I thought I would depart from my usual application citation as I have just read a great article by author Jeff Haden, who writes for Inc. Magazine. I follow Jeff’s writing on LinkedIn. Instead of just Tweeting about his article, I was inspired to write about the content a bit and also offer his article up for your enjoyment as well.
The name of the article is, “10 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Incredibly Happy”.
I’ll give a quick run-down of the list here. Jeff goes into great detail on each point and provides a ton of links to further his case for each point.
- Exercise
- Get good and more sleep
- Spend more time with friends and family
- Get outside, preferably in a rural setting
- Help others
- Smile
- Plan a trip
- Meditate
- Move closer to work
- Practice Gratitude
He also offers an 11th point, getting older; which I’m sure we will all have to do sooner or later so not much choice on that one.
Strangely, eating more vegetables was not on the list. Sorry mom, you must have been wrong.
What struck me about his list was that there are at least 4 or 5 of these things that I keep meaning to do, but never seem to take the time to explore myself. They are all great ideas that, when practiced, not only have the result of making you a happier person, but also bring you back to your “center” and give you a sense that you have many important, intangible things in this world that money cannot buy.
It is a given that this time of year is full of top ten lists, mostly about pop culture garbage. It is ideas as expressed in Jeff’s article that convey the real and heartfelt things that really matter in this life. Practice being grateful for the things you have instead of wanting the things you don’t have. And SMILE! My wife reminds me of this all the time. You can’t help but have a better feeling if you truly put some effort into it.
It is easy to dismiss such things as psycho-babel and not invest in yourself in such ways. But since these methods were scientifically proven, surely they must be given some rational credit. If you need an excuse, just say you read it on the internet so it must be true!
In all seriousness, I wish all our readers a Happy Holiday Season and hope that all of you can find true happiness in your life.
Neal Raker, Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com