HAPPINESS DOSE
According to Neuroscience of happiness, there are 4 substances released in brain that control happiness:
D- Dopamine : This is released as rewards of goal attainment
O -Oxytocin : It is the cuddle hormone released by social connections and intimacy like hugging, handshake etc.
S- Serotonin : It is released as rewards towards social contributions, generosity and gratitude
E- Endorphin : It is feel good chemicals released after physical exercise
From Harvard study, it is clear that social connections are really good for us. People connected to family, friends or community are happier, physically healthier and live longer than people less connected. Good relations don’t just protect our bodies, they protect our brains too. Good relationships keep us smarter, sharper and reduces any physical pains.
Few Happiness sacks can help us live better life for ourselves and others.
HAPPINESS HACKS
- Kindness: Perform random acts of kindness like Greet a stranger or Pickup litter or Donate something to needy. It releases Serotonin. It also helps in production of Endorphins and Oxytocin. Compassionate people have double the DHU which slows ageing and causes less stress.
- Maintain an attitude of gratitude: Send Thank You cards to people who have helped us in life at any point of time. Be thankful in each situation of LIFE as it is because the things could be worse than that also. Gratitude spreads happiness, makes you humble and keeps you connected to the world. It helps in releasing Serotonin.
- Happ A Minute App: List down everything that makes you happy in 2 minutes. Always do atleast 80% of activities each day.
- Keep a Happiness Journal: Make a note of everything that makes you Happy. Record all Good things Happened today. Cherry picking GOOD MEMORIES from the journal always helps in Re-Living HAPPY MOMENTS AGAIN AND AGAIN. This also helps in changing current sense of emptiness to a sense of fulfilment.
- Happiness Meter: Rate the following on a scale of 1 to 5 for self-reported levels of happiness:
√ Health and wellness √ Personal development
√ Family √ Friends
√ School/College/Professional Life √ Finances
√ Attitude to life √ Fun and Recreation
Try to improve the happiness levels where it is low by using Mindfulness and accountability.
-Self -coaching for Happiness: We can use ‘REFLECT’ as the coaching framework that can be used effectively to gain happiness:
REFLECT (REality FLip Explore Commit Track)
REality — Assess the present reality and describe it in few words. It helps to calm down the feeler in the brain and activate the thinker part of the brain.
QR. What is the challenge that is causing some stress or unhappiness? Can it be articulated in one line? Rate its importance on a scale of 1 to 5. What areas does this impact in life?
FLip : We need to flip the situation from what it is to what it can be in the best case scenario. This could yield a short-term solution or a long-term goal. This phase can help us shifting from PROBLEM to SOLUTION mode.
QF. How can we flip this to a perfect stress-free and happy picture? What would an ideal situation look like? How could this seem 3 months from now?
Explore : Visioning helps to open the mind to new possibilities and options that could show the light at the end of the tunnel. Here we are creating a list of options that we can possibly try out:
QE. What can be done to reach that dream solution? What are the strengths that one could leverage? What would one advise someone in a similar situation?
Commit : Here, we are to make a commitment to few options which we filter as possible ones. Specify our commitment on a scale of 1 to 10.
QC. Which options will we begin with and by when? How will you ensure that we stay on track?
Track : This is the final step to ensure that these actions are repeated often enough to become a habit.
QT. What parameters and unit measures will we use for tracking the progress? How frequently do we wish to track? Who will we report it to our friend as Tracker/Buddy/Coach?
I found these very effective for increasing Happiness in one’s life and making people around Happier. More details can be found on Udemy in a course on Happiness “Dose of Happiness” https://www.udemy.com/course/dose-of-happiness/