Strategies for a Happy Life

We all sometimes need strategies for coping with the challenges of everyday life. Author Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky is one of the leading authorities in the field of Positive Psychology and she devised twelve strategies for a happy life which we show below because they are just too valuable not to share with you. Take a few moments to read through these strategies, and don't worry if you can't remember them all. Even if you just apply a few of these strategies in your life, you can be assured of more happiness, of flourishing with greater ease.
We provide practical tuition in these and other personal resilience strategies in our workshops and Executive Development program. If you wish to learn more about how to apply them in practice, please contact us   for details of our next workshop at: enquiries@positivepsyc.com.

Strategies for a Happy Life by Sonja Lyubomirsky

1    Practice Gratitude and Positive Thinking
2    Cultivate Optimism – Find the Silver Lining
3    Take your Mind off Comparing Yourself to Others
4    Practice Acts of Kindness
5    Nurture Social Relationships and Invest in Social Connections
6    Develop a Strategy for Tragedy
7    Forgiveness – be Willing to Let Go of Past Hurt
8    Increase Flow Experiences (Being in the Zone/Flow)
9    Savour the Joys of Life
10 Commit to Goals
11 Practice Spirituality
12 Take Care of Your Soul and Your Body: Exercise, Meditate, Act Happy

The Five Pathways to a Happy Life

The HOW of Being Happy...

Martin Seligman's teachings in authentic happiness encapsulate five pathways to happiness, which are easily remembered with the acronym PERMA: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning and Accomplishment. Let's take a closer look at these pathways:

Positive emotion includes the powerful awareness that we can choose to think positive thoughts over any other type of thought at any time.
Engagement is about being in the Flow or in the Zone; that place where the clocks stop ticking when we are having so much fun immersed in what we love doing.
Relationships are all about belonging and acceptance, as well as our positive interaction with friends, family colleagues and our life partners.
Meaning and one's life purpose is what we need to understand to help us get through the tough times and to inspire us to fulfil our potential.
Accomplishment is that happy tired feeling after we return from our time in the Zone, and it is what brings smiles to the faces of the elderly, when they look back on a life well lived. It is a reflection on our former happiness, or a way of experiencing the same happiness over and over again.

Research is now providing evidence that once we know what we are here for, life is much sweeter and meaningful. And research has further shown that we need to share this purposeful existence with someone in order to make us happy. But it can be very difficult and confusing to work this all out on one's own. As we all know, we are not issued with a manual for living a happy life once we enter adulthood. We learn by asking questions such as: "What is my purpose on earth? Why am I here? Why did that happen to me?" Attempting to answer these questions has been a favourite pass-time of philosophers and sages for a long time. If you are ready to ask these questions, but don't know where to find the answers, we can help you.

We all need relationships in order to be happy because other people matter. We need people to add joy and meaning to our lives and to make us feel like we belong and have value. Sometimes it can be very tough to find one's life partner, or to hook up with like minded people in business. Relationships with family, friends and co-workers can sour and make one feel totally ignored, unloved and unappreciated. If we know how to engage in personal relationships in a positive way, our relationships can be enriching and beneficial. We feel more up-beat, more connected and we have a greater sense of personal acceptance. If you are experiencing difficulties with relationships or find yourself in the clutches of depression about your social isolation, join one of our workshops on how to build beneficial, positive and lasting relationships. Send an e-mail to enquiries@positivepsyc.com for more information.