Happy Human Habit #1 – Curate your Sleep
What makes a Happy Human? The right habits. We’ve been counting down those habits during the past 12 weeks. And we’ve come to the end. To the one habit that we think is more important than all of the habits. And the number one habit is…drumroll please… CURATE YOUR SLEEP This means giving your sleep […]
Happy Human Habit #2 – Be Brave. Give yourself a Compliment.
How was your year? What things went really well? The New Year is often a time of goal setting, make sure you acknowledge how far you’ve come as you plan your goals for the future. Think of one thing you like about yourself. (You always remember to say please and thank you OR you have […]
Happy Human Habit #3 – Tally Your Wins. Especially the Small Ones.
“What went wrong?” Is that a familiar question? A lot of our mental energy goes to tracking what’s wrong and trying to fix it. Yet from a behavioral training perspective we know that positive reinforcement works better than negative. Complimenting someone else’s good behavior will make that behavior more likely to happen in the future […]
Happy Human Habit #4 – Greet your family with joy.
It’s the end of a long day. Someone you care about walks in the door of your home. Give them a moment of your time. A moment of your love. You know that wonderful excited feeling you have when your kid gets home from overnight camp or spending time with their grandparents. You greet them with […]
Happy Human Habit #5: Be Generous with Compliments
Do you have mixed feelings about the holidays? Families can be wonderful and families can be down right difficult. This year look for the silver lining. See how many sincere compliments you can give. Tell your Great Aunt Betty that you appreciate her bringing nuts each year. You don’t need to mention the overwhelming perfume. […]
Happy Human Habit #6 – Have a Workout Snack
Life is stressful. Sometimes so stressful that we forget to take care of our bodies. Workouts are pushed aside. Once that first skipped workout happens, it becomes easier and easier to skip another workout, and on down the line. How can we fit physical activity into our busy lives? Start small. Start with a “snack”. […]
Happy Human Habit #7 – Practice Gratitude
This week – Set a trigger – an activity that you do every day no matter what. I.e. brew coffee, wait in line for the elevator, brush your teeth. When you do that activity name three things that you are grateful for. It can be simple “I’m grateful for shoes” It can be sentimental “I’m […]
Happy Human Habit #8 – Eat Until 80% Full
This week – Try to pause once at each dinner. Check in with your body. Are you full? Still ravenous? No longer hungry but still having fun eating? “Hara hachi bu” is the Confucian mantra spoken by the Okinawan before each meal. It translates to “belly 80 percent full”. The people who populate the island […]
Happy Human Habit #9 – Notice. What brings you joy?
This week – pay attention to what you love to do. The things that make you grin from ear-to-ear. The things that improve your mood, no matter where it started. Write them down. Keep adding to your list. It’s remarkably easy to notice the things that you don’t like to do, the things that leave […]
Happy Human Habit #10 – Recognize Kindness. Reciprocate.
This week – start noticing kindness that you see in others. Maybe you start small by noticing someone holding a door for someone else, or the people in the line at the grocery store letting the mom with a crying baby go thru the line first. Now start to pay it forward. Who can you […]