. But the social link is not only to have a network of people you can ask for help (if important). Even something as simple as the cat to the man who sells you your coffee in the morning can improve your mood more than you wait. As such, you should try to make a significant link (for example, having a deep conversation with your mother or your best friend) at least once a week, and a small social connection (c. to joke with your Colleague for a few minutes) at least once a day.

One of the proposed exercises is to write a letter to someone who has had a significant effect on your life that you did not thank you correctly, and then to deliver them in person, without waiting for the way they will react. "A letter of recognition is one of the most powerful tools to increase happiness because it can create social bonds and really the life of someone's change," says Santos.

Instead of having objectives that are abstract and depended little on the chance or other people (ie my goal is to fall in love this month "), set specific and feasible goals (c. - "My goal is to meditate for an hour at 8 am". The thing is that the realization of these objectives that you make you feel happier, it does not matter whether it is something big or small something.

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