Habits of Happiness – Matthieu Ricard

What is happiness? As with most emotions, it’s not that easy to describe. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary happiness is “a state of well-being and contentment.” Since we’re each different, how we create and sustain that type of state will also differ.

Near the beginning of his presentation on the “Habits of Happiness” at TED, Matthieu Ricard says: “We don’t wake up in the morning thinking may I suffer the whole day.” We have a desire for well-being and happiness, yet most definitions of happiness are vague. Continue reading

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Dan Gilbert on Happiness at TED

“Our lives may not always turn out as we wish or as we plan,
but we are confident that if they had,
then our happiness would have been unbounded
and our sorrows thin and fleeting.”
- Dan Gilbert in “Stumbling on Happiness

Dan Gilbert did a talk at TED called: Why are we happy? Why aren’t we happy?

Who do you think would be happier in the long-run: those who win millions or people who become paraplegic? How long can life traumas affect our happiness? Can we be just as happy not getting what we want as getting what we want? How does freedom of choice factor in? Dan Gilbert answers these questions and talks about synthesizing happiness.

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The Dalai Lama on Happiness

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion,
if you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
- H.H. Dalai Lama

If someone gave you a million dollars would you be happy forever? What about two million or three million? Would money make you truly happy for the rest of your life? Continue reading

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TED Talk – Dan Buettner – How to Live to Be 100+

10% of longevity is due to our genes and 90% to our lifestyle. When you think about it, what is a lifestyle but a series of habits?

There are 4 “Blue Zone” areas in the world where people are more likely to live beyond 100 years of age and be vital and spry. Dan Buettner and his team sought to find out what lifestyle habits these people practiced.

Dan shares the 9 lifestyle habits they found and also dispels some common myths about lifestyle and aging along the way in this video from the TED conference. Continue reading

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30 Habits to Consider

Here is a list of habits you could adopt for the Monthly Challenge. The aim is to adopt a habit for at least 30 days in a row. Feel free to change the time amounts in the ideas below.

Resolutions 2008Nutrition, Health & Fitness
1. Cut out white sugar.
2. Cut out white flour.
3. Eat 5-10 fruits and vegetables each day.
4. Eat a leafy green vegetable in addition to a salad.
5. Cut out dairy.
6. Go to bed before 11 pm Continue reading

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