Archive for: Our Happiness Blog

When was the last time you had recess? Middle school? Recess is one of the few things about middle school most of us wish we still had (unless you miss the acne and awkward haircuts). So the question is: why don’t we have it? It doesn’t have to mean going out on a playground (although it certainly can!). Recess can mean curling up with a good book, cooking a special dinner, going out for a drive on some back roads with the radio turned up, or whatever gives you a break from your busy day.

Studies have demonstrated that walking through a doorway creates a mental block, decreasing our memory of what happened in the room we just left. It isn’t replicated when one walks the same distance within the same room (no doorway) and it doesn’t matter if the environment is virtual (video game) or IRL. It also doesn’t matter if you end up in the same room in which you started – if you walk through a doorway something in your brain decides to move on to the next thing and retain less than if you hadn’t walked through a doorway. So, what has this to do with happiness? Well, for one thing, when you take a break from an argument you can make sure to walk through a doorway! Also, try taking advantage of someone’s blank state and start their new room experience with a hug or a smile. It’s amazing how something that takes such little effort can have such a huge effect.

Turns out a long hug can do more than just express how much you love a person. If it lasts 6 or more seconds it increases oxytocin, the “feel-good hormone” that’s released during moments of intense connection – childbirth, breastfeeding, sex, trust. It lowers blood pressure and cortisol and increases a sense of belonging and connectedness. Serotonin is responsible for feelings of happiness and elation, and it’s also released during a long hug. Further research has shown that a 20-second hug releases even more happy chemicals. So next time you’re down, or see someone who is, hug it out.

What did the buffalo say to his son when he dropped him off at school? “Bison!” Okay, how about this one: What do you call a bear with no ear? A b. Ba-dum-BUM! Laughing and smiling are some of the simplest yet most effective things we can do to make ourselves happier. Find a book of jokes, take in a comedy show, or look up funny cat videos on YouTube. If you can get yourself to laugh even for a couple of minutes, it will make the rest of your day that much better.

For sports fans, one of the most exciting times of the year is right
around the corner. However, it is important to remember that college basketball, like everything else, is just one piece of each of our lives. Getting too caught up in any one activity, or putting all of your eggs in one basket, can make your happiness dependent on that one thing. Instead, spread out your eggs—among work, family, friends, sports, hobbies, etc—so that even when your basketball team is eliminated, you’ll still have other things in life to cheer you up.

“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only
remembers to turn on the light” – Dumbledore, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Whether the weather outside is gray, or it feels like there is a dark cloud following you around, take some time this week to think about something happy. We have a lot of control over our thinking (which we sometimes forget) and then our feelings follow suit. Even a quick minute each morning can be enough to lighten the rest of your day.

Somehow as we got older Valentine’s Day became about romantic
love, giving it a bad rap by single people and those who don’t like exclusionary holidays. But remember back in elementary school, coming home on Valentine’s Day with brown bag of tiny little pink and red valentines from twenty classmates? Let’s bring that back
and make Valentine’s Day about celebrating the relationships and appreciating the people in our lives. Take this week to express fondness, appreciation, or gratitude for someone you think should hear it. It can anyone from a romantic partner to your sibling to your mailman. Extra points for a tiny pink card!

Throughout our day, we run into various obstacles and
challenges. Like when you go for a bike ride and find yourself gazing up a steep hill. Life obstacles can sometimes feel like that: impossibly tall, exhausting to climb, and sure to cause pain. It would be much easier to just turn around and find a different path. But what if, like many professional cyclists, we looked at each hill as an opportunity? Many athletes attack hills and use them as an opportunity to break away from the peloton. What if we applied that mindset to daily obstacles? We might find we cross that fine line from dread to determination, from anxiety to excitement.

When it comes to happiness, like many areas of life, it is often the small things that make the biggest difference. Think about which parts of your day feel the least happy, and come up with ways to change that. Maybe you hate having to wake up for work, so you change your alarm to a song that pumps you up (or gently eases you into the day!). Maybe you despise being stuck in traffic, so you find a great audiobook or podcast to listen to in the car. Maybe you keep going to bed disgruntled, so you make a habit of coming up with three things you are thankful for every night while you shower. When it comes to happiness, tiny habits like this can make a world of difference.