Sunday, August 4, 2013

How to be Happy

If we addicts need anything, it’s the key to happiness.

So a good source of information for us is most anything by Shawn Achor, one of the world’s leading researchers on the subject of happiness.

His TED lecture on happiness on Netflix got over 3.8 million views. He currently has a new lecture on PBS called “The Happiness Advantage.” He also has happiness books on Amazon, among them “The Happiness Advantage..."

In his Netflix lecture he describes five important ingredients for those of us seeking positive change:

  • For thirty days write down three things for which we have gratitude.
  • Journaling
  • Exercise
  • Meditation
  • Random acts of kindness

As an example, his research shows that if we take two minutes each morning to write down three positives that within 30 days our brains become rewired for happiness. We learn to scan the world for the positive instead of succumbing to negative influences in the news and the world around us.

Often in the rooms of recovery gratitude is the topic. Now even science supports gratitude as key to better living.