Exercise more
There are many studies covering this area. Exercise releases the good mood endorphins which will put you in a better mood after working out or even taking a walk to the supermarket. It is hard to be in a bad mood after working out. Is there scientific study supporting this?
The University of Toronto looked at over 25 research studies and analyzed them. The conclusion they got from the studies is physical activity helps with keeping depression away. There are many studies that have looked at this area and they have had the same results.
The best study is where depressed people were put into three groups and each of them was given a different regime. The three are exercise, anti-depressants, and a combination of the two. All the three groups were happier, but how long did it last? After six months, the group that had used only exercise had a low relapse at 9%. The two other groups also relapsed at a rate ranging from 31% to 38%. This means a third of them were depressed again.
Positive thinking has an effect on performance
This can sound like pie in the sky, but it is the truth. Shawn Achor claims that if he knows everything about the factors impinging on happiness such as hassles, stressors, success, relationships, economic circumstances, and so on, he can only predict just ten percent of long-term happiness. The 90% that remains is how you are going to process 4verything around you. If you put your happiness on the other side of success, it is very hard to reach that point because you have to strive to get higher salaries, better grades, and so on.
Positive thinking is going to raise your creativity, energy levels, and productivity by up to 30 percent. Positive thinking is the secret that always works, instead of wanting things like being famous and rich.
Trashing your negative thoughts
People get overwhelmed with negative thoughts in their minds and some have a hard time getting rid of them. A study by the University of Madrid found that writing down thoughts on paper and then destroying them is effective. You can tear the paper up, throw it away, or burn it.
Physically discarding them helps you reduce their toxic effects. Do this on a regular basis because it is going to help. Give it a try and see whether it works for you.
Choosing experience over possessions
It is better to treasure memories and experiences over material things. This is an area that psychologist Thomas Gilovich has spent a lot of time researching on. There is a study he did that involved comparing possessions and looking at better objects after purchasing was done, and it turned out demoralizing and ruined the pleasure they got after buying and taking possession of the new TV, car, or computer.
It was not that much destructive to treasure experiences. The experiences belong to you, they are special and they will provide you with happiness that lasts for a long. You should choose to go trekking or visit a new place. Local authorities need to provide facilities in cities and towns so that people can experience more enjoyable and pleasurable activities, instead of focusing on shopping malls.
Writing down why you are grateful
Thinking about things you feel grateful about when you wake up is a good way of building more happiness.
Research has shown that the brain tends to focus on negative things like tragedies, worries, discontent, and failures. The default position is negativity. When there are positive and negative things happening in your life, the brain is going to look more at the negative and less at the positive. You end up feeling that everything is going wrong for you. Get in touch with Claritychi.com.
In the 21st century, there seems to be this negativity bias that seems to be a bug from the stone-age brain, according to Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist.
This makes it important to keep the focus on the good and more especially, you should be honing in on what you need to be grateful for. There are different ways of doing this. Below are some great ideas:
When getting up in the morning, make sure you remind yourself of the three things you feel grateful about.
Some choose to note down three things and keep the list so they can remind themselves about the things they are grateful about.
Use Facebook or Twitter if you feel inclined. This is going to show your followers that the strategy works.
Show gratitude by calling your loved ones or treating a colleague to coffee for the help they gave on the task or project.
You can give back by helping a person or volunteering a couple of hours a week. You are going to feel great when you do this and you will be looking forward to the next time.
There are some studies that have shown this can help you. It works and you will be happy with the results you get when you do it.
Disclosure: collaborative post
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