The Way to Happiness

The Way to Happiness
Everyone seems to be jumping on the get-happier bandwagon. Happiness isformal dressesmaking headlines, selling books, inspiring scientific studies and spawning laughter clubs and joyology workshops. The reason? As the burgeoning field of positive psychology has shown, happy people thrive. They're more creative and productive, earn more money, attract more friends, enjoyevening dressesbetter marriages, stay healthier and even outlive their grumpier peers.
But others wonder, Is this just one more thing we feel pressured toBridal dressesachieve in our overscheduled, overmeasured lives? How could there be one path to happiness for all people? And if we aren't feeling blissful, are we failures at happiness? Some skeptics dismiss "happichondria" as the latest feel-good fad. "The notion that behavior. modification can bring about trueStainless steel pipehappiness is as bogus as can be," says psychiatrist Charles Goodstein, MD, of New York University.
But happiness researchers, backed by thousands of studies, say happiness is measurable and buildable. If you're willing to take a chance on the upside of life and shoot for your bliss, in spite of the naysayers, here's help laying the groundwork.
That's the tricky part. Most of us assume that externalcar electronicsthings a bigger house, a better job, a winning lottery ticket will brighten our lives. While they do bring temporary delight, the thrill invariably fades. "After 18 years of studying happiness, I fell into the same trap as everyone else," says psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, authorSailor Moon Cosplayof The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want. "I was so excited to get a new car, a hybrid I'd wanted for a long time, but within two months, driving it became routine. Happiness is like weight loss. We all know how to take off a few pounds; the trick is maintaining it."
In their research, Lyubomirsky and her colleagues found that the key to enduring joy is to look beyond fleeting pleasures, to the other pillars of what Seligman calls authentic happiness: engagement with family, work or a passionate pursuit, and finding meaning from some higher purpose. "Different methods are a better fit for different people," Lyubomirsky explains. "Keeping a daily gratitude journal seems hokey to some people, but writingchina notebook batterya letter of gratitude may be very meaningful." Timing and "doses" also matter. Performing five acts of kindness on one day, she found, yielded a significant increase in well-being, while acts of kindness on different days didn't. "To sustain happiness," she emphasizes, "you have to make the effort and commitment every day for the rest of your life.