27 Jan 8 ways you might be detracting from your own happiness
via Bustle by STEPHANIE TOPACIO LONG
The pace of life today doesn’t make the pursuit of happiness an easy one. The idea that success comes first and happiness comes somewhere further down the road is too deeply ingrained, despite the fact that the two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. It leaves many of us are constantly on the lookout for happiness hacks and ways to be happier, not realizing that the real solution is kicking mentalities and habits that get in the way of our happiness.
In The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success, Emma Seppälä, Ph.D., the director of Stanford’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, tackles the idea that happiness is a byproduct of success. Using scientific research, she debunks the pervasive mindset and shows that allowing yourself to be happy now can actually make you more successful.
Seppälä makes a powerful and eye-opening case. Not only does she force us to face how we interfere with our own happiness — and subsequently our success — she provides practical information to help us improve our ways.
Here are eight common behaviors that make it hard for us to be happy, based on The Happiness Track.
1. You’re Always Focusing On Next Steps
The way we view success is heavily tied to accomplishments. We’re create five-year plans, to-do lists, and more, always looking ahead to the point in which we finally get to be happy. The problem with this approach, though, is that we’re not happy now. Seppälä emphasizes the importance of learning to live in the moment; studies show that it actually makes you more productive and even charismatic.
2. You’re Trying To Do Everything
As technology advances, so does our ability to do seemingly a million things at once. Unfortunately, it turns out that multitasking isn’t that great of a skill to use. Research has found that it has a negative impact on your memory and concentration. “Multitasking, instead of helping us accomplish more things faster, actually keeps us from doing anything well,” writes Seppälä. Yikes…
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