Editor’s note: What does somebody who spent a year test-driving principles, tips, theories, and scientific studies on happiness think are the real keys to happiness?
That’s what I wanted to know.
This is a guest post on lessons learned in happiness by Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen is a best selling author and former lawyer.
What’s interesting to me about Gretchen is that she studied happiness by making it a project. During The Happiness Project, Gretchen spent a year test-driving lessons in happiness from Aristotle to Oprah.
In her new book, The Happiness Project: Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun
This post is Gretchen’s top 10 lessons learned in happiness. Enjoy!
These are the top 10 lessons I’ve learned about happiness …
Lesson in Happiness #1. Create an Atmosphere of Growth.
First Splendid Truth: To be happy, you need to consider feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth.
These are the elements of happiness. If you want to boost your happiness, try tackling one element. Get more “feeling good,” say. Or eliminate a source of “feeling bad.” Think about whether you “feel right” about the shape of your life. And look for an area in your life where you can create “an atmosphere of growth.”
Lesson in Happiness #2. Be Happy Yourself.
Second Splendid Truth: One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.
People often focus on the first half of this statement, but the second half is just as important. It turns out, studies show, that happy people are more altruistic, more likely to volunteer, more interested in other people’s problems, and they are also better leaders and better able to bring about changes, when they try to do so.
Lesson in Happiness #3. The Days are Long, but the Years are Short.
Third Splendid Truth: The days are long, but the years are short.
Lesson in Happiness #4. Think Your Happy.
Fourth Splendid Truth: You’re not happy unless you think you’re happy.
Lesson in Happiness #5. Your Body Matters.
It sounds obvious, but it’s easy to overlook! Get enough sleep, exercise regularly, get some sunshine, go to a doctor if you need to.
Lesson in Happiness #6. Happiness is Other People.
Philosophers and scientists agree: a KEY to happiness is strong relationships with other people. Building strong bonds should be one of your top priorities in life.
Lesson in Happiness #7. Outer Order Contributes to Inner Calm.
For most people, making an effort to keep surroundings in decent order really pays off in happiness.
Lesson in Happiness #8. Want What You Have.
Happiness comes not from having more, not from having less, but from wanting what you have.
Lesson in Happiness #9. Know Yourself.
You can choose what you do, but you can’t choose what you like to do.
To make a happy life, you need to know yourself and acknowledge your own nature. For some people, this is a real challenge.
Lesson in Happiness #10. The Duty of Happiness.
“There is no duty we so much underrate as the duty of being happy.” –Robert Louis Stevenson.
Proven Practices for Individual Contributors