Cultivating Happiness with Gratitude - Part 2
“Expressing gratitude increases your happiness by helping you notice the good things that are already happening”
-Julie Fischer
Cultivating Happiness with Gratitude, Savoring and Nurturing Relationships Benefits and Tools for a Happier Life
This month, let’s work on gratitude, savoring and nurturing relationships as a path to a happier and more joy-filled life. Here are some benefits and tools to assist you on your journey.
Practicing Acts of Kindness
Practicing small acts of kindness toward someone or something is an almost instant boost for our positive emotions. Performing acts of kindness increases our happiness and the more acts that are performed in one day, the higher the level of happiness. Research shows that acts of kindness:
· Create an upward spiral of emotions
· Produces pro-social responsibility and care for the greater good
· Strengthens social ties
· Helps people to view themselves with a sense of “I do good in the world”.
Performing an act of kindness gets people into “other-centered” way of being, which increases positive emotions. Altruism and volunteering tend to benefit the giver even more than the receiver!
Ways of Practicing Acts of Kindness:
1. In your network, think of a person who could benefit from your help. Reach out and offer your services, support, time or experience.
2. Create a “Random Acts of Kindness Day”( or week) for yourself. Do small things for people you know or for complete strangers. Deliver flowers to friends, send a handwritten note to someone you love and tell them what they mean to you, make lunches for displaced persons or create thank you cards for front line workers. There are countless ways to bring more kindness into the world. Be creative!
Committing to your Goals
Pick one, two or three goals that are meaningful to you and devote time and effort to pursuing them. Research shows that committing to goals helps:
· Increase one’s sense of satisfaction AND productivity
· People who set high goals tend to be more satisfied with their work
Achievement builds self-efficacy and our belief in ourselves. When you set specific and challenging goals that give immediate feedback, it fuels your desire to achieve even more. It is important to connect to the “why” of your goals…it is the why that keeps us motivated!
Ways of Committing to Goals:
1. Write down your goals.
Research shows that writing down your goal(s), with good old fashioned pen and paper, and keeping it where you can see it every day (think in front of your desk, on your bathroom mirror or your kitchen bulletin board) will help to keep you focused and more likely to achieve your goals.
2. Write down what you would like to attain.
Your goal should have a strong “why” associated with it. If you have a strong why, the what and how will come. Create a “Mind Map” with that goal in the center. The “cul-de sacs” of your map will become the what and the how of you will achieve your goal. (You can do this on a piece of paper or Check out online tools like www.mindmeister.com
3. Go deeper.
If you want to go a little deeper, check out www.jobcrafting.com This workbook or online tool can be used for either life crafting or job crafting. With this tool, you will incorporate your values, passions, strengths and skills to help you identify and commit to goals that closely align with your purpose.
Cultivating Optimism
Cultivating optimism is about creating a sense of hopefulness about the future. It keeps you looking forward, nurtures hope and creates pathways for achievement. Research shows that having optimism:
· Reduces conflicts with our life goals
· Improves self-regulation
· Integrates life experiences in a meaningful way
· Improves performance
· Fosters positive thinking
Optimism is both a style of thinking and a hopeful way in which we look at the world.
Ways to Cultivate Optimism:
1. Look for Helpers
“Look for the Helpers” is one of my favorite quotes from Fred Rogers. When I think of the last six months, yes, I think of the lives lost , the jobs lost and the increased violence on our streets AND I think of the front line workers, people feeding the hungry, All races marching together for justice and reform and the beautiful ways that people have continued to lift each other up. Thinking about and being the later cultivates optimism for the future so be a helper!
2. Think of your best Future Self
Think of your “Best Future Self”. Sit for 15-20 minutes and visualize what your best self will be doing in a few years. Imagine that you have worked towards your goals and your life is just the way you want it to be. You have accomplished you set out to do and created the life you have dreamed of. The write down what you have imagined.
Start with “In 5 years I am…”. This exercise will help you identify your most important and meaningful aspirations and practice positivity around your goals. Not only has this shown to make people happier, it has also helped with committing to your goals.