Working On Me

_{During October, otherwise known as Emotional Intelligence Month, I pledged to bring to your awareness the numerous, more-obscure-but-still-important holidays and observances that relate to stress management. (You can read more about it here.) August is officially ‘Happiness Happens’ Month.}

Many, many people are seeking happiness. And, with positive psychology, a newer branch of psychology that studies what actually makes people happy, fulfilled and resilient (rather than emotionally ill), we are closer than ever to knowing what key ingredients go into personal happiness.

One of the things that researchers have found, for example, is that laughter, in many ways, really is the ‘best medicine’ for what ails us. And that altruism really does provide many benefits to the giver as well as its recipients. They’ve found that you can be proactive in structuring a life that is likely to bring about happiness.

But some of happiness involves just being mindful of when you’re experiencing it. It involves catching yourself having a great time, and cherishing those times. It involves recognizing when ‘happiness happens’ in your life. I invite you, for the rest of the month, to be a little more aware of when you’re experiencing happiness, take note of what really brings you happiness, and savor or recreate those experiences in your life. (For me, for example, regular game nights are one of my favorite ways of having fun, and they always enhance my happiness levels.)

So, what brings you ‘happiness’? And do you have enough of it in your life? Spend a little time with your thoughts and try to put your finger on a definition for happiness. And share that with us in the comments or in the Stress Management Forum. It’s always interesting, an sometimes inspirational, to share views of happiness!

• How Happy Are You? Take The Quiz!

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More related self-help articles:

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  Living more with less
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  Does Marriage Civilize Men?
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  It's Christmas and--Guess What--You're FINE!
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  The Real Reason American Women Are So Unhappy