The Los Angeles Times offered Sonja’s Pathway to Happiness.
Are you on the path?
- Count your blessings. Express gratitude for what you have privately and also by conveying appreciation to others.
- Cultivate optimism. Keep a journal in which you write your best possible future. Practice seeing the bright side of every situation.
- Avoid over-thinking and social comparison. When you start to dwell on problems or compare yourself to others, distract yourself with positive thoughts or activities.
- Practice kindness. Do good things for others.
- Nurture relationships. Pick a relationship that needs strengthening, and invest time and energy in it.
- Do more activities that truly engage you. Increase the experiences at home or work in which you lose yourself in total absorption.
- Replay and savor life’s joys. Pay attention, delight in and review life’s momentary pleasures.
- Commit to your goals. Pick one or more significant goals and devote time and effort to pursuing them.
- Develop coping strategies. Find and practice healthy ways to manage stress, hardship or trauma.
- Forgive. Keep a journal or write a letter in which you let go of anger and resentment toward those who have hurt you.
- Practice spirituality. Get more involved in your church, temple or mosque. Read spiritual books.
- Take care of your body. Exercise, meditate and laugh.
Source: “The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want,” by Sonja Lyubomirsky
Photo Credit: Magic Path by http://www.flickr.com/photos/cindy47452/1021782142/
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