10 Ways to Find Happiness

Happiness is life's most cherished goal. On every continent, in every country and in every culture, when people are asked, "What do you want?" the most popular answer is "happiness." When parents are asked, "What do you most want for your children?" the answer is "happiness." Happiness is the goal that makes other life goals—like success, prosperity and relationships—feel meaningful and enjoyable. 10 Ways...

Create a "What I Enjoy" List

"As simple as this may sound, it is very important for you to make one. This list should include everything that brings you pleasure and passion in life. If you aren't sure what brings you joy right now, think back to what used to bring you joy. This may require some exploration, but what did you do when you were a little kid that brought a smile on your face? Did you used to go horseback riding? Walk outside in a garden? Whatever it may be, write it down. This list doesn't mean that you have to do them every day. It's just to make you aware that there are things in the world that do make you feel alive. If you are able to do something you enjoy at least once a week, do it and help yourself feel alive in that moment. You have to behave the way you want to feel before you feel the way you are behaving! It's about opening yourself up to a new experience or something that you stopped doing. Try to rediscover what it feels like to look or feel differently from the 'not enoughness' you have been putting into your head for a long time now. When you start doing this, you will launch yourself back into aliveness!"

—  Dr. Robin Smith

Decide to be Happy

We're all so used to thinking that we'll finally be content when we find the perfect partner, lose weight, or get our dream job. Is it really possible to become happier just by deciding you can? "We use the language of having, getting, and chasing to describe happiness, rather than being," says Holden. "What we've learned about happiness is that it isn't an it or a thing. Research has proven that there is no one set of circumstances that makes someone happy; it's more about having a healthy mental attitude toward whatever you're experiencing. So, you can either chase happiness or you can choose to be happy. It really is that simple."

Once participants have made up their minds to be happier, Baraz gives them the tools, delivered in lectures to the live class he teaches in Berkeley and in twice-monthly e-mails sent to participants in other areas, that teach them how to cultivate a positive state of mind. Among them:
+ writing what the word "joy" means to you
+ doing some form of physical movement, such as yoga, dance, or walking, a few times a week
+ making a "nourishment list" of activities you enjoy, checking off those you do regularly and circling the ones that could be done more often
+ checking in with a "joy buddy," a kind of running partner in the pursuit of happiness.
"That's important," says Holden. "One of the major blocks to happiness is a sense of isolation. If you're alive, you need help."

James Baraz on Awakening Joy.

Explore Your Happiness:
The Happiness Inventory

The following questionnaire will give you an impressionistic, personal happiness profile. The Inventory provides an intimate view of how you relate to the matrix of choices which create deep, enduring happiness.

The questionnaire is both descriptive and prescriptive. It will give you information about yourself and highlight areas that you might explore to make yourself happier.Once you have answered the following questions you will find a completed happiness profile at the end of the questionnaire. Once you have rated yourself, we will help you interpret your scores.

The Inventory is intended as a personal reference for your own use. Share it with others only if you wish. It will be most interesting for you if you are completely honest with yourself as you fill it out.
Before you continue on, how happy are you right now? Try to identify the way you feel physically and mentally at this moment. Do you feel content, centered, capable? Are you calm, oriented and rested?

Take the inventory.

Our Basic Human Pleasures: Food, Sex and Giving

Want to be happier in 2010? Then try this simple experiment, inspired by recent scholarship in psychology and neurology. 

Welcome to the hub page for "How to Create Happiness," an exclusive online course only available on Intent.com.

The online course is divided into two parts. Part I is composed of 8 lessons and based on the book "The Ultimate Happiness Prescription: 7 Keys to Joy and Enlightenment" by Deepak Chopra.Part II is composed of 8 lessons and based on the book "The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to getting the Life You Want" by Sonja Lyubomirsky. By combining the spiritual principles of happiness with the scientifically proven research behind happiness, this online course strives to offer a more holistic approach to your lasting joy and inner peace.

Get Notified When the Full Course Launches

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PART I: The Ultimate Happiness Prescription By Deepak Chopra

INTRODUCTION: Know Thy Self For Happiness

• The First Key: Be Aware Of Your Body
• The Second Key: Find True Self-Esteem
• The Third Key: Detoxify Your Life
• The Fourth Key: Give Up Being Right
• The Fifth Key: Focus On the Present
• The Sixth Key: See the World In Yourself
• The Seventh Key: Live For Enlightenment

PART II: The How of Happiness By Sonja Lyubomirsky 

• Lesson 1: Introduction: How Happy Are You? 
• Lesson 2: Practicing Gratitude and Positive Thinking
  
• Lesson 3: Avoiding Overthinking and Social Comparison
• Lesson 4: Investing in Social Connections
• Lesson 5: Managing Stress, Hardship and Trauma
  
• Lesson 6: Living In The Present
• Lesson 7: Taking Care of Your Body and Soul
• Lesson 8: The Five Hows Behind Sustainable Happiness

Want to learn happiness through your iPhone? Signal Patterns, developers has two new iPhone applications based on the works of Deepak Chopra and Sonja Lyubomirsky. The first, Stress Free, combines rich content with interactive stress reducing exercise and is the product of collaboration between Deepak Chopra and Signal Patterns.  More information can be found here:www.DeepakChopraMobile.com.

The second app, Live Happy, is a positive psychology iPhone app developed by Signal Patterns together with Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, which lets users follow a set of empirically-proven methods to increase short and long term happiness.  More on Live Happy may be found at www.LiveHappyApp.com.