The Pursuit of Happiness

Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar’s 2007 book called Happier, describes how we can become happier.  
 
I’ve used his ideas to good effect with clients who report drifting through life without any sense of purpose and I’d like to share them here with you:

Tip 1:    For four consecutive days, spend 15 minutes writing down when you’ve experienced life as a rat racer; as a hedonist (doing whatever you felt like); as a nihilist (giving up all hope); and, a time when you really enjoyed yourself.  On the fifth and sixth day, repeat the exercise on nihilism and a happy experience.
 
Tip 2:     Meditate or do some form of relaxation for 15 minutes every day
 
Tip 3:  Go to www.authentichappiness.com and take the VIA Character Strength Test. Think about how how you can use your top five strengths in your daily life.
 
Tip 4:  Do some form of cardio type exercise for at least 20 minutes every day.
 
Tip 5:  For one week, write down everything you do and rate your activities from 0-10 on how much pleasure things give you and how much meaning you find in them. Do more of whatever brings you a sense of pleasure and meaning.
 
Tip 6:  At the end of each day, Write down 3-5 things that happened that day that you are grateful for.
 
Tip 7:  Develop ritualistic daily habits of relaxing, exercising, and doing meaningful and pleasureable activities. This is the path to happiness.

For more information, read Happier, by Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, or Authentic Happiness, by Dr. Martin Seligman.