Your Happiness News for the Week

Happy Saturday, friends! I thought it would be fun to do a round-up of all the best articles about happiness that were published in the last week. Enjoy!

1) 12 Ways To Be Happier At Work In Less Than 10 Minutes

In this article, Sharon Salzberg breaks down the key to workplace happiness. One of my favorite suggestions is to find ways to “break down the momentum” of the day. Read more here.

2) 43 Of The Happiest Little Kids In The Whole Wide World

The cutest and happiest kids you’ll ever see. You are guaranteed to smile while browsing through these photos. See them here.

3) 9 Ridiculously Simple Ways To Feel Happier Today


9 Simple Ways to Feel Happier Today

Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of California Riverside, suggests simple things to do to increase your happiness. A few recommendations including smiling, expressing gratitude, and walking outside. Read more here.

4) Spend Your Money on THIS to Be Happier

A new study found that while Americans tend to believe that material goods provide better value, buying “life experiences” actually makes Americans happier than buying material possessions. Read more here.

5) Discover a kingdom where happiness rules

A look inside Bhutan, where “Gross National Happiness is more important than “Gross National Product”. I especially enjoyed this excerpt from the article: “The concept is evident in the day-to-day life of the people, from the regular meditation and reflective gardening that’s built into the school curriculum, to the charming road signs that line the main roads. These run the gamut from encouraging (“Life is a journey! Complete it!”) to paternal (“This is a highway, not a runway!”). Even the graffiti is upbeat: In Thimpu, I read a white scrawl that read, ‘Life is not a race.'” Read more here.

Have some happy news to share? Leave a comment below!

P.S. Get daily inspiration at http://www.instagram.com/happsters.

Top 14 Physical and Psychological Benefits of Meditation

Hi Happsters!

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately! I hope you’ve been as happy as ever!

Today I wanted to share some fascinating meditation facts with you. If you’ve never tried before, I highly suggest giving it a shot. I used the free app “Headspace“, which was created for beginners, and I can’t say enough good things about it. I love it because it starts you out with meditating 10 minutes a day for 10 days. They talk you through the whole thing and make it very easy to get started.

I’ve found that meditation helped me significantly reduce my stress levels. Meditation actually “activates the ‘rest and digest’ part of our nervous system, helping with stress management. Our heart rate slows, our respiration slows and our blood pressure drops. This is often called the ‘relaxation response.'” (Source)

I’ve compiled some of the physical benefits, as well as the psychological benefits of meditation below:

Physical Benefits of Meditation(Source) Photo by Jack Bates Photography

Psychological Benefits of Meditation(Source) Photo by Jack Bates Photography

Do you meditate? If not, are you up for giving it a go?

P.S. Get daily inspiration at http://www.instagram.com/happsters.

Happy Quotes to Live by in 2014

Are you making any New Year’s Resolutions this year? One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to live in the moment and just be happy. If your goals are similar to mine, I think you’ll relate to these 10 happy quotes. They keep me motivated and make me stop and think about what’s really important in life. I hope you like them too!

Happy Quote #1: If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.

If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Continue reading “Happy Quotes to Live by in 2014”

Top 5 Happy Events in November

Happy almost Thanksgiving! With so much violence and negativity in the news, I thought it would be fun to point out all of the happy events that have gone on in the past few weeks. Here are my top 5 happy events in November:

1) Pharrell’s New Song “Happy”.

Pharrell just came out with the first 24 hour music video consisting of images and people dancing to the happy song for a full 24 hours! Check it out here: http://24hoursofhappy.com/

2. Strangers Making Friends with Each Other

When a ball pit was set up in the middle of the sidewalk with a sign that read “Take a Seat & Make a Friend”, strangers found themselves hanging out in it together and making beautiful connections. Check it out here. Continue reading “Top 5 Happy Events in November”

Let’s Not Try to Figure Out Everything at Once

Lately I feel like I’ve been rushing from one thing to the next. I have a tendency to try to multi-task and get everything done as fast as I can. That’s why I love the quote:


 “Let’s not try to figure out everything at once.”

Here’s my mantra for today. Hopefully it will remind you to be more present as well.

Today I will:

Go with the flow
Breathe deeply
Live in the moment
Focus on the task at hand
Take my time
Notice the little things
Accept what is
Relax♥

Do you multi-task a lot or are you good at focusing on one thing at a time? Let me know in the comments!

Why a Road Trip Might be Exactly What You Need

Why a Road Trip Might Be Exactly What You Need

When I first started dating my boyfriend, he insisted upon going on a road trip together. But road trips didn’t make much sense to me; “What’s the point of a road trip when you can get there faster on a plane?”, I asked. Finally, he convinced me to take a road trip with him to Big Sur, California. I didn’t see it then, but the road trip was exactly what I needed. Now I understand the power of road trips and their ability to boost happiness and strengthen relationships. Continue reading “Why a Road Trip Might be Exactly What You Need”

Gratitude Sunday

Gratitude Sunday

Happy Gratitude Sunday everyone! I hope you’ve all had a fantastic week.

First, I want to let you know how grateful I am for all of YOU. I love seeing all of your comments each week and getting to know you. You are truly the most amazing, genuine and HAPPIEST people, and I am so lucky to have met you!

Here are 3 *more* things I’m grateful for today: Continue reading “Gratitude Sunday”

Special Gratitude Sunday

Gratitude Sunday

When is the last time you thought about someone you were grateful for? Have you gone a step further and told that person why you were grateful for him? This week, I wanted to share an amazing video about the power of gratitude and the impact it has on happiness.

First, subjects were given a test and asked to rate their current level of happiness. Then they were asked to think of someone who was really influential in their lives and write down as much as they could about why this person was so important. What they didn’t know was that they would have to call that person and read what they wrote. Take a look at what happens…

Here are a few things (and people) I’m grateful for today:  Continue reading “Special Gratitude Sunday”

Gratitude Sunday

Gratitude Sunday

Happy Gratitude Sunday, everyone! I hope you’ve all had a happy week. I saw this quote the other day and think it encompasses the reason that Gratitude is so important.

“Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy — because we will always want to have something else or something more.” — Brother David Steindl-Rast

Here are 3 things I’m grateful for today: Continue reading “Gratitude Sunday”