Increase your happiness with these simple, 2-minute mindfulness exercises

Happiness is not some far-away goal. It’s not even something that you have to work tirelessly to find and achieve. In fact, happiness can take little time or sacrifice to acquire, and is much more attainable than you may think.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Shawn Achor, author of “The Happiness Advantage,” talks about our pursuit of happiness during an age of technology and industrialization:

“I think the world has actually been malnourished as we’ve focused so much on productivity and ignored happiness and meaning to our own detriment.”

Although Achor notes that happiness is something employers can certainly limit and influence, he finds that “happiness is actually an individual choice” and rises in step with social connection.

If happiness is, in fact, a simple choice, then you may ask why we aren’t all happy right now. What, exactly, is the hold up?

“Most people keep waiting on happiness, putting off happiness until they’re successful or until they achieve some goal,” says Achor. This means we are consequently limiting both happiness and success, negatively impacting both.

Happiness is an incredible advantage at work. According to Achor, when we’re happy at work, “our creativity triples. Productive energy rises by 31 percent. The likelihood of promotion rises by 40 percent. Sales rise by 37 percent.”

To create more happiness in your life, Achor prescribes three easy two-minute exercises that, if you do them every day, can improve your overall health as well as your levels of happiness…

…keep reading the full & original article HERE