2024-03-24 10:07:17
Happiness is the goal of many, but it is very difficult to define. Different things generate happiness for each of us and, furthermore, these are usually ephemeral. What we could agree on is those plans, gestures and actions that make us feel joy, fulfillment and well-beingboth physically and emotionally.
We all want to be happy, but… How? The University of Harvard has shared three keys that can significantly help increase the feeling of happiness and enjoy life more. Experts recommend starting by putting one of them into practice, the one you like the most, and then trying the others (one week each), to see how they help you increase your daily happiness. We tell you what each of them consists of.
1. Enjoy the little moments
Your alarm doesn’t ring and, oh no! You’re late for work; It starts to rain and you don’t have your umbrella; you forget your cell phone at home and, yes, you have to go back for it… There are many small daily things that we experience as great ‘tragedies’ and that can ruin our day, but there are also many other accessions that can brighten our day and to which we sometimes do not pay enough attention.
We must be able to change the focus and stop to enjoy the small everyday moments that bring us well-being and joy: an afternoon reading an interesting book, listening to your favorite podcast, a dinner with the family, a coffee with your friends… As Harvard experts say, there are studies that show that appreciate the small pleasant moments It is one of the keys that can make you feel happier.
Furthermore, we must congratulate ourselves and celebrate our small daily achievementswhether it is finishing a work task that we had pending or a small goal in the gym.
And it is that We often associate happiness with big life events: a wedding, a birth, a great success at work… but, although these milestones are important, we cannot relegate our happiness to these very occasional situations that occur very rarely in life. It is no secret that happiness is also made of small everyday moments, which in the end are precisely those that make up the majority of our lives.
2. Exercise outdoors
Health and happiness go hand in hand and, as you already know, one of the best habits to improve health is physical exercise, because it helps control weight, strengthens the heart, bones and muscles, and, at the same time, improves mood, among others. many other benefits.
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He aerobic exercise (such as walking, cycling or running) releases ‘happy hormones’ that improve mood and well-being and can help reduce stress. Additionally, the repetitive contraction of muscles that occurs when walking, swimming, or doing yoga, among others, increases serotonin levels a very important hormone in our body as it is one of the most responsible for our happiness.
However, How much physical exercise should we do? The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults perform between 150 and 300 minutes per week of moderate aerobic physical activities (or between 75 and 150 minutes if they are intense) and muscle strengthening activities 2 or 3 days a week. You can alternate cardio routines with strength routines or, if you prefer, dedicate 5 or 10 minutes to doing cardio after your weight training.
Of course, according to Harvard, a study assures that just 90 minutes of exercise per week already provide improvements in mood similar to those of an antidepressant. Ninety minutes is the minimum you should do. With 15 minutes of exercise a day you can benefit your health, both physical and mental.
If we add spending time outdoors to exercise, success is assured. It has been proven that contact with nature is good for our physical and mental health. Contact with green spaces (parks, forests, meadows…) and blue areas (rivers, beaches, canals…) has a therapeutic effect: it reduces stress, combats depression and anxiety, improves well-being and moodin addition to helping us breathe better and strengthen our immune system.
It has even been seen in a scientific study that the mere fact of Looking at the green trees through a hospital window speeds recovery of patients after an operation. Now you should feel motivated to get out and exercise, so go for it!
3. Downplay the importance of decisions
Having a choice is always good. Can you imagine a life in which you couldn’t decide or have an opinion about anything? In which everything was chosen for you by others? It would be very monotonous and boring, don’t you think?
However, have too many options or decisions that drinking is not something positive either, because it also it gives us more worries and therefore, more stress. Furthermore, Harvard experts explain that, according to research, people who are given more options to choose from, they have more opportunities to repent.
The important decisions are the ones that generate the most concern, but the small day-to-day decisions, No matter how small or insignificant they may seem, they also take up our time and can take their toll on us. That is why we have to learn to relativize them and invest as little time as possible in them. As? We tell you.
One way to begin to let go of the worry of constantly choosing is to limit the time we dedicate to those decisions that, if we are wrong, will not have consequences important. And once the final decision is made, do not hesitate and go ahead with it. When you start doing it you will see how much time and headaches you save yourself and those around you.
Those people who, even putting decisions into perspective, cannot avoid having to take a large number daily, can take some time for themselves by practicing spiritual or meditation retreatsin which the only thing they have to do is work on their peace of mind, without interference or worries, at least for a few days.
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