Stanford University offers a course on how Happiness and Well Being.
American culture tends to focus on an idea of “success” which puts a great deal of weight on things like career and money and possessions. None of these things are necessarily bad in and of themselves, however, when we focus exclusively on these things, it can be easy to lose sight of the things that are truly important to our happiness.
I’ve done a course on the Good Life before and both me and my students found it informative. I’m curious… do you think we need to be taught how to be happy? Is a formal course the proper place for something like that? Is there a better setting for it?
Regardless, it can never hurt to pause and reflect on the ways that we can increase our happiness. Here are five tips from the class for how to reduce your stress and increase your happiness. Why not try them today?
- Keep a daily gratitude journal, listing items for which you feel grateful.
- Perform a meditation practice, or simply a few minutes of deep breathing and quiet reflection on something that made you happy. Consider what you can do to achieve that happiness again.
- Make a habit of sharing the highlights of your day with someone close to you.
- Practice forgiveness routinely.
- Construct a list of all activities and experiences that relax and rejuvenate you. Use items from this list to manage your daily stress.
