Here’s a mix and match menu of strategies and practices for enhancing your well-being from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley:
1. Savior Life’s Joys – Pay close attention to life’s pleasures and wonders and share them with others through writing, drawing and photography.
2. Drop Grudges –Forgive those who have hurt us to feel lighter and better.
3. Get Moving – Movement reduces stress and anxiety and can instantly boost your happiness.
4. Give Thanks – Regular gratitude promotes optimism, better health and greater life satisfaction.
5. Lose Yourself – Seek out more experiences in which you “lose yourself” to continually challenge your thinking and being.
6. Keep Friends Close – Social connections is a key to happiness. Invest time and energy into positive relationships.
7. Practice Kindness – Altruistic acts light up the same pleasure centers in the brain as food and sex and it’s a great way to give back to others.
8. Look on the Bright Side – Thoughts can affect your daily experience so make them happy.
9. Avoid Over-Comparing – Side-step the useless habit of comparing yourself to others and count your blessings.
10. Recall Three Good Things – List three positive things that happened in your day and consider the cause. It encourages you to tune into the sources of goodness in your life.