session 7

-          “I love work

-          I can watch people work for hours”

Self -concordant goals as opposed to

Targets set by others

Of course, we all have to do tasks that are sometimes unpleasant

But finding your calling

Setting your own goals is the secret of success and happiness

It helps if you live in a free country

Otherwise, they set all the goals for you

And let me tell you, they are not pleasant

Once you have set your goals

Make sure you enjoy the ride towards achieving them

It is as important to take pleasure in the walk up the mountain

As in reaching the top

Be aware of the Time Perspective

-          There are people who focus on the past

-          Often lamenting about it

-          Others are keen on the future- like you probably are since you watch this!

-          But even those who concentrate on the horizon

-          They can do that by Worrying what the future brings

Be optimistic!

-          We should learn to be optimists and understand that

-          the thoughts we have affect our moods and well being

•             Happy people sleep, live, learn, create better than pessimists

•             Lonely people are less healthy than social people

•             Strangers hang up on pessimists calling much sooner than on optimists

•             Optimism protects people against diseases, pessimism helps illness

•             The richest Americans are no happier than the average Amish

-          People at 67 can expect to live another 20-25 years,

-          Need to concentrate on the future and exercise.

-          You need to exercise the equivalent of 10,000 steps a day.

-          Flourish was a principle which Aristotle included in the definition of Happiness-

-          Eudaimonia.

Flow

-          the First condition for achieving Optimal Experience

-          very important: Challenge Yourself

-          Flow does not come on the couch!

-          You can be a visionary:

-          Gandhi, Roger Bannister or JFK

Dealing with Adversity

-          We often set targets and fail- learn to fail or fail to learn

-          But there is also the ABCD method to deal with, for example a failure to follow a diet

-          Some think in terms of lazy goals

-          Like why don’t I meet a genie

-          The joke with the three wishes

-          Back in his country again

When setting up your goals, you should consider:

-          PERMA

-           

-          P is for Positive Emotions, that we need to “flourish”

-          E stands for Engagement aka Flow also the title of the classic by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

-          R comes from Relationships, meaningful relationships that we need for Well Being

-          M is for Meaning of Life

-          A for Achievements

Be aware of

-          Stumbling Upon Happiness

-          Move to California?

-          Think again

-          Having kids?

-          Well, even this familiar, long established dream is problematic

-          Studies after kids move from home