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Don't settle for happiness?

Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
Speaking of gratitude .... here is one quote I found recently -

Each of us is unique. We each possess a special recipe of natural strengths, talents and qualities. When we recognize and acknowledge our gifts in gratitude, we stand in our truth, strong and confident, and then have the ability to give generously.

Makes a great google search too ... here is one site I enjoyed - quite a few suggestions ...

31 Gratitude Exercises That Will Boost Your Happiness (+PDF)

:)
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
How about a cartoon or two ...

Leunig_6-600x539.png


Cartoonist Michael Leunig: Happiness Is a Small Thing - Vision Times

:)
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
Kindness goes hand in hand with compassion. The definition of compassion is the feeling that arises when you witness another’s suffering and you want to help to relieve that suffering.

The Dalai Lama said “compassion is the pathway to happiness.” In fact studies have shown that being kind and helping others can protect you from heart disease – twice as much as Asprin!

The reason I am writing about kindness and compassion is because I saw it in action last week, weaving its magic. I thought by sharing this story with you it would bring kindness into your focus and remind you how powerful kindness can be.

Why kindness is key! - Happiness Bank
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
Sometimes we all need to remind ourselves to appreciate the good things in life today. Many of us think usually think a lot about future plans, future goals and experiences or things we would like to have. This can be a bad habit if you aren’t balancing your future thoughts and plans out by also living in the present.

Focusing entirely on the future can be a downer if your goals don’t seem unachievable for a long while. So finding ways to enjoy life today is important to keep a smile on your face and help you go to sleep at night without worrying.

A great way to practice mindfulness and live in the moment is by reading motivational words to help you along. So, today I will share with you some powerful quotes to give you some inspiration.

Today is a Good Day! 15 Inspiring Quotes to Live in the Present

All the best!
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
“When we ask what makes a happy and meaningful life, one problem that can arise is the tendency to respond with an answer that doesn’t really come from the heart. At such times the conscious mind has one answer and the unconscious has another, so we become conflicted.”

Lorne Ladner, Ph.D., The Lost Art of Compassion

Ladner brings up, in a particularly clear and articulate way, a central problem in living a life centered on the principles of mindfulness and compassion, which is that we are unintegrated beings who often have not yet become aware even of our own lack of awareness.

I highly recommend the book - have read it several times ...

Lorne Ladner, PhD. "When we ask what makes a happy and meaningful life, one problem that can arise is the tendency to respond with an answer that doesn’t really come from the heart." - Wildmind

All the best!
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
The benefits of friendship -

Sometimes we bicker with our friends, feel envious of them, or even gossip about each other. So why do we bother with friends? Because they make us burst into laughter when we’re down in the dumps. Because they’re there to slap us on the back and raise a glass when we have good news. And because they play a starring role in some of our most precious memories. You don’t need us to tell you that despite how complicated your platonic relationships may occasionally feel, your friendships enrich your life in profoundly meaningful ways.

While the true benefits of friendships can’t ever be measured (how do you calculate how much joy your best pal has brought to you over the years?), study after study shows that friendships boost our happiness and even our health.

To read a little more -

https://www.happify.com/hd/why-friends-make-us-happier/

:)
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
Philosophers, researchers, spiritual leaders — they’ve all debated what makes life worth living. Is it a life filled with happiness or a life filled with purpose and meaning? Is there even a difference between the two?

Think of the human rights activist who fights oppression but ends up in prison — is she happy? Or the social animal who spends his nights (and some days) jumping from party to party—is that the good life?

These aren’t just academic questions. They can help us determine where we should invest our energy to lead the life we want.

Recently some researchers have explored these questions in depth, trying to tease apart the differences between a meaningful life and a happy one. Their research suggests there’s more to life than happiness—and even calls into question some previous findings from the field of positive psychology, earning it both a fair amount of press coverage and criticism.

The controversy surrounding it raises big questions about what happiness actually means: While there may be more to life than happiness, there may also be more to “happiness” than pleasure alone.

For the rest at the greater good site -

Is a Happy Life Different from a Meaningful One?
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
More from Lorne Ladner "The Lost Art of Compassion":

Anyways, I was just reading it this evening and you do tend to forget just how insightful some books are ...

Page 234 -

The chapter is called: "Joyfully losing an argument".

At first, trying to use an argument as an opportunity to develop compassion and find joy seems a bit strange. Someone in your life approaches you in a provocative, agitated, unreasonable annoying way. You immediately think, "Oh, good, this is my opportunity. Here's an argument starting. Now I can really practice compassion!"

When you're just getting started, you'll be of two minds about the situation. Based on old habits, part of you will want the person to stop being difficult and to act kind and friendly. The part of you that is happy to find this opportunity initially may seem weak or less than genuine. That's alright; it just means that you're not yet accustomed to practicing compassion and inner disarmament. Lama Zopa Rinpoche advises us that when you get good at this practice, the thought of enjoying such challenges will arise as naturally and joyfully as the thought of liking ice cream or chocolate. It all depends on what you're accustomed to.

May type out some more IF you remind me.
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
More from the Greater Good site -

As I write about in my new book, Dancing on the Tightrope, the desire to avoid what’s unpleasant (and seek what’s pleasant) is part of human nature. But avoiding unpleasant emotions—rather than accepting them—only increases our psychological distress, inflexibility, anxiety, and depression, diminishing our well-being.

Research suggests that when we turn toward our cravings, we are less likely to engage in addictive behaviors; when we turn toward our physical pain, we are less likely to be trapped in cycles of chronic pain; when we turn toward our sadness, we are less likely to be stuck in depression; and when we turn toward our anxiety, we are less likely to be paralyzed by it and can find it easier to bear.

Learning to embrace dark emotions brought not only a significant reduction in my anxiety, but an ability to experience the joys of life more fully and a growing trust in my ability to handle life’s challenges. As a therapist, I have also seen tremendous healing with my patients as they have learned to embrace their difficult emotions.

If we want to live more fully and be our most authentic selves, we need to turn towards our pain, not try to suppress it. But what can help us get there? The tools of mindful attention, self-compassion, and acceptance—which all come together in a practice I call “The Door.”

What Happens When You Embrace Dark Emotions

Enjoy!
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
What would you rather have: a happy life or a meaningful life?

You can both be happy and lead a meaningful life, of course. But most of us, consciously or not, choose the pursuit of happiness over the pursuit of meaning. “Happy holidays,” we wish each other; “Happy New Year,” we say. If you’re like 45 percent of Americans, you are setting New Year’s resolutions with the aim of leading a happier life: One of the most popular, according to Nielsen, is to “enjoy life to the fullest.” In surveys, most people list happiness as their top value, and self-help books and life coaches make up part of a multibillion-dollar industry.

But should happiness really be the only goal that motivates us?

The full article is here -

In 2017, Pursue Meaning Instead of Happiness

Enjoy!
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
Another huge site ...

The reason we ask ‘what is happiness?’ is that most of what we call happiness is actually just the feeling adults get when we find relief from the pain and stress of living under the duress of the human condition. That condition can be described as human’s capacity for ‘good and evil’—we know that the ideals are to be cooperative and selfless, yet we humans are capable of incredible aggression and selfishness, and being unable to explain that dilemma has left the human race with a deep, subconscious sense of insecurity and even guilt.

What is happiness? | World Transformation Movement

Cheers!
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
Find Happiness by Embracing All of Your Emotions

Our culture places a high value on happiness—having the best job, house, the most friends, things in general. We’re constantly in a state of grasping for something—filling ourselves up from the outside.

And it’s totally bumming us out.

Susan David is a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life. She says our obsession with happiness hinders our ability to do the hard work of living: being able to recover from setbacks when we inevitably make mistakes, or lose a job—you know, when that picture-perfect veneer we were working away at starts to erode.

For the full-piece click here -

Find Happiness by Embracing All of Your Emotions - Mindful

:)
 
Geoff-Allen

Geoff-Allen

Resident megalomaniac
What is happiness anyway?

Many scientists use happiness interchangeably with “subjective well-being,” which they measure by simply asking people to report how satisfied they feel with their own lives and how much positive and negative emotion they’re experiencing. Leading researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky describes happiness more precisely as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.” Here are some pieces that explore the nuances of happiness.

Comes from this page -

Happiness Greatest Hits

:)
 
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