Seven ways to savor life: The Secret to Happiness

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Seven ways to savor life: The Secret to Happiness

Health Bites
The Secret to Happiness: Seven ways to savor life
by Morgan Lord • February 2, 2009

Science has proven you can get the smile-filled life you want anytime of the year. Lucky for us, it doesn’t require digging deep into your childhood, getting a bigger paycheck or finding your soul mate.“

Forty percent of your happiness is within your power to change,” says Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, and author of The How of Happiness. “Happiness doesn’t lie in our genetic makeup or in changing our circumstances, but in our daily intentional activities.”

Enjoying life is about taking the ups with the downs. “To have a full, rich life, you don’t just experience happiness,” says Dr. Russ Harris, MBBS, author of The Happiness Trap. “When people experience other feelings, like fear, sadness and anxiety, many struggle with them and sometimes fight them with food, drugs and alcohol, but you should instead recognize them, know that they’re completely normal and move on to the next feeling.”

Happy people have a higher income, more satisfying and longer marriages, more friends, stronger social support, richer social interactions, more activity and energy, a bolstered immune system, lowered stress levels, less pain and longer lives. In essence, happy individuals experience and react to events and circumstances in more positive, adaptive ways. Here are seven science-backed strategies you can do right away to boost your well-being:

Read full article: http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20090202/STGEORGEMAGAZINE04/90120011

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This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.