1. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS 6 steps to get there!

2. 1. Our primal brain
Negativity bias gave humans an advantage thousands of years ago. It provided protections in a life or death situation and therefore programed our brains to store negative experiences more than positive ones.
LOOK FOR BRIGHT SPOTS:
Pause-get into the habit of appreciating something sweet/beautiful-this helps override the negative. Take a photo each day of something that makes you smile, at the end of the week, look at all your photos – doing this trains your brain to watch for moments to capture that are positive and shifts your focus to happiness and away from stress and negativity.

3. 2. Going it alone
Happiest people have meaningful relationships. Isolating yourself can lead to feeling down.
REACH OUT:
Greet people, classmates, etc. with positive conversation starters: “ I just heard the best joke..”, (instead of I have the worst class first period)
Start with a shift in the positive vs a negative.
A strong social network is a win/win: Meaningful!

4. 3. Living in 2021-focus on present
Instead of saying I’ll be happy when…which pushes happiness off until later-get your brain to concentrate on what is working well in your life today.
STAY IN THE MOMENT:
Be mindful-it increases the activity in your frontal cortex which is the part of your brain responsible for emotions like optimism. USE A (Shambhala, 2018)
When you wake up – while in bed take 5 deep breaths and exhales-
-think of something your are grateful for and smile BIG
-set one intention for your day
This may help improve your energy level and help you excel as you are focused on the here and now. This practice has been shown to boost student’s test scores!

5. 4. The Social Media Vortex-”Compare and despair”
While scrolling SM don’t think everyone else’s life is a party and you are alone. This erodes esteem. According to Journal of Affective Disorders the more time spent on SM the more likely someone will have symptoms of anxiety.
POWER DOWN:
Set aside time each day to disconnect. Start with just 10 minutes a day. Work up to longer periods of time. Strive to be phone free for the first ½ hour of your morning, at meals and the last hour before bed-your phone’s lighting and irresistible pull detract from quality sleep. SLEEP is necessary to combat anxiety and stress.
(be mindful in the moment)

6. 5. Incoming Worries-stop worrying about the future
BACK UP AND BREATHE:
Step away from media, phone, headlines
Think of a tangible ways to diffuse what is bothering you. Take a deep breath,
When your exhale is longer than your inhale-the vagus nerve-which runs from the brain down
Through the neck to the diaphragm and abdomen, tells the nervous system to “chill”. Heart rates
drop, blood pressure lowers, blood vessels relax-the whole body calms.
Inhale slowly through your nose, exhale with a soft haaaaa sound until your lungs
Feel empty. Repeat this 10 times with a 3 second pause between

7. 6. Spinning wheel-feeling stuck
We all feel stuck sometimes. We may be striving for the wrong things-like wealth, fame-extrinsic goals.
Happy people seek intrinsic goals like: personal growth, relationships and community. Researchers reported college students who pursued extrinsic goals had greater anxiety than those with intrinsic ones. Intrinsic goals lead to well-being, self-esteem and fewer signs of stress.
FIND A PURPOSE:
Of find purposes! What drives you? Family? Sports? Arts? Theater? Music? Being outside?
Life is complex-we care about more than just one thing. A multipurpose mind-set helps to prioritize and balance our lives. If you catch yourself glued to Instagram, snap chat, and ignoring family or people who are with us-is that really serving a purpose now? Then focus on the stuff that truly makes you feel happy.
-power pt based on Kelly DiNardo article in LIVING MAGAZINE, Dec 2018 issue