Happy Walk

Eudaimonia? The next suggested step would be for you (yes, YOU!!) to act:

·         “Pay it Forward”- add somebody to this group or our page

·         Share with us your happy experiences (or vice versa)

·         Get involved: comment, participate in our community (or another)

·         I invite you for a Positive Walk or March””: first from Nades 44 D to Baneasa Forest

·         Next walk- on Victory Avenue or Herastrau? We will take along 4 Borzoi and two Macaws

·         For all of our benefit- confirm here that you will join us, next weekend!

·         In the meantime, I’ll see (many of) you “Downtown”…

Flow

Flow

·          Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Flow – provides insight into how to provide environments

·         That are conducive to future benefit, pleasure and meaning –

·         Flow – is a state in which one is immersed into an experience that is rewarding in of

·         Itself – a state in which we feel we are one with the Experience, in which

·         Action and Awareness are merged- we know about being absorbed in reading a book

·         We discover that hours have gone by, when it seemed like minutes – flow

·         In Flow we experience both Peak Experience and Peak Performance  we experience

·         Pleasure and Perform at our Best – athletes call it “being in the zone”

·         Whatever we do in Flow –we are completely focused on our activity, nothing distracts

·         We learn, grow, improve and advance towards our future purpose Csikszentmihalyi:

·         “Having a clear sense of purpose is necessary to attain Flow –having a clear destination

·         Liberates us to enjoy the journey         

·         In Flow Present and Future benefit merge – a clear future contributes to here and now

·         Flow experiences lead to Higher levels of Happiness: present gain, future gain

·         Research on Flow shows that pain is not the condition for Peak Performance

·         There is a line between overexertion and under exertion where we perform Our Best

·         And Enjoy what we are doing- we reach this zone when our activities provide the

·         Optimum level of challenge, when the task is neither too difficult, nor too easy

·         If a task is very difficult and our skill is low we experience anxiety if

·         Our skill level is high and the activity is easy, we get bored

·         We experience Flow when the difficulty of the difficulty of the task is matched with our skill

·         Teachers should match the difficulty of tasks with the skill levels of each student

·         The child can be pushed too hard or bored – the child can become a rat racer- in

·         Life, after the end of school- too little struggle is also bad- pain is confused with struggle

·         Parents sometimes deny opportunities for struggle, giving kids everything  

·         There are rich people who are unhappy this is called afluenza

Films and Human Strengths

Films and Human Strengths

1.       Wisdom & Knowledge –

cognitive strengths that entail the acquisition and use of knowledge

                                                               i.      Creativity – thinking of novel and productive ways to do things

1.       Shine 1996 with Geoffrey Rush

2.       Amadeus 1984 directed by Milos Forman

                                                            ii.      Curiosity – taking an interest in all ongoing experience

1.       October Sky     1999

2.       Amelie                               2001

                                                          iii.      Open-Mindedness – thinking things through, looking from all sides

1.       No Man’s land 2001 – AA for foreign film

                                                           iv.      Love of Learning  - mastering new skills, topics and body of knowledge

1.       Billy Elliott        2000

2.       A Beautiful mind           2001

                                                             v.      Perspective – Wisdom –  being able to provide wise counsel to others

1.       The Devil’s Advocate

2.       American Beauty           1999

 

2.       Courage –

Emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals

In the face of opposition, external or internal

i.                    Bravery – not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty or pain

1.       Schindler’s List

2.       Life as a House – Kevin Kline

ii.                  Persistence – Perseverance – finishing what was started, persist despite obstacles

1.       The Piano

2.       The Legend of Bagger Vance

iii.                Integrity – Authenticity, Honesty – speaking the truth and presenting oneself in a genuine way

1.       A Few Good Men

2.       Erin Brockovich

 

3.       Humanity – interpersonal strengths that involve tending and befriending others

 

i.                    Love – valuing close relations with others, in particular those in whom sharing and caring are reciprocated; being close to people

1.       Doctor Zhivago

2.       The English Patient

3.       Sophie’s Choice

4.       The Bridges of Madison County

5.       Iris

6.       My Fair Lady  

From The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky

Happiness Activity Number 12 – Taking Care of You Body Through Physical Activity

 

 

·         An impressive study of physical activity was published in the Archives of Medicine, 1999

·         For the study men and women have been recruited, 50 years and older, all with depression

·         Researchers divided them into three groups: first group aerobic, second medicine and third

·         Group with both. All three were better, but the exercise group did better than the rest

·         Very remarkable, after 6 months, those in the exercise group were less likely to relapse

 

·         Physical Activity reduces anxiety, stress, protects us from dying in general and from

·         Dying of cardio vascular disease in particular, reduces the risk of numerous diseases

·         Diabetes, colon cancer, hyper tension; builds bones, muscles and joints

·         Increases quality of life, improves sleep, protects from cognitive impairments

·         Helps control weight

·         Exercise may be the most successful Happiness Booster of all activities

·         Taking up exercise makes you feel in control of your body and your health

·         Seeing yourself get better at something provides a sense of self worth

·         Physical Activity offers potential for Flow and

·         It is a good distraction from worry and ruminations

·         Meditation and Physical Activity often show identical effects:

·         Reduced anxiety and increased mood lifting hormones

 

·         Physical Activity, provides opportunities for social contact

·         Bolsters social support, reinforcing friendships- lifting the burden of isolation

·         Vigorous physical activity elevates endorphins, euphoria educing opioides

Physical Activity has benefits:

1.       The acute, immediate boost you get from a single bout of exercise

2.       Chronic improvements from ongoing exercise program…

a.       it takes 11 weeks for a program to stick

b.      when you reach it, the program becomes habitual – you just do it

 

Do something that fits you

Do not overdo it

 

·         in one exercise participants cycled at 60% capacity, for 30’

·         half claimed to feel gradually worse and half gradually better

·         do more and more exercise

·         Regular physical activity will make you happier

 

Sleep

·         We need an adequate amount of sleep,

·         Our society would be better if we would get an extra hour of sleep

·         You can become happier while you sleep

 

 

 

 

Positivity Builds Your Resources

The latest Scientific Evidence

·         Science shows that positivity can produce success and health-

·         Even after positivity fades, we can still see traces of its impact, beyond the present

·         Positivity has consequences for the Trajectory of your life

·         Positivity makes the difference between whether you Flourish or languish

·         Positivity opens us.

·         The first truth about positive emotions is that they Open Minds and

·         Our minds making us more Receptive and more Creative

 

·         To feel the ways positive emotions can build life resources:

·         Envision something that has made you feel joyful, playful- when you wanted to jump

·         Take a moment to relive the experience, let your joy rekindle

·         Experiences like these Build Resources, in times of trouble they make the difference

·         Between life and death

·         Resource building with a different form of positivity:

·         Envision the Intense Pull you feel when you are interested in

·         A new person, a new place or thing- your mindset is open and curious

·         Positive and open minsets produce more accurate maps of the world

University of Windsor - Balloon Exercise (Positive Psychology)