12 Sep Read this if you want a guaranteed way to boost your happiness!
I've often said that there are no secrets to happiness.
At the same time, however, there are a number of strategies and tools, activities and exercises that the research (and my years of experience) suggest will enhance happiness for pretty much everyone.
In yet another great articlt from the Huffington Post Jeannettte Leardi gives us one of these guaranteed happiness increasers…
Are you happy with your life? That's not as simple a question as it seems. After all, you may be content with some parts of your life and unhappy about others. Perhaps your work life fulfills you but you hunger to be in a relationship. Or maybe you're fine with your partner but are dissatisfied with where your career is –or is not — going.
Happiness is different for each person, but researchers are discovering that no matter who you are, one factor virtually guarantees its boost: Working toward a goal.
“Happiness is a sense of wellbeing we experience when we are engaged in meaningful and manageable projects in our lives,” says Carleton University associate professor of psychology Timothy Pychyl, Ph.D, and author of “The Procrastinator's Digest.” “One of the key attributes of humans is that we are goal-oriented beings.”
Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., University of California–Riverside professor of psychology and author of “The How of Happiness,” would agree. “People who strive for something personally significant, whether it's learning a new craft, changing careers, or raising moral children, are far happier than those who don't have strong dreams or aspirations,” she writes. “Find a happy person, and you will find a project.”
Why should doing what appears to be work make us happy? According to Lyubomirsky, pursuing a goal provides our lives with six benefits: 1) greater feelings of purpose and control; 2) increased self-esteem and confidence; 3) greater structure and meaning; 4) sharper planning and prioritizing skills; 5) increased ability to cope with problems; and 6) opportunities to engage with others.
But committing to a goal won't automatically guarantee that you'll feel better about your life. Sure, you'll be busier, but not necessarily happier. That's because some goals are unreasonable, inappropriate, impractical or unachievable. Explains Lyubomirsky, “The type of goal … that you pursue determines whether the pursuit will make you happy.”
Choosing the Right Goal
So what kind of goal will help you lead a happier life? According to Lyubomirsky, a worthwhile goal is, first and foremost, personally meaningful and rewarding. It should be one you freely choose rather than one that is imposed on you. For example, you're less likely to find lasting happiness being a doctor to please your parents than being an architect to please yourself. As Pychyl puts it, it should not be an internalization of what others (friends, family, sitcoms) say you “ought to do.”
…keep reading the full & original article HERE