Leave Work Earlier Than Usual

There is always one more phone call or one more e-mail. Consciously stopping early once a week (at least one half-hour) affirms that we do not just live to work, but work as part of living

Let Go of the Workweek

Cease doing and worrying about the work of the week. Practice gently letting go of thoughts and concerns about work that inevitably pop into mind and take over. Eventually, these thoughts soften and recede. Sometimes, I take a more scenic route home to help clear my mind.

Turn It Off

Set aside your BlackBerry, turn off your computer, set your cell phone to silent, at least as it relates to work. See how your consciousness shifts and how it doesn’t. If you feel incredibly uneasy and even destabilized, you are being invited to discern new ways of taking control of your life.

Eat a Special Meal with Family or Friends

Taking time to reconnect to those we love expands our sense of who we are. Savoring our food (a new recipe once a week adds adventure) deepens our connection to the material world; candlelight invites us to bring forth more light from within and see beyond the surface.

Make Love with Intention

Take pleasure in the sensual part of life. Set aside a time to engage in some activity that creates greater intimacy with someone you love.

Give a Blessing to a Child in Your Life

Remember what it was like to feel genuinely blessed by an adult in your life. In a world in which children are so vulnerable, an adult’s blessing is transformative and life-affirming.

Experience the Beauty of Nature

Take a walk or a bike ride; go for a drive or a hike. Experiencing the awe and wonder and amazement of the natural world creates a reverence for life— and gives the enlivening and ethical sense that we are each an interconnected part of such an infinite cosmos.

Engage in a Contemplative Practice

Find a contemplative, reflective, or centering practice that you can do regularly. This can take the form of reading from a wisdom text, listening to music that touches your soul, looking at art that engages the heart, or engaging in more traditional prayer or meditation. Try not to listen to the news.

Laugh

Laughter is a signal of transcendence. It reminds us that no matter what is happening in our lives, this too shall pass; it helps us to hold our absolutes humbly and keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously—all qualities that insure we can deal with whatever life throws at us.

Express Gratitude

Find five things for which to be grateful over the past week. Consciousness is like tofu. Its taste completely depends on what it is marinated in. When we “marinate” our consciousness in gratitude, we become more grateful people.

Take a Nap

Sleep restores the body, refreshes the spirit, and is the place of dreams

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I was one of the lucky participants to receive an advanced copy of the Delivering Happiness book by Tony Hsieh (pronounced Shay).  I read it cover to cover in just a few days as it was hard to put down.   I know a lot of readers say that of books, but the timing of my reading of this book was different than most.  I have a 2 year old daughter and another just a couple days from being born.   I am happy to say our newest daughter has joined our family a couple weeks ago as of writing this.

This book is for any business owner (large and small) and any entrepreneur.  Myself being an entrepreneur and having read probably 100 books on happiness and success I knew it was a “must read” for me.  Early on and throughout the book you can clearly see Tony Hsieh is and has been an entrepreneur at heart.  He takes a concept and nurtures it with unbelievable passion to follow through and grow it.  His perseverance is evident several times as his confidence pushes him to make his ideas fruitful.

The Zappos story is an interesting one and just that aspect of the book alone creates enough drama to keep the pages turning.  It is not often you get the nitty-gritty details on the early struggles of a business.  Delivering Happiness includes many emails and correspondence from the early years when their path to profitability was uncertain.

Much has been written regarding the Zappos culture, but it was interesting to see how and why it started.  I especially liked reading about the employees living and partying in the “loft”.  I also especially liked Tony’s observations regarding techno music and raves.  This may not seem to be related in and of itself, but the whole concept of the book is Tony’s happiness journey.  Along the way he just happened to create the #1 online shoe store in the world (and they have recently been adding more products).

So I highly recommend giving the book a read.  I suspect it may become “standard” reading for any aspiring business owner or entrepreneur.

Delivery Happiness - A Path To Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh

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Let’s say you get a check for $50 for your birthday. Would you spend it on something material, like a watch or a bracelet, or an experience, like a day at the beach or nice dinner?

Research has shown that experiences bring people more happiness than material possessions. That’s because we become accustomed to objects - after a few weeks or months, that shiny new car is just a means of getting around - but remembering activities can give us pleasure indefinitely. Read more about those studies

Now, pioneers of those ideas have demonstrated that people who pursue happiness through experiences are better liked by others than those who are more materialistic. Their new study is published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Leaf Van Boven, psychology professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and colleagues gave undergraduate students a national survey, which they used in five experiments to test their ideas.

In one of them, participants were told about people who had bought a material object or a life experience. Researches found that when the undergraduates learned about someone making a material purchase, this caused them to like that person less than a different person who purchased something experiential.

The authors concluded that people tend to have negative stereotypes about materialistic people. Participants asked to describe a materialistic person often used words such as “selfish” and “self-centered.” When they described a experiential person, adjectives such as “altruistic,” “friendly” and “outgoing” came up, the authors said.

Study co-author Thomas Gilovich, professor and chairman of the psychology department at Cornell University, has pointed out in the past that comparing recent material purchases with friends generates more jealousy than trading stories about recent vacations. Material purchases can be compared physically - one person’s television can be objectively bigger and brighter than her friend’s - whereas each experience is unique and precious in its own way to the individual.

For those who by nature enjoy buying things, the authors recommend a change of pace. Given that experiences not only bring more happiness, but also social approval, a materialistic person would benefit from investing more in experiences and less in objects, the theory goes.

Watch Van Boven discuss the research online here.

Editor’s Note: Medical news is a popular but sensitive subject rooted in science. We receive many comments on this blog each day; not all are posted. Our hope is that much will be learned from the sharing of useful information and personal experiences based on the medical and health topics of the blog. We encourage you to focus your comments on those medical and health topics and we appreciate your input. Thank you for your participation.

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Live the life YOU want!
It only takes 10 days to create lasting change.

If you believe that greater happiness is something you can achieve on your own, think again. In his groundbreaking A Primer in Positive Psychology, Chris Peterson summarizes positive psychology in three words: “Other people matter.” Happiness resides in the individual, in one-on-one relationships (dyads), and within groups. Although we can achieve happiness alone, we are biologically wired and evolutionarily selected to find happiness in our relationships with others. Pursuing happiness with others is the surest – and easiest – path to happiness and well-being.

Peterson lists 24 “signature personality strengths” which can be broadly divided into strengths of the heart and strengths of the mind. Strengths of the heart tend to direct our focus towards others, while strengths of the mind tend to direct our focus on ourselves. Signature personality strengths among people who focus on others and the heart include gratitude, love, kindness, and forgiveness, while mind/self strengths include learning, perspective, perseverance, and self-regulation. As Peterson discovered, the most common strengths, among both children and adults, are kindness, fairness, gratitude, and love. Clearly, humans are good at obtaining happiness through others and the heart.

Leading positive psychologist Martin Seligman agrees, noting that an individual’s well-being and happiness rest on three “pillars”: positive emotion, positive relationships, and meaning:

• Positive emotion can come from internal or external sources. We can “feel happy” because of our internal state. We can also derive positive emotion from a one-on-one relationship, and positive emotion within groups is infectious. Research into the quality of daily experience demonstrates that people report the most positive emotion when they are with friends. Our social connections fulfill our need for attachment to one another and produce positive emotion.

• Positive relationships are formed within dyads and groups. The key to increasing happiness, however, is choosing the right relationships. Peterson notes, “having friends is a consistently robust correlate of life satisfaction and well-being. However, the conclusions about the benefits of friendship must be qualified by whether the friends in question are supportive or not.” Cultivating relationships is not sufficient for happiness. We must be intentional about cultivating positive, supportive relationships.

• We find meaning when we act in accordance with our closely held values. Values can be held at the individual, dyadic, or group level. In The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, Jonathan Haidt notes that altruists and altruistic activities produce happiness. This is the scientific basis behind the proverb that “it is better to give than to receive.” It may be true that nobody is a pure altruist, but it is also true that people will act in the service of others for no benefit other than the happiness it brings. Meaning also explains why people who have children sacrifice significant moment-to-moment happiness in order to establish a close bond and a legacy. A distinction between dyads, smaller groups (such as family), and larger groups is that in dyads and smaller groups, we tend to experience deep meaning for a significant investment of effort, whereas in larger groups, we tend to experience small doses of meaning for a smaller amount of effort.

A growing body of empirical research indicates that happiness can be increased within individuals, dyads, and groups. Supportive groups and meaningful relationships are the most common, easiest, and most effective paths to happiness. Another equally easy tactic is to act extraverted. Numerous research studies have shown that, even if you’re introverted, you can significantly increase your happiness by acting as if you are extraverted. Acting extraverted increases your connection to other people and increases your happiness. This is a finding that anyone can embrace and immediately pursue in their lives.

Groups and dyadic relationships are the “low-hanging fruit” to creating more happiness in our lives. To easily and quickly increase your happiness, focus on increasing the quality and quantity of supportive relationships you have with other people, as well as expanding your extraversion. Reaching out to others allows you to reach new heights of happiness.

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10 Ways to Improve Your Morning Routine

If your days are stressful and rushed, consider a fresh, new approach to your morning routine. Start with a healthy breakfast and morning exercise, and you will set a positive tone for the rest of your day.

Start With a Better Morning Routine
The way you start the morning can have a big impact on the rest of your day. If you begin every day feeling harried and rushed instead of productive and streamlined, it may be time to revamp your morning routine. Start by getting into action with simple activities like taking a walk, going to the gym, or practicing an invigorating morning exercise, such as tai chi or yoga. These activities can help you feel focused and ready to meet the challenges of your day. Be sure to power up with a healthy breakfast to give your body the fuel it needs.

Focus Your Positive Energy
One great way to start your new morning routine is by taking a few quiet moments after you wake up to focus your positive energy for the day. You can achieve this through meditation, thinking positive thoughts, doing affirmations, or practicing visualization exercises, says Valencia Porter, MD, MPH, director of women’s health at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing, in Carlsbad, Calif. Studies have shown that regular meditation may lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, and help relieve stress and fatigue.

Eat a Healthy Breakfast
Eating a good breakfast is an essential part of a morning routine. “It’s important to break the fast,” says Dr. Porter. “When you skip breakfast, your body says, ‘Okay, I need to conserve energy.’ Then your metabolism slows down and you have less energy throughout the day.” Some people may need more calories for breakfast than others, but the most important thing to remember is that everyone should eat something, adds Porter. An example of a healthy breakfast is oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon and almonds, yogurt and berries, and a cup of tea.

Stick to Your Plan
It’s important to have a morning routine — and to follow through with it — so you can streamline your schedule, says Jodie Watson, organization expert for TLC Real Simple Real Life and founder and president of Supreme Organization, a professional organizing service in Sherman Oaks, Calif. What you do and when you do it doesn’t matter as much as saving time by having your routine already planned out. “Do the same things in the same order at the same time each day,” says Watson. “Try out a morning routine for a few days to see what works best for you.”

Work Out the Kinks With Yoga
Yoga is an ideal morning exercise and it can play a vital part in energizing your morning routine. Yoga can improve flexibility, posture, balance, muscle tone, and endurance. Yoga also has mind-body-soul benefits, providing an emotional as well as a physical lift. Doing yoga in the morning can give you a feeling of tranquility, boost your energy levels, and raise your spirits for the rest of the day, all while giving you a full-body stretch.

Take a Walk
Walking can be an excellent component of a morning routine, and it’s even better if you can walk outside, says Porter: “Nature has a wonderful vital energy that we can benefit from. The plants are giving off oxygen. Plus we get a little bit of vitamin D, which is important for bone health and the immune system, and it may even help fight cancer and heart disease.” Another benefit of getting some sunshine is that sunlight helps regulate the pineal gland, which releases melatonin and helps us sleep better at night, adds Porter.

Hit the Gym
If you don’t have access to green scenery, or if you just want to mix things up a little, then hit the gym as part of your morning routine. Morning exercise can give you the energy surge you need for the rest of your day. “Exercise boosts energy levels and endorphins,” says Porter. “It can jumpstart your metabolism and get your blood and circulation flowing so that you have more energy for the day.”

Write in a Journal
Taking a few minutes to write in a journal is an excellent way to get in touch with yourself. “Before the hustle and bustle of the day begins, you can sit with a cup of coffee or tea and slow things down,” says Watson. “Journaling can help you off-load so that you’re ready for the day.” Porter echoes: “Journaling is a great way to focus on yourself. It’s a good self-awareness tool that can help you focus on areas that need work.”

Listen to Music
Listening to some music can add an invigorating dimension to your morning routine. Sounds can affect our mood and our body. When we listen to a beautiful song or the sounds of nature — a babbling brook or ocean waves — our bodies produce chemicals that can boost our moods. “The type of music depends on what you need and prefer,” says Porter. “If you’re stressed out about something at work, then soothing music might be good. If you want an energy boost and love rock ’n roll, then that might be better for you.”

Make a List, Check It Twice
List-making is a good organizational strategy. Make a list as part of your morning routine or as a bedtime ritual the night before. “When you make a list of the things you’ll do the next day, such as going to the gym, attending a business meeting, and meeting a friend for dinner in the evening, you’ll be clear about at least 80 percent of your day,” says Watson. Knowing what to expect can help you hit the ground running when the sun comes up.

Prepare the Night Before
Ideally your morning routine will start the night before. “Before you go to bed, straighten up — do the dishes, finish up that day to the best of your ability so that you’re ready for the next day,” says Watson. Lay out your clothes, — the complete outfit including shoes, purse, and jewelry, suggests Watson. If you have children, help them pick out their clothes for the next day. Pack lunches and set out the dishes for breakfast. Put all essentials you’ll need for the next day, such as your briefcase, library books, or dry cleaning to be dropped off, by the door. Now get a good night’s sleep, knowing you already have a head start on the brand new day.

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