https://youtu.be/q1bM9mnUchg cliff Richard in 60s Little things means a lot in response to webcache.googleusercontent.com Want to feel happier? Try snacking on joy. By Richard Sima|Nov. 17th, 2022 KR IRS 131222
On Tue, 13 Dec 2022 at 06:44, Rangarajan T.N.C. <[email protected]> wrote: > Click here to exit the Postlight Reader view > [image: webcache.googleusercontent.com]webcache.googleusercontent.comWant > to feel happier? Try snacking on joy. > By Richard Sima|Nov. 17th, 2022 > Send to Kindle > > Here’s an antidote to an ever-stressful, busy and uncertain world. Try > finding and savoring little bites of joy in your day. I call them “joy” > snacks. > > By mindfully tuning into the pleasant, nice and sometimes routine experiences > of every day, we can transform an otherwise mundane moment into something > more meaningful and even joyful. > > Lunch with a co-worker. Walking the dog. Texting with a friend. Watching a > favorite show. Eating a favorite meal. Calling your mom. Just hanging out. > > New research shows that finding and savoring these nuggets of joy can be a > way of consistently cultivating a good, meaningful life. > > “It’s not these big things that we sort of create in our heads, but these > smaller day-to-day experiences that bring us meaning,” said Joshua Hicks > <https://liberalarts.tamu.edu/psychology/profile/joshua-hicks/>, > psychologist at Texas A&M University’s Existential Psychology Collaboratory. > > Surprisingly, joy has been relatively neglected by scholars. > > But recent research suggests that joy is a distinct positive emotion for “when > we feel connected, or reunited with something or someone that’s really > important to us,” said Philip Watkins > <https://www.ewu.edu/experts/philip-watkins/>, psychologist who studies > joy, gratitude and happiness at Eastern Washington University. > > Watkins’s research, perhaps unsurprisingly, finds that feeling joy is > strongly associated with subjective well-being, which is essential for > human flourishing. > > Big events like weddings or reunions are well-known smorgasbords for joy. > But smaller bites of joy in everyday life matter, too, and are easier to > attain if we don’t overlook them. > > Previous research has shown we derive meaning in life from three key > factors > <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1037/gpr0000077?casa_token=5N1KpsZ0sUEAAAAA%3AcYw9p2_IjTdenbEm8_9szrQeJPnQpi7LSetGHeTVFUHywwGXlX3SVimkFBLVgZxb_q91RydeoSyBAQ> > — feeling like our life makes sense, having a purpose driven by goals we > care about and feeling like our lives matter*.* > > A February study published in Nature Human Behavior > <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-021-01283-6> involving more than > 3,000 participants across multiple experiments reported that valuing one’s > life experiences, or experiential appreciation, is another potent way of > making life feel more meaningful. > > When asked by researchers to recount their most meaningful experience that > occurred in the past week, for most people, it was not about their grand, > overarching goals, but something simpler and more mundane that stood out, > such as having an enjoyable conversation or being surrounded by nature. > > “It’s not just about you creating meaning in your head,” said Hicks, who > co-wrote the study. “It’s about detecting meaning that’s already out there.” > > Snacking on joy can go beyond focusing on our own experiences. Sharing our > joy snacks also helps foster even stronger bonds with those we care about > most. Relationship research has found that couples who celebrate small > things <https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-20034-008> regularly — not > just the anniversaries — had stronger and happier partnerships. > > There is also joy to be had when you take the time to reconnect with the > person that is always with you: yourself. > > Small acts of self-care and setting aside time for simple pleasures and > celebrations can be emotional nourishment you gift to yourself. > > Joy is a mind-set and something we can orient toward by being on the > lookout for it. > > “You can’t produce joy, but you can prepare for it,” Watkins said. > > Researchers are studying how people can become more receptive to joyful > moments. Taking time each day to recount past episodes of joy may be one > way to increase your predisposition for joy in the future, though more work > is needed on how best to develop a “lifestyle of joy,” Watkins said. > > Cultivating gratitude is another way of cultivating joy. In one study, > Watkins and colleagues used questionnaire data to measure participants’ > gratitude and joyfulness in the moment and over time. They found that the > more grateful a person is, the more likely they were to feel joy in the > future. The reverse was also true: The more predisposed to joy someone is, > the more likely they would feel gratitude as well. > > “Joy and gratitude kind of feed > <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2017.1414298>on > each other,” Watkins said. “We call it a cycle of virtue.” > > Gratitude interventions, such as writing down the things we felt grateful > for during the day, have been found to improve mood and may foster more > gratitude. > > It is also important not to fall prey to what some psychologists have > called “killjoy thinking > <https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-58763-9_8>,” which > actively inhibits enjoyment by neutralizing positive moods. For example, > watching a beautiful sunset with a loved one but only focusing on how cold > it is about to get is tantamount to stealing a joy snack right out of your > own mouth. > > “If you’re not able to see the good in your life, you’re always > overwhelmed by the bad in your life, you’re probably not going to prepare > yourself for experiencing joy,” Watkins said. > > One way to increase joy is to try savoring > <https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315088426/savoring-fred-bryant-joseph-veroff>, > which means mindfully paying attention, appreciating and accentuating the > positive experiences > <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886910001820> we > have. > > That cup of coffee. The cuddliness of your pet. A joke whose punchline > hits just right. > > Focusing on the sensations and emotions you feel in these moments can make > the joy snack all the richer. > > It can take practice > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/09/29/train-brain-for-hard-things/?itid=lk_inline_manual_45> > to get better at identifying and appreciating these experiences, but “once > you learn to slow down and pay attention to those things, put more weight > on those things, your life feels more fulfilled and more meaningful,” Hicks > said. > > Nature is one powerful source of joy snacks that many people can nosh on, > in part because of its power of inducing awe > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/09/15/awe-mental-health/?itid=lk_inline_manual_46> > . > > Hicks and his colleagues found that just having participants watch the > two-minute opener to the nature documentary “Planet Earth” produced > appreciation for the experience and, in turn, a greater sense of meaning. > > “Nature is all around us, but it’s very easy to ignore it and downplay > it,” Hicks said. > > Sometimes taking a walk in the park and smelling the roses — by yourself > or with others — is simply all you need to do to find some everyday joy. > > “No matter who you are, no matter where you are in life, there's something > out there that can bring you joy and happiness,” Hicks said. > > So, what is your joy snack this week? > > *Do you have a question about human behavior or neuroscience? Email * > *[email protected]* <[email protected]>* and we may > answer it in a future column.* > > <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwebcache.googleusercontent.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dcache%3Au5PS5RHZ6UcJ%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwellness%2F2022%2F11%2F17%2Ffeel-happier-joy-flourishing%2F%26cd%3D1%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Din&text=Want%20to%20feel%20happier%3F%20Try%20snacking%20on%20joy.> > > <?subject=Want%20to%20feel%20happier%3F%20Try%20snacking%20on%20joy.&body=Want%20to%20feel%20happier%3F%20Try%20snacking%20on%20joy.%0D%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwebcache.googleusercontent.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dcache%3Au5PS5RHZ6UcJ%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwellness%2F2022%2F11%2F17%2Ffeel-happier-joy-flourishing%2F%26cd%3D1%26hl%3Den%26ct%3Dclnk%26gl%3Din> > > [image: Postlight Reader] <https://reader.postlight.com/> > > A Labs project from your friends at[image: Postlight, an NTT Data Company] > <https://postlight.com/> > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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