9 Ways of Happiness Lead to Success

How we think about happiness and success has profound implications for how we run our lives. If we think that success mainly leads to happiness then we are more motivated to focus on success to the exclusion of happiness right now, assuming that happiness will naturally flow from success when we obtain it.


People in a positive mood are more likely to:

1. Talk to others. In one experiment men in a positive mood were more likely to talk to a woman and to make self-disclosures, which are important in social relations.

2. Be interested in leisure activities. People in a good mood want to throw a party, go on vacation or go out for a meal.

3. Enjoy those social interactions and leisure activities more.

4. Resolve conflicts effectively. Studies have found people in a good mood are more likely to try and collaborate rather than avoid conflict and compete when they are put in a positive mood.

5. Help others. When in a good mood, people are more likely to display what psychologists call 'prosocial behaviour' - helping others and being generous with both time and money.

6. Feel healthier. Experimental evidence shows that people in a good mood experience less pain and perceive themselves to be more healthy.

7. Be more creative. People in a positive mood are more likely to think with originality and flexibility - perhaps through encouraging playfulness.

8. Perform complex tasks better. Somewhat controversial this one but some evidence supports it although it probably depends on the nature of the task.

9. Attribute success to their own skills. Good moods improve people's self-efficacy (our confidence in our own abilities).

Feeling better in the moment is not only more pleasant but is also likely to open our minds to opportunities at work, play and in our personal relationships. It's recognising and taking these opportunities that will lead us to success.


Experiential versus material purchases
(Adapted)
Leaf Van Boven from the University of Colorado and Thomas Gilovich from Cornell University carried out an intriguing experiment that gets at this question of whether materialism results in less happiness (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003).

Materialism is a dirty word. It also gets a bad rap in psychology. Studies consistently show that people who agree with statements like "You will buy things just because you want them," tend to be:

Less satisfied with life,
Less happy,
More likely to be depressed,
More likely to be paranoid,
More likely to be narcissistic.

Why do experiences fare better than possessions?
1. Experiences improve with time (possessions don't).
The reason why experiences improve with time may be because it is possible to think about experiences in a more abstract manner than possessions. Material possessions are harder to think about in an abstract sense. It's more likely the experience of that summer has taken on a symbolic meaning that can live longer in your memory than a possession.

2. Experiences are resistant to unfavourable comparisons.
How we might view positive events. It's well established that social comparisons can have a huge effect on how we view what might seem like positive events. That is, in other words, it's not about how much we earn, it's about how much we earn in comparison to other people. It's the social comparison, then, not the actual amount of money, that affects how we feel about our earnings. Comparing possessions, however, is generally easy. It's more difficult to make an unfavourable comparison when there is nothing directly comparable.

3. Experiences have more social value
There are two reasons experiences have more social value than possessions. First, experiences tend to encourage social relationships and increased social relationships are good for our happiness. Second, it is more socially acceptable to discuss our experiences with others. People who bang on about their possessions are considered much less likeable than those who talk about their holiday adventures.

Limitations
- The experiments examined here looked at short-term emotions - will these short-term emotions add up to long-term happiness?
- Highly materialistic people might actually get more pleasure out of material purchases than experiences

REFERENCES
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. & Diener, E. (2005) The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success?

Van Boven, L. (2005) Experientialism, Materialism, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Limiting Your Success?

“Try to discover what it is you most dislike in others, what you most often criticize and condemn them for. A little elementary self-analysis may reveal that those qualities are hidden in the depths of your own mind and that in criticizing others in this way you are, in fact, unconsciously criticizing yourself.” Bikshu Sangharakshita, author of Essence of Zen.

"Men will spend their health getting wealth. Then, gladly pay all they have earned to get health back." Mike Murdock

Your Weight Loss Advantage!

by Julie Upton, RD (Adapted)

Your body burns more calories digesting ice cold beverages and foods
Different studies have suggested that five or six ice cold glasses of water could help you burn about 10 extra calories a day equaling about 1 pound of nearly effortless weight loss each year.

Drinking the right amount of water can help you burn more calories.
All of your body's chemical reactions, including your metabolism, depend on water. If you are dehydrated, you may be burning up to 2% fewer.

Dieting drops your resting metabolic rate, making it harder to keep weight off.
For every pound you lose, your resting metabolism drops by about 2 to 10 calories a day. Therefore, to lose 10 pounds, you now have to eat 20 to 100 fewer calories to maintain your trimmer physique, not factoring in exercise. One way to lose fat and maintain muscle is by reducing calories and increasing aerobic and resistance exercise.

Hot foods will fire up metabolism.
Capsaicin, the bioactive compound that makes chile peppers exude heat, can turn your metabolism up a notch while also enhancing satiety and reducing hunger. Studies show that eating about 1 tablespoon of chopped red or green chile pepper, which is equal to 30 mg of capsaicin, resulted in up to a temporary 23% boost in metabolism.

Eating more protein will rev up your metabolism.
Protein provides a metabolic advantage compared with fat or carbohydrates because your body uses more energy to process it. This is known as the thermic effect of food (TEF). Studies show that you may burn up to twice as many calories digesting protein as carbohydrates.

Eating a grapefruit before every meal speeds metabolism.
Grapefruit won't work miracles for your metabolism, but it can help you lose weight. Half a grapefruit before meals helped individuals lose about 4 pounds in 12 weeks. Its fiber and water fill you up on fewer calories, so you eat less at your next meal.

Lifting weights boosts your metabolism more than a cardio workout.
When you strength train enough to add 3 pounds of muscle, you increase your calorie burn by 6 to 8% meaning that you burn about 100 extra calories every day. Aerobic exercise, on the other hand, doesn't significantly increase your body's lean muscle mass. Strength train includes squats, push-ups, and any exercise that combines upper and lower body movements.

Celery is a "negative calorie food" because digesting it uses up more calories than it provides.
The thermic effect of food does cause your body to burn up calories as it processes meals, snacks, and beverages. But this process accounts for anywhere from 0 to 30% of the calories you eat (protein, for example, takes more calories to digest than fat or carbohydrates. Celery has phthalides; compounds that can help reduce blood pressure.

Tea revs your natural calorie burn
Catechins found in green and oolong teas can boost the body's fat burning fire. One study of Japanese women compared the effects of drinking green tea, oolong tea, or water on various days. Just one large cup of oolong tea increased calorie burning by up to 10%, a boost that peaked 1 1/2 hours later. Green tea raised metabolism by 4% for 1 1/2 hours. Other studies show that drinking two to four cups of green or oolong daily (about 375 to 675 mg of catechins) may translate into an extra 50 calories burned each day about 5 pounds' worth in a year.

PMS cravings are related to the boost in metabolism before your period.
If there is a silver lining to PMS, it's that our resting metabolic rate may increase during the part of the menstrual cycle known as the luteal phase (the day after ovulation to the first day of your period). The metabolic boost we get from being "hormonal" can equal as much as 300 calories a day, which is why our appetite increases during this phase.

If you have limited time, exercise at a higher intensity for a metabolic afterburn.
People who exercise at very high intensities experience a post-exercise boost in resting metabolic rate that is larger and lasts longer compared with those who work out at a low or moderate level. Up the effort of your workout and you can expect to burn at least 10% of the total calories used during the workout in the hour or so after exercising. So, if you do a combo of walking and jogging for 4 miles (about 400 calories) instead of just walking, you may burn an extra 40 calories in the next few hours. Infuse your workout with bursts of speed. Gradually work your way up to 2-minute intervals, 3 days a week.

7 Foods to Keep You Young

Secrets of long life from around the world by Peter Jaret, Eating Well Media Group.

1: Olive oil
Four decades ago, researchers from the Seven Countries Study concluded that the monounsaturated fats in olive oil were largely responsible for the low rates of heart disease and cancer on the Greek island of Crete. Now we know that olive oil also contains polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that may help prevent age-related diseases.

2: Yogurt
In the 1970s, Soviet Georgia was rumored to have more centenarians per capita than any other country. Reports at the time claimed that the secret of their long lives was yogurt, a food ubiquitous in their diets. While the age-defying powers of yogurt never have been proved directly, yogurt is rich in calcium, which helps stave off osteoporosis and contains “good bacteria” that help maintain gut health and diminish the incidence of age-related intestinal illness.

3: Fish
Thirty years ago, researchers began to study why the native Inuits of Alaska were remarkably free of heart disease. The reason, scientists now think, is the extraordinary amount of fish they consume. Fish is an abundant source of omega-3 fats, which help prevent cholesterol buildup in arteries and protect against abnormal heart rhythms.

4: Chocolate
The Kuna people of the San Blas islands, off the coast of Panama, have a rate of heart disease that is nine times less than that of mainland Panamanians. The reason? The Kuna drink plenty of a beverage made with generous proportions of cocoa, which is unusually rich in flavanols that help preserve the healthy function of blood vessels. Maintaining youthful blood vessels lowers risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and dementia.

5: Nuts
Studies of Seventh-Day Adventists (a religious denomination that emphasizes healthy living and a vegetarian diet) show that those who eat nuts gain, on average, an extra two and a half years. Nuts are rich sources of unsaturated fats, so they offer benefits similar to those associated with olive oil. They’re also concentrated sources of vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals, including antioxidants.

6: Wine
Drinking alcohol in moderation protects against heart disease, diabetes and age-related memory loss. Any kind of alcoholic beverage seems to provide such benefits, but red wine has been the focus of much of the research. Red wine contains resveratrol, a compound that likely contributes to its benefits—and, according to animal studies, may activate genes that slow cellular aging.

7: Blueberries
In a landmark study published in 1999, researchers at Tufts University’s Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging fed rats blueberry extract for a period of time that in “rat lives” is equivalent to 10 human years. These rats outperformed rats fed regular chow on tests of balance and coordination when they reached old age. Compounds in blueberries (and other berries) mitigate inflammation and oxidative damage, which are associated with age-related deficits in memory and motor function.