Week 19

*For explanation of The Happiness Experiment" go HERE .*


Last week's secrets:
Develop some common interests with loved ones.
Laugh.


Secret #37
Don't let your entire life hinge on one element.


"Your life is made up of many different facets. Don't focus on one aspect of your life so much that you can't experience pleasure if that one area is unsettled. It can become all you think about, and it can deaden our enjoyment of everything else--things you would otherwise love."


If you were to think that the only way to be happy is to have a perfect relationship, or to get that promotion at work, when that doesn't happen, you'll never be happy. The book says to "diversify your hopes". Many different things can make you happy and should. Focusing on just one area is limiting the happiness you can feel. Family life, work, school, friends...the list goes on. 


"In an experiment in which subjects were asked to discuss the life satisfaction of others, subjects tended to calculate likelihood of happiness on an "averaging" scale. That is, happiness was associated with people whose lives were generally positive in multiple areas that mattered to them."


Secret #38
Share of yourself.


"Don't hold inside your feelings, your thoughts, your hopes. Share them with your friends and family. People who hold things inside tend to feel isolated, believing that others do not understand them. Those who share feel both supported and more content, even if events do not go exactly as they wish."


Our loved ones can't read our thoughts. If only they could. But they can't, so we need to tell them how we feel. I had a really hard time with this for a long time. I would always hold things in. But over time I have learned that in order for people to know how you feel, you have to tell them. Otherwise, they are just gonna keep going on not knowing what is bothering you or why something bothers you. Share your hopes and goals and you may find that someone is trying to accomplish the same thing and might be able to help you or you can help each other succeed. Open up!


"Individuals who tend to be socially open rate their overall life satisfaction 24 percent higher than individuals who do not."


Review:
Don't let your entire life hinge on one element.
Share of yourself.




Is anyone still reading these? Not that I need 100's of comments, but 1 or 2 is nice. Is this helping anyone at all? At least made you think? Please talk to me. (I know that sounds a little desperate, but I am thinking about not finishing this experiment, because it is just boring everyone and has made you stop coming to my blog.)