This is how to have a happy life 4 proven secrets from research

This is how to have a happy life 4 proven secrets from researchThis is how to have a happy life 4 proven secrets from researchSometimes just being happy is hard enough. Figuring out how to have a happylifecan seem downright overwhelming.In his book,Authentic Happiness, University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman (the Big Kahuna of happiness research) says that there arefourtypes of happy lives.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThats right - bedrngnis only do we have a blueprint for what makes a happy life, you even get four choices. That doesnt mean theyre all created equal. As you move downthe list, the lives get better - but more challenging. The first three all have big strengths - and big weaknesses.And then theres 4 (music swells) The Full Life. Its got it all - but, of course, itsthe trickiest to achieve.Ready for a happy life that works for you? Lets break the 4 down, see which blueprint suits your needs,and find out what life is like for the happiest people on the planet.Alrighty, so whats behind door 1?Happy Life 1 The Pleasant LifeThe goal is life as one long vacation. You want asmany positive feelings and bodily pleasures as you can. Tasty food, good beer, smiles, massages, and laughs.No regrets, no worries, and a head full of positive thoughts.FromAuthentic HappinessThe pleasant life a life that successfully pursues the positive emotions about the present, past and future.So lets say this is your ideal life. How do you get there?Researchers call itPleasant activity training but I call itthings that feel good, do them more often.Yes, it sounds stupidly simple but dont gloss over it, internet skimmer. Research shows that often you dont actually do what you enjoy the most- you do what is easiest. You might love going to the beach, but TV is quicker. If you want ThePleasant Life, make more time forthe things that give you themostpleasure .And for Petes sake,schedulepleasurable things. If awful stufflike dental appointments get a spot on your calendar, so should awesome things. (I enjoy seeingmy friends. So I dont seeem when I seeem I have lunch with themevery Friday at 1PM, like clockwork. And Burger Night is every Monday at 5PM. Dinner with Jason and Lisa is every Sunday night. Nick and I go for a walk and discuss interesting thingsevery Tuesday night. Im sure youre fascinated by my social schedule, but the point is, with a little planning, you can make fun the default.)Nowas enjoyable as The Pleasant Life sounds, its theleasthappy of the four. Why?If youve ever stared at the ceiling at 2AM and said, What am I doing with my life?, well, The Pleasant Life cant help you with that. All it can offer you is yet another funny YouTube video of a dog on a skateboard.(To learn the 4 rituals that neuroscience says will make you happy, clickhere.)Alright, so The Pleasant Life is very pleasant but not much more. Maybe that wor ks for you, maybe not. So whats a happy life thats more engaging - and exciting?Happy Life 2 The Good LifeThe vast majority of the people you admire did not aspire toward The Pleasant Life. Most athletes, entrepreneurs, musicians and anyone whos an expert in their field probably sought what Seligman calls The Good Life.Whats that?Actively doing stuff youre good at and getting lost in it.Trying to improve your skills. Accomplishing goals.FromAuthentic HappinessThe good life using your signature strengths to obtain abundant gratification in the main realms of your life.While The Pleasant Life is all aboutfeeling, The Good Life is focused ondoing.This life means figuring out your signature strengths - stuff youre uniquely good at - and trying to achieve flow as much as possible. Flow is when youre working at something and youre in the zone, not noticing the passage of time because youre caught up in the activity. Dont underestimate how happydoing stuff youre good atcan make youThe m ore hours per day adults believe they use their strengths, the more likely they are to report having ample energy, feeling well-rested, being happy, smiling or laughing a lot, learning something interesting, and being treated with respect.Seligman says The Good Life tops The Pleasant Life because using your signature strengths is more lasting. Pleasure is fleeting while developing skills and achieving goals creates a more profound sense of enjoyment. Using your strengths daily can make you significantly happierformonths.ViaThe Happiness Advantage The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at WorkWhen 577 volunteers were encouraged to pick one of their signature strengths and use it in a new way each day for a week, they became significantly happier and less depressed than control groups. And these benefits lastedEven after the experiment was over, their levels of happiness remained heightened a full month later.So how do you createThe Good Life? Ag ain, look to your calendar. Instead of spending more time doing stuff that feels good,spend more time using yoursignature strengths and being in flow.Are you a natural people partie? Ask your boss if you can handle new clients instead of paperwork. Get a kick out of working with numbers? Ask your partner to clean the house and youll handle the budget and do the taxes.Or spend hours upon hours writing research-backed blog posts. (That produces flowfor at least one person I can think of.)Does The Good Life sound like work? It is. Its definitely not passive. If the only thing that brings you flow is watching Seinfeld reruns while eating pizza, then The Pleasant Life might be a better choice for you. And if The Good Life is takentoo far it can crowd out pleasure. As easy as it is to denigrate The Pleasant Life, we allneedsome pleasure.And muchlike The Pleasant Life, The Good Life can still be meaningless. Video games are great at creating flow and devoting yourself to becoming the bestW orld of Warcraftplayer everwouldbe an example of The Good Life - without being something any of us would call agood life.(To learn the 6 rituals ancient wisdom says will make you happy, clickhere.)So The Good Life beats The Pleasant Life, but its still far from perfect.Both of them lack real meaning. But The Good Life does hold the secret to an evenbetterlife. We just have to add one thingHappy Life 3 The Meaningful LifeThe Meaningful Life is The Good Life - but youre using your signature strengthsin a way that benefits others as well as yourself.FromAuthentic HappinessThe meaningful life using your signature strengths and virtues in service of something larger than you are.So not only do you get the benefits of The Good Life but you also become very satisfied with your work.ViaHow to Find Fulfilling WorkA major study of ethical work by Howard Gardner, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and William Damon showed that those doing what they call good work defined as work of expert quality tha t benefits the broader society consistently exhibit high levels of job satisfaction.Theres this other nice benefit to The Meaningful Life and its callednot dying. The Japanese call meaning in life ikigai (pronounced icky guy.) And people that haveitlive longer.ViaPursuing the Good Life 100 Reflections on Positive PsychologyEven when likely confounds were taken into account,ikigaipredicted who was still alive after 7 years. Said anotherway, 95% of respondents who reported a sense of meaning in their lives were alive 7 years after the initial survey versus about 83% of those who reported no sense of meaning in their lives.Okay, the other lives all had weaknesses so youre probably wondering what the catch is with this one Its not as immediately pleasurable as The Pleasant Life. And it requiresall the effort of The Good Life. And it can - every now and then - hurt.You have tocareto have meaning in your life. And thats going to mean occasionalun-pleasant feelingsMeaningful involvements increase ones stress, worries, arguments, and anxiety, which reduce happiness.(To learn how to unlock meaning in your life, clickhere.)So all of these lives have their superpowers and their kryptonites. So whats thebest of the bunch? How do the happiest people in the world live their lives?Happy Life 4 The Full LifeTake all of the previous three in moderation and you have The Full Life.FromAuthentic HappinessA full life consists in experiencing positive emotions about the past and future, savoring positive feelings from the pleasures, deriving abundant gratification from your signature strengths, and using these strengths in the service of something larger to obtain meaning.Researchers have studied what thehappiest people on the planetall have in common. Those folksdo not ignore the benefits of The Pleasant LifeThey savor lifes pleasures and try to live in the present moment.And they put in the effort thatThe Good Life requiresThey are deeply committed to lifelong goals and ambitio ns (e.g., fighting fraud, building cabinets, or teaching their children their deeply held values).And they are devoted to helping others. They have some of that icky guy from The Meaningful LifeThey devote a great amount of time to their family and friends, nurturing and enjoying those relationships They are often the first to offer helping hands to coworkers and passersby.Any downsides to The Full Life? Yeah - it can be alot to juggle. Its tricky to stay consistent. You have to find a balancethatworks for you. You will have to make sacrifices.But as the happiest people in the world know its worth it.(To learn more about what the happiest people all have in common, clickhere.)Alright, weve learned a lot. Lets round it all up - and learn the easy way to start livingThe Full LifeSum UpHere are the different happy livesThe Pleasant Life PLEASURE GOOD. PAIN BAD. Schedule more fun.The Good Life Do what youre good at and go as far down that rabbit hole of flow as you can, Alice.The Mean ingful Life The Good Life + helps others.The Full Life Enjoy the pleasures of life, leverageyour skills, seekflow, and use it to helppeople.The Full Lifemight sound like a lot. It might sound hard because of formal terms like signature strengths and intimidating concepts like meaning. Dont let any of that stuff scare you off. Just try thisEvery single day, do something that makes you smile.Every single day, do something youre good at.Every single day, make sure your effortshelp someone else smile.Thats all it takes to start living the happiest lifethere is.And if youre not careful, it might turn you into a good human beingat the same time.This article first appeared on Eric Barker.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from kleine Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEO s10 habits of mentally strong people