Happiness Hacks

By Jillian Broaddus and Chuck Cusumano

It may not officially be summer for another week, but the days are getting longer, the kids are out of school, and Fourth of July plans are quickly being squared away. In other words, summer is in the air, if not yet on the calendar — and so, it seems, is happiness.  

The upcoming solstice got us thinking about the uplifted spirits that seem to come with this time of year.  Maybe it’s the ability to enjoy sunlight even after commuting home from the office.  Maybe it’s the temperatures allowing us to do more outside in nature than the long, cold winter months did.  Maybe it’s the holidays and barbecues, the pool parties and vacations, and the other opportunities for social connections.  Whatever it is, happiness abounds.

On the topic of happiness, we wanted to share more brain hacks to be your happiest self, so you can keep the sentiment going all year long:

• Practice Gratitude — Gratitude may be our most popular (and most frequent) blog topic — and for good reason.  Expressing thanks, thinking about what you’re grateful for, and focusing on the positive not only boosts our own moods, but leads to greater social connection and leads to MORE good things to be happy about!

• Celebrate Small — Why wait to acknowledge big achievements that may only come once or twice per year?  Look at your overall goals, and set check-ins along the way.  Small wins trigger our dopamine, even if it’s just checking off easily-accomplishable tasks from your to-do list.

• Start Physical — Believe it or not, we can trick our bodies into feeling happier.  While we often think smiling can be the effect of being happy, it also works in reverse: happiness can result from smiling.  This is often a trick used by marathon runners — smiling through the pain can actually help us feel LESS of it.  

• Reframe Negativity — What is the last thing that got you down?  Now, how can you reframe it?  Maybe you missed a deadline; but, you also learned about how to prioritize work to avoid a similar (perhaps bigger) mistake in the future.  Maybe you were too sick to go to a neighbor’s grill-out; but, you also allowed your body to rest so that you weren’t down for too long.  

• Go Back to the Basics — As we mentioned, it’s proven that sunlight can boost our serotonin. Similarly, revisit what we’ve evolutionarily thrived on — natural foods, beautiful nature, frequent movement, and plenty (PLENTY) of sunlight.

These are ours — now what are your Happiness Hacks?  We’d love to hear at hello@thejoshuagroupconsulting.com!  HAPPY summer!