Positive relationships

Very little that is positive is solitary – laughing, a sense of profound meaning, pride in accomplishment usually take place around other people.

Other people are the best antidote to the downs of life and single most reliable up and doing a kind act produces the single most reliable momentary increase in well being of any exercise tested.

Authentic happiness is one dimensional: It is about feeling good and it claims that the way we choose our life course is to try to maximize how we feel.

The Well-being theory is about 5 pillars (see prior post) – it cannot exist just in your head: It’s a combination of feeling good as well as actually having meaning, good relationships and accomplishments. The way we choose our course in life is to maximize all 5 of these elements.

What can you do?

Every night for the next week set aside 10 min before you go to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well. it is important that you have a physical record – keep a journal of what you wrote.

The three things did need not be earth shaking in importance. eg my husband picked up my favourite ice cream for dessert on the way home from work today.

That said, they can also be important eg my sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy

Next to each positive event answer the question why did this happen:

If you wrote that your husband picked up ice cream, one eg would be, because my husband is really thoughtful sometimes or because I remember to call him from work and remind him to stop by the grocery store.