Katie Jefcoat
- Dec 21, 2022
- 2 min
Enjoying Bittersweet Happiness
When was the last time you took a moment to savor the bittersweet moments of life? The other day, I was looking at my kiddo and thinking about the time I had left with them. Yes, I still have years to go before they spread their wings and embark on their next chapter of life, but that time is ever shrinking. It got me thinking about Sonja Lyubomirsky’s “How of Happiness” book, where she talked about appreciating the bittersweet moments of life as a form of happiness practice.
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Katie Jefcoat
- Dec 1, 2022
- 2 min
Does Quiet Quitting Make You Happy?
Just recently, I heard of a new trend called 'quiet quitting' from Very Well Mind. Quiet quitting is when a professional chooses to set work boundaries and stop the over-achievement attitude. Let's pause for a second to get some context. As you are likely aware, American work culture is hardcore. It is the belief that you will eventually succeed if you work yourself to death. It is a vicious cycle of overworking and stress that often leads workers to feel burnt out, unappreci
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Katie Jefcoat
- Sep 7, 2022
- 2 min
Discussing Cherophobia
Have you heard of cherophobia? The term "chero" comes from the Greek, meaning "to rejoice." Therefore, cherophobia is the fear or irrational aversion to being happy to participate in events that would be characterized as “fun.” Now, you may be thinking, where are you going with this, Katie. Hold on; I am getting to it. I am a big believer in gaining knowledge about this amazing world and the inner workings of our brains. However, there isn’t much data on Cherophobia so far. M
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Katie Jefcoat
- Aug 31, 2022
- 4 min
The Wabi Sabi Lifestyle
The world is an amazing place, filled with various philosophies and ideals. Today, we are taking a trip to the other side of the planet to learn about a philosophy you likely didn’t hear about when in high school, Wabi Sabi. Wabi Sabi is a Japanese concept that encompasses the beauty of imperfection, the impermanence of life, and the simplicity of the world around us. While it may seem like a funny word, this teaching is a beautiful theory that can be adopted into our lives.
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Katie Jefcoat
- Aug 24, 2022
- 2 min
Finding Happiness in Loss
On Everyday Happiness, we usually talk about the best moments of life and how to utilize them to our advantage. However, today, I want to pause to discuss a harder topic: experiencing loss and how to find happiness afterward. Loss happens for everyone eventually, but this blog is inspired by a friend and listener of this podcast who recently lost her father to a long-term illness. She explained that while this was a long-time coming, the passing was still tremendously hard fo
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Katie Jefcoat
- Aug 17, 2022
- 2 min
The Happiest Country on Earth
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
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Katie Jefcoat
- Aug 11, 2022
- 2 min
Gross National Happiness Index
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
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Katie Jefcoat
- Aug 3, 2022
- 2 min
Building Happiness with Playfulness
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,
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Katie Jefcoat
- Jul 28, 2022
- 2 min
Hedonic Adaptation Prevention
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
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Katie Jefcoat
- Jul 14, 2022
- 4 min
The Happiness Pie: How Your Happiness is Divided
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
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Katie Jefcoat
- Jul 7, 2022
- 2 min
Fortifying Friendships - A Key to Happiness
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
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Katie Jefcoat
- Jun 29, 2022
- 2 min
Mushin No Shin
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
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Katie Jefcoat
- Jun 22, 2022
- 2 min
Silver Linings
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
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Katie Jefcoat
- May 17, 2022
- 4 min
Defining Happiness in a World of Chaos
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.
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Katie Jefcoat
- Apr 18, 2022
- 5 min
Choosing to Create Intentional Margins
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,
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Katie Jefcoat
- Apr 7, 2022
- 2 min
Can Money Buy Happiness?
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
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Katie Jefcoat
- Jan 21, 2022
- 4 min
Will Exercise Make Me Happier?
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
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Katie Jefcoat
- Mar 24, 2020
- 6 min
Today is the Day We Broke
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
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