Happiness Hacks

Do you have an inner critic who constantly reminds you that your nose is too big or your hips are too wide or your chest is too flat? Think of three wonderful things you love about yourself and write them on a card. They don’t have to be physical attributes—they could include things like “I love my compassionate nature” or “I love my ability to immediately put other people at ease” or “I love the fact that I have great inner strength.” Tape the card to your mirror, computer, refrigerator, or any other place where you’ll be frequently reminded of the gifts that are uniquely yours. 

Remember when you and your friends went on that impromptu road trip that turned into a crazy adventure? Perhaps something wonderful and spontaneous occurred as you were preparing to leave for summer break. Maybe you had a memorable time on the night before Thanksgiving or during the afternoon of the first snowfall of the year. Or maybe you had a pillow fight that ended with everyone making popcorn and s’mores and watching old movies in their pajamas. Whatever may have happened, if the event still evokes powerful memories for everyone involved, make it a tradition! Brainstorm with your friends or family about making a new tradition that you’ll be able to reminisce about and reenact in the future. Traditions are all about happy times and bonding, so why not start a new one today? 

Experts say that too much TV is not good for you, but who can deny the pleasure of sitting down with some popcorn and a few drinks and watching the full story arc of your favorite show in one night? From the first introductions to the last goodbyes, sit on a comfy couch and envelop yourself in your favorite TV world for a night. 

Your apartment needs dusting, the dishes are still standing in the sink, the floor needs mopping, and you haven’t even gotten around to doing the laundry . . . but just for today, leave it all alone. Take the time to indulge in something that makes you feel peaceful and relaxed. For example, go to your favorite coffee shop and order your favorite brew. Or sit on your porch and gaze out into your backyard and enjoy the greenness. Go to the beach and just feel the wind on your face, the sun on your back, the calmness of the moment. 

If doing hands-on, helpful construction work appeals to your social conscience, swing a hammer, carry some lumber, and otherwise help build a home for a poor family. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that works in tandem with volunteers in communities worldwide to build houses for low-income people. (Former president Jimmy Carter and his wife spend a week every year swinging hammers to help erect affordable shelters for the poor on behalf of Habitat for Humanity.) If you believe you could be doing more to help the less fortunate, then grab your hammer and work up a sweat working with Habitat for Humanity along- side people like yourself. 

No doubt you’ve heard the saying that when you refuse to forgive someone, you are just continuing to let that person hurt you. Why do that to yourself? Try and for- give. Forgiveness leaves your memories intact but removes and even transforms the emotional stings—it’s an effective way to diminish painful feelings so that you can create more pleasurable ones. Forgiveness is not an erasure of the past; rather, it’s a great way to change the emotional projections that a memory carries (be- cause you attached deep meaning to what happened when it occurred). Forgive- ness reduces the energy you’d be spending to maintain your anger toward some- one who has offended and hurt you. Forgiveness is good for your body and soul. 

It’s as simple as this: giving feels good. Effort spent identifying what another per- son can really benefit from in a lasting way stirs feelings of empathy and love. Giving without knowing the other person can be even more rewarding. Giving anonymously—and spontaneously—can feel extremely gratifying. This manner of giving means not expecting something in return, and that’s the true meaning of altruism. Giving from your heart connects you with mankind, expands and fulfills that you in you (some call that your soul), and boosts serotonin levels.

Playing stimulates your brain’s pleasure centers: your basal ganglia (the part that coordinates movement and feeling) and your deep limbic system (home of your emotional intensity and passion). The combined stimulation alerts your prefrontal cortex (the thinking part) to tell you that you’re having fun! To maximize your enjoyment and to reinforce these good feelings, your brain starts pumping out that neurotransmitter we love so much: dopamine. The upshot is that your brain goes on a happy holiday. The more pleasurable experiences you create through play, the happier you’ll be. 

You can train your brain to abandon negative habits by teaching your brain to associate them with neutral or even bad circumstances (the latter as a punishment). For example, instead of getting yourself worked up over the fact that you smoke one cigarette a day, remove all thought from the act of smoking that one cigarette. Don’t attach any negative or positive actions, thoughts, or emotions to it. Neutralize any associations. Once you’ve taken the pleasure away from smoking, it will be less appealing. If that tactic doesn’t work for you, try following up the act of smoking that cigarette with something unpleasant, such as scrubbing your toilet, paying bills, or listening to heavy metal music at a ridiculously high volume. What- ever it is, it should be something that you genuinely dislike, and you should force yourself to do it every time you have that cigarette (or, if you can’t bring yourself to do that, enlist someone else to help with the punishment, such as a close friend). Soon enough, the cigarette will probably not seem worth the hassle, and you will abandon the habit.

Laughing is the cure for what ails you. Laughing has amazing benefits, including beating back a tide of stress hormones (cortisol, in particular), giving your body a healthy break, lowering your blood pressure, strengthening your immune system, and generating the release of endorphins (those wonderful happiness hormones). Laughter also provides a physical and emotional release, making you feel cleansed afterward. And it’s a great internal workout for your body!