The Science of Happiness: Intentional Activities To Be Happier

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• Tags: activities, Happiness, how of happiness, Intentional, Sonja Lyubomirsky, well-being

Are you doing the right things to make yourself happier?

We all want to be happy.  We want to feel good about ourselves and our lives.  However, even though we have the power to attain happiness, we usually go about it in the wrong way.  We pursue the wrong things.

In general, most of us have been conditioned to believe that positive events such as job promotions, financial windfalls, romantic getaways or a new car will increase our happiness.  However, science has shown that we are off base and many of our experiences confirm this.

I explained yesterday that a lot of us have a 40% hole in our lives because we pursue happiness in all the wrong places.  Today, I’m going discuss some of the intentional activities that will truly make us lastingly happy.

How would you rate your happiness?

You would think that happiness is hard to gauge.  After all, there is no happiness meter that can tell us just how happy or unhappy we are.  Fortunately, Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist and author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want has developed a Subjective Happiness Scale.

This measure of happiness is surprisingly simple.  However, Lyubomirsky, from much testing and research, has concluded that this four-item test is quite valuable.  You can score your happiness level online with the Subjective Happiness Scale.

The scale can measure how your efforts at becoming happier are working.  I really like the scientific way that Lyubomirsky approaches the subject of happiness.  It is one thing to claim certain activities will make us happy.  It is another to actually measure it.

Want to find the intentional happiness activities that fit you?

Once you know your current happiness score, then you can determine which intentional activities will fit with your interests, your values and your needs to make you happier.  Lyubomirsky emphasizes that finding the right happiness activities for you is essential because one of the keys to making yourself lastingly happy is to incorporate the intentional activities into your daily life.

You are much more likely to stick with things that feel natural to you and that fit with your lifestyle.  What’s nice is that Lyubomirsky has adapted a test from Ken Sheldon called the Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic to help us determine exactly which intentional happiness activities will work best for us.

In the book, Lyubomirsky elaborates on twelve intentional activities that studies have scientifically and conclusively shown elevate happiness.  The Fit Diagnostic will help you zero in on the four that are likely to be your best choices.

I used the diagnostic and here are the activities that fit me the best:

1.  Cultivating Optimism

Optimistic thoughts are often self-fulfilling.  When we feel more optimistic about the future, we pursue our goals with more vigor.  This becomes an upward spiral of positive experiences building upon itself and lifting us to greater lasting happiness.

How do we cultivate optimism in our minds?  Well, Lyubomirsky and other researchers have found that an exercise called “the best possible selves diary” that works very potently.  In one of her experiments, participants were told:

“You have been randomly assigned to think about your best possible self now and during the next few weeks.  ‘Think about your best possible self’ means that you imagine yourself in the future, after everything has gone as well as it possibly could.  You have worked hard and succeeded at accomplishing all your life goals.  Think of this as the realization of your life dreams, and of your own best potentials.” ~ The How of Happiness

To get the most happiness boost out of this activity, it is important to approach it as a writing exercise.  Writing forces you to organize and analyze your thoughts making them coherent.  I have found many benefits from using this exercise.

2.  Increasing Flow Experiences

What is flow?  It is that state of activity where you are totally absorbed and become oblivious to everything else going on around you.  The key to creating flow is to find a balance between skills and challenges.  If the task is too easy, you become bored.  If it is too hard, you become frustrated.  Flow occurs when you are stretched, but not too far.

Flow is beneficial because it is intrinsically pleasurable and fulfilling to us.  How do we increase flow experiences?  Well, one of the best ways is to simply identify and engage more often in those activities at work, home and elsewhere that absorb our attention completely.

Every individual is unique in regard to what activities create a flow experience for them.  For me, I often reach a state of flow while reading great books or while writing this blog.  In fact, I can honestly say that I’ve been in a state of flow for the last several minutes while writing this article.  In addition, I also experience flow when I’m active in great outdoor adventures.

3.  Savoring Life’s Joys

Savoring the positive experiences in one’s life is very crucial to lasting happiness.  You can savor life in many ways including by:

• Reminiscing alone or with others
• Prolonging enjoyable activities for as long as possible
• Finding ways to intensify pleasurable experiences
• Celebrating good news
• Being mindful of the present moment
• Observing and luxuriating in natural beauty
• Recording positive experiences for relishing memories
• Seeking bittersweet experiences to enhance the positive side of life

A key to savoring life is to do it even in the common moments.  You have to teach yourself to recognize what is special about everyday experiences.  Live a little slower.  Drink in what you typically pass by.  Reflect, relish and daydream to engage your mind in savoring your past, present and future!

4.  Committing to Your Goals

Pursuing goals adds significance and purpose to our lives.  Without them, we are wandering aimlessly.  Achieving a goal boosts our self-confidence and gives us a sense of control over our lives.  Committing to goals also often forces us to engage with other people which induces happy feelings on its own.

Lyubomirsky offers several very good measures to help guide us in our goal selection.   I’ll admit that I’ve slacked off lately from keeping written goals.  This is something I plan to pick up again and I feel confident that when I do, it will increase my happiness.

A couple of words of caution about intentional happiness activities

It is worth reiterating that these four happiness activities are just a few of the twelve offered in The How of Happiness.  These are the four that the Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic suggested for me.  These may or may not work for you.  I highly encourage you to go through the diagnostic to determine what fits you best.

Also, you may think these activities seem a little trite and corny.  You may feel that they are a bit too simplistic or naive.  Well, there is a lot of science that backs this stuff up.  Lyubomirsky provides numerous references to corroborate her claims that you can check out for yourself.  Also, isn’t this maybe one of the reasons that these activities get overlooked so often?  Don’t we often dismiss the obvious when in fact it is the solution?

What do you think of the idea of intentional happiness activities?  Will you give it a try?

There is more to come about the science of happiness so be sure to subscribe for free so you won’t miss a single article!

Photo by romainguy