"Happiness consists more in small conveniences or pleasures that occur every day, than in great pieces of good fortune that happen but seldom."

- Benjamin Franklin

Five Ways to Become Sustainably Happier

Do you guys remember the post about the novel I was currently reading called, The How of Happiness? Well, I have finally finished it as the book also is related to one of the classes I took for the semester. Well since this blog's goal is to help you guys become a "happier" person, I thought I might sum up the book for you with other psychologists' points of views.

First, I would like to list the 5 reasons:

1) Positive Emotion
2) Optimal Timing and Variety

3) Social Support

4) Motivation, Effort, and Commitment

5) Habit

1) Positive emotion: Positive emotions can come from positive experiences, such as doing something that benefits you in the long run ( going back to school, learning something new, etc.) A psychologist named Barbara Fredickson states that "Moments of pleasures don't make you feel good." Instead, "They broaden your horizons and build your social, physical, and intellectual skills." As an example used, working out not only makes you loose weight, but it makes you feel invigorated, which causes you to enhance your self-well being. Not only can positive emotions enhance your well-being, but it can also become a cure for depression. You may wonder how?

Remember, depression is a syndrome depressed by a deficit of positive emotions, but if people are experiencing depression remember the positive events that occurred early on in their life, it can actually bring them up from the dumps. Or, participants could experience something new and feel as they accomplished something. A study in the UK showed that woman improved from depressive episodes by having a new positive experience, or hence "a fresh start. " Positive emotions can become a great start to cure those in a depressive state, but it will take baby steps.

2) Optimal Timing and Variety: Remember my posts about paying it forward and 10 ways to increase your happiness? Well this relates to optimal timing and variety. If you vary the way you can make yourself become happier, you actually do "become happier." For example, if you are a religious person who does blessings before dinner, or go to church, that already is a step to becoming happier. But you might want to switch it up and try other creative ways to make yourself sustainably happier. For instance, helping someone else out. As you continue to commit these activities, you really do become a positive person. In the book it states,

"Alternating attention among several projects at work, by changing the route, time of day, and speed of your running regimen, or by exploring a variety of software programs and websites, your activities  could remain intrinsically enjoyable and conductive to many rewarding flow experiences."

So try something new everyday; you don't have to do something out of your comfort zone. There are many ways to make yourself happier.

3) Social Support: Using my personal experience, one way that made me happier, is my social networks. Social support can range from friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers. But what's the relation to making you sustainably happier? Social supports remind and motivate you to become happier, especially when you are experiencing such negative emotions. They also compliment you and give you great advice, and most of all, they are there for you. There was a study that involved hypertension participants who had to take some sort of medication everyday; with social support, they are more motivated to take the medication. Another example, is loosing weight. Working out and being committed is not easy. If your loved ones worked out with you, you are more motivated to actually work out, or if your loved ones even support you while you are trying to loose weight, you are also motivated. Think of having social networks as a behavior change. They help you think differently and change your moods dramatically.


4) Motivation, Effort, and Commitment: Here are 4 steps listed by the author to remind you how to become sustainably happier.

1) You must resolve to undertake a program to become happier.

2) You must learn what you need to do.

3) You must put weekly or daily effort into it.

4) You must commit to the goal for a long period of time, possibly for the rest of your life.

Let's use an example.. making New Year's resolutions pertain to these 4 steps. Once you make the resolution, you have to find a way to start it off right. For instance, loosing weight. Most individuals sign up for a membership at the gym. Well, you can cross the first step out. Now, you wonder.. which machines or methods would you use to help you loose your extra fat? Well you can either ask a personal trainer or experience different ways. That's step two. The third and fourth step is the hardest because you have to motivate yourself to work out regularly, but keeping yourself committed can change you in the long run, and you will finally be satisfied with the change you put using your effort.  There is no excuse into why you can't change yourself. You don't have to do the same thing every day. Here are two quotes I liked from the novel..

"Recommit your goal every day of your life. Renew your commitment."

Secret recipe for motivation: "The more motivated you are to do something, the more likely you'll invest effort in it!"

5) Habit: As you start becoming more motivated and committed to ways to make yourself sustainably happier, they start to become a routine. It may sound kind of boring, but really, it turns out to be a positive change. The more you participate in positive activities, the more happier you are. When you constantly work out, help others out, and forgive, you gain more positive emotions. Sometimes you'll notice that you stopped being committed to working out, helping others out, or forgiving, but at least you don't have to go through the process of becoming sustainably happier since you already know the steps.

These 5 steps to making yourself become sustainably happier may not work for everyone, but they are instructional steps to help someone become happier. If you know anyone who experiences bad days constantly, just shoot them this post or create your own list. With your support, they could change. Like I said, it just takes baby steps.