10 Happiness Hints

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How to have a happy 2009

Happy New Year!  Want to ensure that it’s a happy one?  Yes! Magazine just published an article that shows ten strategies scientists prove will make you happy.  As leaders it is critical to realize that your actions have major impact on your happiness and satisfaction with life and work, and you can lead by example to create happy employees and colleagues around you, too!  It turns out happiness is an inside job…and a great antidote to the current global economic climate.  😀

My favorite quote from the article is from Harvard’s happiness professor (how’s that for job-related pressure?), Tal Ben-Shahar, who states that “Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning.  Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable.”

They even provide an adorable downloadable pdf poster that you can hang in your office listing the 10 Happiness Hints!  You KNOW I’ve got it on my wall!  

Click on the full article for detail about each of the ten:

1. Savor everyday moments
2. Avoid comparisons
3. Put money low on the list
4. Have meaningful goals
5. Take initiative at work
6. Make friends, treasure family
7. Smile even w hen you don’t feel like it
8. Say thank you like you mean it
9. Get out and exercise
10. Give it away, give it away now!

Wishing you bountiful happiness in 2009 and beyond!  Go make it happen and you’ll make your corner of the world a lot brighter for yourself and everyone around you.  

Tagged as: 2009, actions, global economic climate, happiness, happy new year, harvard, leaders, satisfaction, tal ben-shahar, Yes magazine