Λίγα μικρά μυστικά που συμβάλλουν στην ευτυχία

Τα «μυστικά» για να είστε ευτυχισμένοι

Η συναισθηματική μας υγεία, δεν έχει να κάνει μόνο με τα γονίδιά μας ή το πώς μεγαλώσαμε. Έρευνες έχουν δείξει ότι μερικοί αρκετά ενδιαφέροντες παράγοντες, παίζουν ρόλο στο πόσο χαρούμενοι αισθανόμαστε. Διαβάστε την παρακάτω λίστα για να δείτε αν ο τρόπος ζωής σας, σας ικανοποιεί και εστιάστε σε αυτούς τους 9 τρόπους για να ανεβάσετε τη διάθεσή σας.

 

 

 

 

 

Ήσασταν γελαστοί στις σχολικές φωτογραφίες

 

Οι ενήλικοι που ήταν πιο γελαστοί σε φωτογραφίες του σχολείου και του πανεπιστημίου, 


είχαν 5 φορές λιγότερες πιθανότητες να πάρουν διαζύγιο, δεκαετίες αργότερα, από εκείνους που φαίνονταν λιγότερο ευτυχισμένοι, σύμφωνα με μια νέα μελέτη του Πανεπιστημίου DePauw. Το χαμόγελο και η θετική διάθεση, μπορεί να προσελκύσουν και άλλους ευτυχισμένους ανθρώπους ή τον/την σύζυγό σας.

 

 

Έχετε αδελφή

 

Άτομα με τουλάχιστον μία αδελφή, ανέφεραν καλύτερη κοινωνική υποστήριξη, περισσότερη αισιοδοξία και περισσότερες ικανότητες, σύμφωνα με μελέτη που παρουσιάστηκε στο ετήσιο συνέδριο της Βρετανικής Ψυχολογικής Εταιρείας. Οι αδελφές φαίνεται να ενθαρρύνουν την επικοινωνία και τη συνοχή στις οικογένειες. Αν πάλι δεν έχετε… κάντε αδελφή σας μια φίλη ή συγγενή σας!

 

 

Δεν είστε «κολλημένοι» με την τηλεόραση

 

Οι ευτυχέστεροι άνθρωποι ξοδεύουν 30% λιγότερο χρόνο βλέποντας τηλεόραση, σύμφωνα με μια έρευνα του Πανεπιστημίου του Maryland, που ανέλυσε επί 34 χρόνια τα στοιχεία για περισσότερους από 45.000 Αμερικανούς. Είναι πιο πιθανό να χρησιμοποιούν το χρόνο τους για κοινωνικοποίηση, διάβασμα, ή για να πηγαίνουν στην εκκλησία – συνήθειες που συνδέονται με την καλύτερη διάθεση και την υγεία.

 

 

Κρατάτε τα σουβενίρ

 

Οι άνθρωποι που κρατούν φωτογραφίες ή αναμνηστικά για να θυμούνται καλές στιγμές, εκτιμούν περισσότερο τη ζωή τους και είναι πιο ευτυχισμένοι, αναφέρουν ειδικοί από το Πανεπιστήμιο της Καλιφόρνιας, Ρίβερσαϊντ. Οι καλές αναμνήσεις μας υπενθυμίζουν τη δυνατότητα της ευτυχίας και «υπόσχονται» ότι μπορούμε να την αποκτήσουμε ξανά.

 

 

Κάνετε την άσκηση προτεραιότητα

 

Τα άτομα που γυμνάζονται περισσότερο, είναι λιγότερο πιθανό να έχουν άγχος και περισσότερο πιθανό να είναι ικανοποιημένοι με τη ζωή τους, σύμφωνα με Δανούς ερευνητές. Σε σύγκριση με όσους κάνουν καθιστική ζωή, τα άτομα που κάνουν jogging, έχουν 70% λιγότερες πιθανότητες να παρουσιάσουν υψηλά επίπεδα στρες και δυσαρέσκειας για τη ζωή τους, διαπίστωσε η μελέτη. Άτομα που δε γυμνάζονταν και ξεκίνησαν μέτρια άσκηση -17 έως 34 λεπτά την ημέρα- ένιωσαν περισσότερη ευτυχία στη ζωή τους.

 

 

Έχετε υγιή ερωτική ζωή

 

Η υγιής ερωτική ζωή είναι ένας βασικός παράγοντας που συμβάλλει στην ευτυχία, έδειξε μια μελέτη από το βρετανικό πανεπιστήμιο του Warwick. Οι παντρεμένοι ανέφεραν 30% περισσότερο σεξ από ό, τι οι ελεύθεροι, γεγονός που αποτελεί έναν λόγο που τους κάνει ευτυχισμένους, δήλωσαν.

 

 

Kάνετε παρέα με χαρούμενους ανθρώπους

 

Η παρέα με ένα χαρούμενο άτομο, αυξάνει την πιθανότητα να νιώσετε κι εσείς ευτυχισμένοι, σύμφωνα με μια νέα μελέτη. Το πόσο συχνά συναντιέστε, έχει τη μεγαλύτερη σημασία, λένε οι ερευνητές: Οι άνθρωποι που μένουν σε απόσταση ενός χιλιομέτρου περίπου από έναν χαρούμενο φίλο τους, έχουν αυξημένες πιθανότητες να είναι ευτυχισμένοι, κατά 42%. Αν ο φίλος τους μένει πιο μακριά (σε ακτίνα 3 χλμ.) οι πιθανότητες μειώνονται κατά 22%, πιθανόν επειδή τον συναντούν λιγότερο.

 

 

Ζεστό ρόφημα, ζεστή καρδιά

 

Ένα ζεστό ρόφημα -ο καφές και το τσάι είναι καλές επιλογές- μπορεί να συμβάλλει σε θετικά συναισθήματα, σύμφωνα με μια μελέτη του Πανεπιστημίου Yale. Αυτό μπορεί να συμβαίνει επειδή οι άνθρωποι συνδέουν τη φυσική ζεστασιά με τη συναισθηματική ζεστασιά, λένε οι ερευνητές. Στη μελέτη που πραγματοποιήθηκε, όσοι προτίμησαν ζεστό, αντί παγωμένο καφέ, ήταν πιο φιλικοί απέναντι στους άλλους και είχαν μεγαλύτερη αυτοπεποίθηση.

 

 

Έχετε δύο πολύ καλούς φίλους

 

Μεταξύ 654 παντρεμένων ενηλίκων, εκείνοι που δήλωσαν ότι είχαν τουλάχιστον δύο «πολύ καλούς φίλους» (όχι απαραίτητα συμπεριλαμβανομένου της/του συζύγου τους) ήταν πιθανότερο να νιώθουν ψυχική ευεξία, αναφέρει μια μελέτη. Αλλά παραπάνω από 2 φίλοι, δεν φέρνουν περισσότερη ευτυχία.

 

 

Η ευτυχία έρχεται στα 33



Μπορεί στην ηλικία των είκοσι να έχουμε δέρμα χωρίς ρυτίδες, ξεγνοιασιά και περισσότερες αντοχές, αυτό όμως δε σημαίνει ότι είμαστε απαραίτητα και ευτυχισμένοι. Δεν είναι άλλωστε τυχαίο το γεγονός ότι σύμφωνα με τους ερευνητές, τα τριάντα είναι τα νέα είκοσι.

Η έρευνα που έγινε από την ιστοσελίδα Friends Reunited, καταλήγει στο συμπέρασμα ότι η ηλικία των 33 είναι η πιο ευτυχισμένη για τους περισσότερους ανθρώπους, αφού το άτομο έχει καταφέρει να βρίσκει μεγαλύτερη ικανοποίηση σε αυτά που κάνει και να ατενίζει το μέλλον με αισιοδοξία.

Στην έρευνα συμμετείχαν αποκλειστικά άνθρωποι άνω των 40 ετών και από αυτούς επτά στους δέκα ανέφεραν ότι η πιο ευτυχισμένη ηλικία ήταν αυτή των 33 ετών. Επιπλέον, το 53% των ερωτηθέντων χαρακτήρισαν την ηλικία αυτή ως την περισσότερο διασκεδαστική και το 42% ανέφερε ότι σε αυτήν την ηλικία το μέλλον φάνταζε λαμπρό.

Εξαιρετικά ενδιαφέρουσα παρατήρηση είναι ότι το 38% των ερωτηθέντων δήλωσε ότι στην ηλικία των 33 ετών ήταν σχετικά απαλλαγμένοι από το άγχος, αλλά και ότι το 31% ανέφερε πως στα 33 του χρόνια είχε τις στενότερες σχέσεις με την οικογένειά του.

www.endiaferonta.com

Διαβάστε περισσότερα http://alttherapy.blogspot.com/2012/09/blog-post_5430.html#ixzz25yYCJRPw

My Rules for Consistent Happiness

Joel Gascoigne

Buffer founder Joel Gascoigne discovered that his productivity habits were best when he was happy. It sounds simple, but faced with multiple projects, deadlines, and personal stress, maintaining positivity can be difficult. Here, Joel shares the habits that keep him consistently feeling good. (Bonus: they also work as anchor activities to restore your happiness level quickly.)

Wake up early

Through experimentation, I've found that waking up early every day makes me feel most invigorated and happy. It gives me a great start to the day, and this almost always leads to a great rest of the day. Over time, I've found I crave that "early morning" feeling, a time I can do some great work and be super focused. Gretchen Rubin from The Happiness Project mentioned something similar a recent article:

"I get up at 6:00 a.m. every day, even on weekends and vacation, because I love it."

Waking up early every day requires discipline, especially about what time I sleep. Right now, I have a sleep ritual of disengaging from the day at 9:30 PM and sleeping at 10 PM. I now love all aspects of this ritual and with it in place I awake at 6 AM feeling fresh.

Exercise daily

"We found that people who are more physically active have more pleasant-activated feelings than people who are less active." -Amanda Hyde

In the last three years, I've gone from dabbling with exercise to it becoming something I do every weekday without fail. At first I had no idea what to do at the gym, so I asked my brother, who's a personal trainer. I then went a few times with a good friend and soon I was hooked.

Over time, I developed this into a daily ritual so strong that I feel a pull towards it, and by doing it consistently I feel fantastic and can more easily take on other challenges. I recently discovered that exercise is a keystone habit which paves the way for growth in all other areas. I've also found that it helps me to get high quality sleep each night.

Disengage

"The richest, happiest and most productive lives are characterized by the ability to fully engage in the challenge at hand, but also to disengage periodically and seek renewal"-Loehr and Schwarz, The Power of Full Engagement

As I mentioned earlier, a key way I am able to wake up at 6 AM is through my ritual of disengaging in the evening. I go for a walk at 9:30 PM, along a route which I've done many times before. Since the route is already decided and is the same every time, I am simply walking and doing nothing else. This prompts reflection and relaxation.

Various thoughts enter and leave my mind during the walk, and I've found this to be very healthy. Sometimes I think about the great things I enjoyed that day. Other times I will realize a change I should make in order to be happier day to day. I also feel calm and relaxed by the time I return from my walk, and I can go straight to bed and fall asleep sooner than if I been engaged in my work and closed my laptop only a few minutes earlier.

Regularly help others

One of my most fascinating discoveries about myself so far this year, is how happy it makes meto help others. For some time I had been consistently meeting founders to help them with their startups without realizing that it was making me so happy. Then when I read Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard I connected the dots of when I was happy and the activity I was doing: helping others.

I read Ricard's section on the link between altruism and happiness and everything clicked. Since then, I've been consistently helping many startup founders and it's brought me much happiness through both the challenge of finding ways to help each person, and the feeling that comes when I help the other person make faster progress.

Learn new skills

"Being in the moment, focusing completely on a single task, and finding a sense of calm and happiness in your work. Flow is exactly that."- Leo Babauta

A key reason I've been happy for most of the time at Buffer is that I've consistently had new challenges to take on. It may seem odd that new challenges can equate to happiness, but it is the times when I've slipped into a few weeks of working on something I already know well, that have led me to feel less happy than I want to be.

I think a key part of why learning new skills can bring happiness, is that you need to concentrate in order to make progress. The "flow" state has been found to trigger happiness. In addition, when learning something new you are able to learn a lot in a short space of time due to a steep learning curve. For example, in the last two weeks I've started learning Android development from scratch and I've found it incredible the amount I know now compared to two weeks ago.

Have multiple ways to "win" each day

Since the above activities are habitual, many days of the week I actually accomplish all of them. If I succeed with all five, I have a truly amazing day and feel fantastic. I have goals for Buffer, and I have goals in my weights routine too. In addition, I try to schedule one or two meetings or Skype calls to help people each day. I do this based on an interview Tim Ferriss had with Matt from 37signals. I've mentioned it before on my blog, but it's so good that I want to repeat it:

"If your entire ego and identity is vested in your startup, where there are certainly factors outside of your control, you can get into a depressive funk that affects your ability to function. So, you should also, let's say, join a rock climbing gym. Try to improve your time in the mile. Something like that. I recommend at least one physical activity. Then even if everything goes south—you have some horrible divorce agreement with your co-founder—if you had a good week and set a personal record in the gym or on the track or wherever, that can still be a good week."

So if I start my morning with a gym routine, work on Buffer during the day, and help two people during lunch, I have 4 chances to have a great day. It almost always works.

Are there any key activities or habits you've found bring you happiness?

6 Things I Do to Be Consistently Happy | Joel Gascoigne

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Joel Gascoigne is the founder of Buffer, a smarter way to share great articles with friends and followers. He Tweets at @joelgascoigne and writes regularly on his blog about startups, life, learning, and happiness.

http://lifehacker.com

What Do You Say YES to?

By Silvia Mordini

When you say NO to something, you are automatically saying YES to something else. In Tantric yogic philosophy we start with YES. It is our first choice as we open to what the moment offers us. Then, after taking a moment to reflect, we can say NO as a boundary to what is not life enhancing.

 

We embrace the universal truth that YES is active! As Paulo Coelho writes in The Alchemist, "There is only one way to learn, it's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey." Yoga is learning to align with our intrinsic nature of goodness, as opposed to resisting or over controlling life by always saying NO. Harnessing the power of intention means being confident as you say YES. When you decide you are clear on what you say YES to, then everything is there to support you. As The Alchemist says, "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." 

 

Let's start by saying YES to a little quiz. Ask yourself: 

• Are you conscious and alert to your YES choices?
• Do you say YES more than you say NO?  
• What do you say YES to? 

Now, let's make a personal YES list. Name the key things that give you strength and inspiration.  Ask yourself if the things on this list support you in waking up each day with enthusiasm and passion to live your best life? Post copies of your “YES List” where you can see, and reference them everyday. Use this as a ritual to affirm and help manifest what you want more of in your life.

 

Here Is My YES List!

1. Meditate at least 10 minutes every day, at night and in the morning. At night say the lovingkindness metta meditation; in the morning start with a gratitude meditation.
2. Start my day quietly. 
3. Avoid email and facebook, twitter, pinterest as first thing I do in the morning.
4. Practice yoga every day: four group classes per week and daily home practice.
5. Spend time outside walking or running three days per week.
6. Eat well for myself and at consistent times each day.
7. Totally unplug from technology one day per week and one week per year.
8. Go on a beach vacation each year.
9. Go on a mountain vacation each year.
10. After traveling for work or pleasure, take a day of rest before getting back into things.
11. Celebrate myself and never again shrink, diminish or play small.
12. Surround myself with mature, honest, loving people.
13. Share more hugs.
14. Sleep at least seven hours a night.
15. Speak up for myself, and practice the Four Gates of Speech: 

• Is it truthful? 
• Is it necessary to say? 
• Is it the appropriate time? 
• Can it be said in a kind way?

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."  - Wayne Gretzky 

Rules for Happy Living

How to Become Happier: 5 Tips for Today

Want to become a little happier?

 

Published on March 15, 2012 by Maureen Healy in Creative Development

Happiness is a popular topic these days. I have even written an upcoming book about it (Growing Happy Kids), and just watched a new movie: The Happy Movie. Although, I didn't find this film to cover the deepest reasons for becoming happier no matter what I found it a strong documentary about how we can do things every day that make us happier. I am going to share some of the Top 5 Things we can do daily to become happier.
1.    Exercise. Seems pretty simple but the truth is that the more we exercise from taking daily walks to sweating at the gym—this movement actually releases feel-good endorphins from our brain making us happier. Even a short 5 minute break walking away from your desk, getting some fresh air and strolling around the block can boost your mood. So think about how you can add just a little more movement into your daily (or weekly) life especially if it includes something like a few morning yoga poses or evening walk.

2.    Get Immersed. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the well-regarded psychologist and rock climber, found that the more you immersed into something you love (he termed it flow) the happier you are. This thing you love also requires skill and it is here where you meet that challenge. So do you give yourself permission to get immersed into something you love each day? It may be reading, playing the guitar, creating a website, writing a blog, or cooking a fabulous dinner. Whatever it is for you (it's writing for me) my suggestion is to do more of it.
3.    Laugh. One thing I do for sure every day is laugh. Just today, my eight-year-old client said, "My mom is a big fat weenie" and this was her unique way of expressing herself and I laughed. Because we've all had that feeling that someone just doesn't get us and we can cry or laugh. Laughter changes the energy of a situation immediately and lets us become lighter. So when I need a laugh I go to youtube.com and put in my favorite comedian and give myself permission to laugh-out-loud for just a few minutes before my next client arrives.
4.    Meditate. Richard Davidson, Director of the Lab for Affective Neuroscience, has studied how meditation affects the working of the brain, and how those changes impact emotional health (happiness). He states, "Emotions—and happiness in particular —should be thought of in the same way as a motor skill. They can be trained." Dr. Davidson underscores how even a few minutes a day of meditation can begin to have a positive impact on your brain and sense of well-being. Oprah says she meditates twice a day. I aim for once a day where I can sit quietly, and relax into the knowing that all is really well (despite how it sometimes looks, feels, appears like ...).
5.    Become part of a community. Research shows that by getting involved as part of a community you become happier. You gain a sense of emotional support, and connection with others that fosters a greater sense of well-being. In The Happy Movie, the community in Japan of Okinawa was shown with the 3rd greatest concentration of centenarians (people over 100) because beyond diet and other health practices, everyone was part of this close knit (and happy) community.


Maureen Healy is a practicing parenting and emotional health expert with more than 20 years of global experience. Her new book, Growing Happy Kids: How to Foster Inner Confidence, Success and Happiness, is available wherever books are sold. More info: www.growinghappykids.com

Happiness

Six Tips to Bring in More Positive Energy

If you are unhappy, try following another path.

There is an old saying that the definition of insanity is repeating the same action over and over but expecting a different result. The only way to get a new result is to find a different way of doing things. Here are a few suggestions.

• Simplify your life by reducing the emotional challenges you create and face in your relationships. If you really want to change things between the two of you, work at finding a way to reduce your resentments. Bottom line is you want your partner to have your back.

• Whether your day will be a good one or not is a choice we make before getting out of bed. So, first thing in the morning, make the decision to have a good day. If things start to go south, remember that tomorrow is another opportunity.

• If you feel that your family is dysfunctional, first understand that all families have their own personal set of dysfunctions. Yours are just different. All the studies show that sitting down to a family dinner is a great way to make everyone in the household more cooperative. Sharing a meal regularly will increase the likelihood of your kids doing well in school and greatly reduce the likelihood of their using drugs or falling in with the wrong crowd.

• Find a self-improvement path. This can be taking a class, doing individual work with someone you respect, reading books, or even joining a self-help group. Various programs abound. If you Google support groups in your area, I am sure you will find many. Truth is that it's hard to make significant changes all by yourself, and if you can get some emotional support from those on a similar path, you will be able to redirect your life and feel some happiness.

• Make the internal decision that you want things to be different, hold the picture of what that difference is in your mind's eye, and see it in your head a few times a day. The practice ofvisualization has been around for decades, and it is used to help professional athletes enhance their performance and to help cancer patients survive their disease. If it can benefit them, it can do the same for you.

• If you find yourself dwelling on all your problems, try offering your assistance to someone else who needs it. I know it seems counterintuitive, but by doing something for somebody else, your mind will relax, open up, and allow you to gain clarity about your own issues. It will also make you feel better about yourself.

If you are unhappy with the way things are going, take it as a sign that you need to follow another path or fix the one you are on. I am not suggesting that you leave your relationship or quit your job, but clearly you can alter the way you do things. It all starts with you making the decision to try.

by Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D. in Emotional Fitness

Are you happy ?

Can you really eat your way to happiness? The mood food connection

Yes, you really can eat your way to happiness, but perhaps not in the way you might first imagine. By "happiness," I mean lasting happiness, not the fleeting kind of sensory happiness that might be experienced from sucking the cream filling out of a twinkie. And that's the distinction that really matters here: When I talk about happiness, I'm talking aboutsustainable happiness, not a brief moment of spurious excitement that soon reverses itself and leads to depression.

You see, a lot of people try to eat their way tohappinessby eating the "instant joy"foodslike ice cream, donuts, cookies and yes, even twinkies. Sugar can, indeed, make us momentarily uplifted because this refined molecule temporarily boosts bloodsugarand actively altersbrainchemistry. But like any drug, thedepressionafter it wears off is far worse than the brief happiness it appeared to give us. And in the worst cases, we sometimes fall into a pattern of treating that mental rut with yet another hit of sugar to try to keep the happiness going.
This downward cycle of sugar dependence leads us to long-term obesity,diabetesand depression.

As author Timothy Brantley says inThe Cure: Heal Your Body, Save Your Life:
"How did these foods affect theirmoods? Food Group A (Standard American Diet). The subjects all had radicalenergyfluctuations, staying in a cycle of having to manipulate to produce quick energy after a radical drop. The subjects all remarked that they never realized how addicted they were to sugar and other stimulants, likecaffeine, simply to function. The roller-coaster effect on their energy swung them into high and low moods, and many of them got sick consistently."
(http://www.naturalpedia.com/book_Th...)

The Standard American Diet is obviously not the solution we're looking for. But what works better?

Foods for long-term happiness

Fortunately, there are a huge number of other foods that promotelong-term happiness. That's what this article is about: Sharing with you the good news on foods that can supporthealthymoods and promote a positive outlook onlifefor the rest of your life.

And I have to say that list starts withomega-3 oils. High-qualityomega-3sprovide one of the most powerful and sustainable boosts to healthy moods of any commonly-availablefood.

Read up on omega-3s atNaturalPedia:http://naturalpedia.com/omega-3s.html

You can getomega-3oils from fish, quality marine oilsupplementslike Moxxor, chiaseeds, flax seeds and other quality nutritional supplements.

Beware of grocery store foods that claim to be "made with omega-3s" because the actual quantity of omega-3oilsin those foods is usually so tiny that it hardly matters to your daily nutritional intake.

Enjoy healthynuts

Pecansare extremely beneficial to supporting not just healthy moods but healthybrain functionas well. It's the oils in the nuts that do the trick. Read more athttp://naturalpedia.com/pecans.html

Other nuts can also be strongly supportive of healthy moods in the long term: Almonds, pistachios, macadamia nuts and walnuts all have powerful health-supporting properties that affect brain function and thereforemoodexperiences, too. Eat more raw nuts and you'll create better brain balance for the long term!

Adaptogens andgreen tea

Green tea seems to provide a subtle mood lift without all the problems of typical stimulants. Just make sure you're getting decaffeinatedgreentea, and check your source to make sure it doesn't suffer from fluoride contamination (some green teaproductsgrown in certain countries have been known to carry a lot of fluoride).

Adaptogenicherbsare also very, very good at helping your neurology better handlestress. This can often translate into an easier day, reduced stress and improved moods. Adaptogens include ginseng, ashwagandha, rhodiola, cordyceps mushroom and many others.

Herbal tonics for mood support

While we're in the realm of herbs, there are severalherbaltonic products that are well known to help support healthy moods.St. John's Worthas been clinically shown to work as well as antidepressant drugs to ease symptoms of depression. I usually take it withdandelionoryellow dockto provide additional liver support.

Learn more about St. John's Wort at NaturaPedia:http://www.naturalpedia.com/St_John...

Several TraditionalChineseMedicine herbal formulas are also known to help support healthy moods. Chinese herbs are always used in combination, never in isolation, but oneherbthat's found in many mood-supporting formulas isBupleurum.

The history and use of this herb is quite fascinating. Check it out here:http://www.naturalpedia.com/Bupleur...

Eat lots offresh fruitsand veggies

In addition to the omega-3 oils, nuts and herbs mentioned here, focus on consuming large quantities of freshfruits and vegetables. You simply cannot over-eat fresh fruits andvegetables, so eat all you want. They're loaded with mood-liftingnutrientsthat can also help prevent cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Be sure to buy organic produce wherever possible!

What to avoid

This section can be summed up in just two words:Sugar, Caffeine.

Seriously. If you want to maintain healthy moods, it's crucial to avoidrefined sugarand caffeinefrom all sources. That means no caffeinated coffee, no donuts, no cookies, no Pepsi, etc.

These twochemicalsdo more to destroy healthy moods in the long term than probably any other chemicals in the food supply. And yet, ironically, they are precisely the two chemicals that people reach for to try to getshort-term mood lifts.

They do provide short-term boosts, much like adrug. Heroin might make you feel good in the short term, too, but it's highly addictive and causes hugehealthproblems over the long haul. Sugar and caffeine are similarly addictive and problematic; except they're legal and you don't inject them with a syringe. (Well, at least I hope not.)

If you suffer from mood swings or depression right now, the first and most important change you need to make in yourdietis toeliminate refined sugars and caffeine. The second change to make is to start bringing in mood-enhancing health foods such as omega-3s, raw nuts and lots of fresh produce.

But the really important step is to find new ways toenjoy your feedby expanding your experience of all the amazing tastes to be found in the universe of foods provided by Mother Nature. If you've never triedraw foodcuisine, definitely check it out at a local raw food restaurant (or find a raw food chef in your area). You'll be amazed at the new spectrum of tastes and sensory experiences provided by raw foods --and you'll experience huge long-term health benefits from the raw foods, too!

Stay happy with healthy foods

Yes,food can make you happy, but only if you focus on consuming health-enhancing foods that arenatural, non-refined and packed with nutrients. Don't compromise your mental experience of life by turning to sugar, caffeine and other short-term stimulants. Or if you're on those right now, find ways to slowly transition off them while embracing some of the healthier choices I've covered here.

In the long term, you'll discover thathealthy foods = healthy moods.

But give it time: It may take 30 days ofeatingright before you really feel the full effects with improved mood. Foods are not isolated chemicals that kick in right away. Transitioning to a healthier body and brain withhealthy foodtakes some time. But it's time well spent. After all, you get toeat your way to a more positive outlook on life. And that sounds kinda fun anyway, doesn't it?

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7 Simple Strategies for Thinking Your Way to Happiness

There is nothing either good or bad except thinking makes it so...

These famous lines were supposedly said by Hamlet, written by Shakespeare and have been used probably thousands of times by psychologists and especially, those (including myself) who believe that our  thinking plays a crucial role in how we feel and what we do. 

If thinking, therefore, affects how we feel (as it definitely does) then thinking is important for our happiness. 

In very simple terms, there are certain types of thoughts that help us cope and function and achieve our best where as there are other types of thoughts that contribute to distress and problems. Most of us who want to enjoy more happiness would prefer to have more of the former! 

So how do we do this? How do we think more helpful and constructive thoughts and less unhelpful, negative ones? Well, today I bring you 7 simple strategies that should boost your happiness...

1. accept that some "negative thoughts" are natural (this might sound couter-intuitive and not necessarily conducive to reducing negative thoughts but it works! Accepting the reality that we all have some distressing and disturbing thoughts, at times, can take a lot of pressure off and, therefore, minimise associated distress)
2. don't fight negative thoughts; just let them go
3. be aware of your thoughts but don't feel as thought you have to believe them; thoughts are not facts
4. question your thoughts the way you might question or debate someone at a dinner party or in a team meeting
5. try to imagine a different way of thinking about certain (especially distressing) situations
6. ask yourself how someone else you know, preferably someone who's mostly happy and seems to cope well, would think in this situation
7. look for the best as often as possible

This is just a taste of what's possible when one starts to learn about helpful ways of thinking. There are more tips in the FREE RESOURCES' section of our website and there is also a whole chapter in The Happiness Handbook

If you have any other ideas for thinking your way to happiness then let us know via our FACEBOOK PAGE. Thanks in advance : ) 

We'd love you to comment on this, and other blog postings so please join in our happiness community and discussions on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thehappinessinstitute