From the book Happier, by Tal Ben-Shahar, who has been teaching at Harvard-The most popular course ever

From the book Happier, by Tal Ben-Shahar, who has been teaching at Harvard-

The most popular course ever

 

“To devote oneself to a pleasurable activity is restful”

·         Happiness boosters lead to surging levels of energy

Exercise – Boosting our happiness

·         Generate a list of happiness boosters that

·         You can then pursue every week –the list

·         Can include general boosters, part of a routine like

·         Spending time with family and friends

·         Pleasure reading and exploratory boosters

·         That can help you find whether to introduce

·         A significant change to your life

·         Volunteer at a school for a week

·         Enter the happiness boosters into your daily planner

·         Create Rituals around them

 

Chapter 11 – Third Meditation - Beyond the temporary high

 

·         “Happiness depends upon ourselves” – Aristotle

·         The depths of our happiness are like the roots of a tree

·         The Height of our happiness is like the leaves-

·         Beautiful, coveted and yet ephemeral

·         Can the depth of our happiness be changed?

·         Are we predestined to experience highs and lows

·         Around a fixed level of happiness Maxwell Maltz:

·         Writes about a thermostat that controls our

·         Happiness level – most people return to the same

·         Level of happiness- we are delighted when something

·         Excellent happens and suffer at a loss…but that lasts

·         For a short time- the depth of our happiness doesn’t

·         Change – we recover our sense of well being

 

The Study of the Minnesota Twins

 

·         Identical twins, raised apart were shown to have similar

·         Personal personality traits

·         Research suggests the existence of a base level of well being

·         Has some argue that our quota of happiness is determined

·         By our genes or by early experiences

·         It was even said that trying to be happier is as futile as

·         Trying to be taller- but they are wrong

·         Evidence shows that a person’s base level of happiness

·         Can change- a person can become happier

·         Sometimes an encounter with a friend or a book can

·         Change our lives for the better

·         There are genetic influences- some people are born

·         With a predisposition to be happy, but there is a range

·         To a set point- we all can become significantly happier

Sonja Lyubomirsky and others have demonstrated:

·         A person’s level of happiness is determined by three factors:

1.       A genetically determined point for happiness

2.       Happiness relevant circumstantial factors

3.       Happiness relevant activities and practices

·         We have no control over genetic predisposition

·         And over the circumstances in which we are

·         But we have control over the Activities that we pursue

·         Pursuing meaningful and pleasurable activities

·         Can raise significantly our levels of well being

 

The error of the average

·         Those who say the level of happiness is fixed

·         Make the error of the average

·         Derive conclusions from what most people do

·         The average reveals a trend not an universal truth

·         Often, those outside the norm point to what is possible

·         Some people enjoy higher levels of happiness

·         This indicates it is possible to Reset the thermostat

·         The question is not if it is possible but…

·         How to do it

·         Changing Focus from material to happiness will raise

·         Their level of well being

·         Those who seek present and future benefit will

·         Be happier in the long run