Two words: “Happiness Subscriptions”

Here’s an interesting fact about happiness: frequency beats intensity. What’s that mean?

Lots of little good things make you happier than a handful of big things.

Research shows that going to church and exercising both bring people a disproportionate amount of happiness. Why?

They give us frequent, regular boosts.

Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker says it’s really that simple: the things that make you happy, do them more often.

We have designated work hours. We schedule doctor appointments. Heck, we even schedule hair appointments.

We say happiness is the most important thing but fail to consistently include it in our calendars.

Research shows 40% of happiness is due to intentional activity. You can change your happiness by up to 40% by what you choose to do every day.

1) Wake Up And Say ARG!

Even scientific happiness advice is often corny. I’ll say that now so we can get it off the table…. But it works.

And this is why you might want to say ARG when you wake up. It’s an acronym that stands for:

1. Anticipation
2. Recollection
3. Gratitude

I’ve written about the importance of a morning ritual and how research shows your mood in the morning affects your entire day. So start right.

Anticipation is a powerful happiness booster. It’s 2 for the price of 1: You get the good thing and you get happy in anticipation of the good thing.

So think about what you’re looking forward to. Got nothing you’re looking forward to? Schedule something.

Recollecting great moments has a related effect. Memories allow us to relive the good times and kill stress.

I'm ridiculously happy :-)

(no, it's not drugs)

I think it's because I went through a few bad years which gave me the opportunity (or they held my head underwater until I opened my eyes) to really figure out what was important - and most important "why". 

The "why" is everything - if you haven't already read Simon Sinek's work. 

And we rarely do a data analysis on the "why". 

So now, I appreciate and play with my kids a lot, find opportunities to get out and exercise, question everyone at work, and my girlfriend keeps saying "I love you - and you are a space alien". 

Seriously - what else would anyone want??