Today, I want to take a few moments with you to talk about the happiest country on Earth. In a previous blog, we spoke of the Gross National Happiness Index created by Bhutan. This concept was introduced to the United Nations about a decade ago, and they adopted it. Since 2012, the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (phew…that's a long name) has published its World Happiness Report. The report is a modified version of Bhutan's Gross National Happiness in

Have you heard about the Gross National Happiness Index or the GNH? The Bhutanese government created the GNH index. In case your geography is a little rusty, Bhutan is a small country in the eastern Himalayan mountains of Asia. Often, it is forgotten due to its weak economic structure and overpowered neighbors of China and India. Still, Bhutan came up with this concept, an idea far more valuable than money, in my opinion. Much like its name implies, the Gross National Happine

Let’s take a minute of our day to talk about playful intelligence. I was reading an article in Psychology Today by Dr. Anthony DeBenedet on the subject, and it got me thinking about how hard it can be to be playful in adult life. Before I go into that, I want to take a moment to differentiate between “play” and “playfulness.” Play is an action we take to have fun. It could be going to the movies, shooting hoops, or initiating a game of tag with the kids. Playfulness, however,

I was recently reading about the Hedonic Adaptation Prevention (HAP) method concept in Sonya Lyubomirsky’s update article about her Happiness Pie Chart, and I simply couldn’t help but share it with you! Before diving into HAP, let’s take a quick moment to review what hedonic adaptation is. Hedonic adaptation is the natural process where heightened happiness due to some new circumstance inevitably loses its shine, and your happiness levels return to where they were before the

In my blog and on my podcast, we talk about happiness and all the ways you can improve your happiness. Today, however, we are going to discuss how our happiness is broken into three different segments, like three slices of a pie: genetics, circumstances, and intentional activity. I learned this concept from Sonja Lyubomirsky’s How to Happiness book. Now, keep in mind that this book was published in 2007, and since then they have revised some of their ideas due to more researc

I have a very serious question for you. Can you name at least one 4am friend? A 4am friend is someone you can call at 4am (or any other ungodly hour of the night) with any bizarre request, and they will do whatever they can to help you out. If you don’t have a 4am friend, it’s time to get one. Why? Studies have down that having strong social connections is not only critical for our happiness, but it is beneficial for our health. Additional studies suggest that people are 12 t

Have you heard of the phrase “Mushin No Shin” (Moo-shin no shin)? I hadn’t either until my teammate Chelsey let me in on this knowledge. Chelsey is a 3rd-degree black belt in Karate, and she uses the concept of Mushin No Shin when practicing combat and in regular life. “Mushin No Shin” means “No-mindedness.” It is a Zen expression built on the concept that the mind is not occupied by thought or emotion and is thus open to everything. You may have heard modern athletes call it

Has someone ever told you to look at the silver lining? “Silver lining” is the pretty term used to describe when someone construes benefit from a trauma. Essentially, it is when you utilize an optimistic outlook at a negative event or change by finding some kind of value from that hardship. In her book The How of Happiness, Sonja Lyubomirsky explains that finding a silver lining is a healthy coping strategy that can significantly improve your happiness despite terrible thin

The world right now is in a state of chaos, from a two-year-long pandemic to soaring gas prices to lives simply not going back to the way they once were. So how does one define happiness in a world of chaos? Fortunately, happiness is something that we can focus on and pursue even with outside forces beyond our control are making life more challenging than expected. Today, we will define happiness and explore a method of increasing happiness that you can do in under 5 minutes.

Do you ever feel like you are running on that hamster wheel of to-dos and are afraid to jump off for fear that everything will crumble? Are you so overwhelmed that you can’t see the vision, and all you want is some clarity? Yeah? Me too! Or at least that was me before I started getting consistent with my "margins." If you have ever listened to my podcast, Everyday Happiness, you have likely heard me talk a lot about Intentional Margins®. Today, we will go over what they are,

I'm sure you have heard of the age-old saying, "Money doesn't buy happiness," but what if it could? Isabella Kwai reported in the Atlantic that studies have shown that money actually can buy happiness. It has been found that money used to purchase social experiences can actually increase your happiness levels. Now, I want you to take note that there are a few keywords there. The Nuances of Purchasing Happiness First, "experiences." We have talked about the hedonic treadmill t

Research indicates that exercise is good for us mentally, physically, and emotionally. Scientists worldwide and in vastly different fields agree that even 30 minutes of cardio a day will make you feel better. However, as someone who dreads the concept of going for a run or hitting the gym, it made me question, "will exercise make me happier?" In this article, we will talk about the science of exercise and happiness, how to reframe the exercise mindset, and how you can find jo

Our real life experience with #COVID_19, #SocialDistancing, and #DistancingLearning. And how we're doing the best we can to come out of this on the other side. It's only the beginning, I remind myself. I had to look back at my calendar and check off the days. Every day feels like Groundhog Day. Day 10 the children broke and the wheels fell off the bus. Days one through nine seemed like a dream. The children, a daughter who is almost 12 and a son who just turned 9 were co