LuckyNumbers 4U

2020-04-29T14:02:00.003+01:00

The Ultimate
Lucky Personal Family Numbers,
Randomize Machine

Although your birth date numbers are of greatest importance -- numerologically speaking -- other personal numbers can also be lucky. You can use any significant anniversary in your life, such as a wedding. Family members' birthdays are also significant to you, since your life is most certainly intertwined with theirs.

Don't always end up with the same numbers

https://www.luckynumbers4u.com/luckynumbers_mixyourfamily.html

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Time Travel To The Future

2015-05-31T17:27:00.004+01:00

Anytime you need to be happier, just do some time travel. It’s that simple.

I know what you’re thinking: He’s finally gone insane.
No, I’m not crazy. And you don’t need a time machine. You’re just going to use your imagination.
But scientific research shows this is a great way to immediately increase happiness. You can do it anywhere and it doesn’t cost anything.
Research shows happiness is all about where you put your attention. And shifting your attention to the past, the future or even the present — can boost happiness.
Still sound silly? Stay with me. You do unhappy time travel all too frequently.
When you are overcome with regret, you’re turning your attention to negative elements of the past. When you worry, you’re thinking about an unpleasant future. But we can also use mental time travel to get the best out of life.
Here are three ways, why they work, and quick tips to use them to put a smile on your face.

1) Time Travel To The Future!

It’s as simple as anticipation. Remember being a kid and looking forward to holiday gifts? Or as an adult haven’t you fantasized about that vacation coming up?
Well, research says deliberately using anticipation is an insanely powerful way to get happy.
How does it work?
Here’s why you absolutely need to incorporate more anticipation into your life:
Studies show anticipation can actually be more enjoyable than getting the thing you’re anticipating.
...(read more)

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This will make you happy !

2015-03-15T15:25:00.002+00:00

This will make you happy !

1) Take Recess

Most of what we do all day is "instrumental." What's that mean? It gets something done. It's practical. It achieves a goal.

But these days we seem to be doing more and more that's instrumental and a lot less that's just fun.

2) Switch Autopilot On

You spend 40% of the day on autopilot, engaging in habits, not actual decisions.

3) Unshackle Yourself

Do less.

Really, you can

4) Cultivate Relationships

Christine pulls a quote I love from the wonderful book Triumphs of Experience:

...there are two pillars of happiness revealed by the seventy-five-year-old Grant Study…. One is love. The other is finding a way of coping with life that does not push love away.

5) Tolerate Some Discomfort

Many of us come home from work and think, "I just want to sit down and do nothing."

And that's understandable if you're overworked and burned out. But "doing nothing" is really not what will make you happier

(Read more)

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Buy Happiness !

2015-02-01T16:20:00.002+00:00

How to Buy Happiness: The Purchases Most Likely to Bring You Joy

While true happiness may be something that can only be found in the heart, there are plenty of arguments that say money can actually buy you
some happiness here and there. Here are some of the ways experts say it's possible to write a check and make it out to your happiness.
It's certainly hard to measure happiness, of course. There's no point system or way to accurately measure the happiness flowing through your
bloodstream, and happiness is an emotion that can mean different things for different people, so keep that in mind as you read on. That said,
buying happiness all comes down to how you spend your money. It could be a new album from your favorite artist, a trip to somewhere you've
longed to travel to, or just a cold beer at the end of a long day. This guide won't unlock the secret to true happiness in your life—whatever
that may entail for you—but it will provide some ideas on how to get the most from your your hard-earned money.
Buy Your Financial Security

How to Buy Happiness: The Purchases Most Likely to Bring You Joy

Stress is the enemy of happiness, and feeling insecure in your finances can be a major stressor. Over time it even begins to affect your
health in a negative way, which obviously is bad for your happiness. Instead of living in worry about your debts and loans, you can start to
buy your happiness back by paying them off.

The next time you feel like you have some extra cash to splurge with, see how much of your savings you can put toward your debt instead. It
takes time to whittle away things like credit card debt, but when you finally overcome it, you'll feel way happier overall. Besides, when
push comes to shove, paying off your credit cards is literally the best financial return for your money.
Cash In on Experiences
How to Buy Happiness: The Purchases Most Likely to Bring You Joy
Some purchased items can make you happy, yes, but you've probably heard that the best use of money is buying experiences instead. Our life is
built around our experiences and the memory of a great vacation will stick with us a lot longer than a new smartphone. Experiences also have
the perk of shaping who you are. You could learn a lot about yourself—and what you really want in life—when you opt for an awesome experience
instead of a new TV that would just keep you glued to your couch.
Spending on Experiences Instead of Possessions Results in More Satisfaction

In a survey conducted by Harvard University psychology professor and Stumbling on Happiness author Dan Gilbert, a majority of respondents—
57%— reported greater happiness from experiential purchases. Only 34% of respondents said that material goods brought them happiness. Gilbert
and his colleagues also found that the type of experience wasn't that important:

But when it comes to happiness, the nature of the activity in which people are engaged seems to matter less than the fact that they are
engaged in it… people were maximally happy when they were thinking about what they were doing, and time-lag analyses revealed that
mindwandering was a cause, and not merely an effect, of diminished happiness. A wandering mind is an unhappy mind, and one of the benefits of
experiences is that they keep us focused on the here and now.
Maintaining presence, the practice of focusing on the here and now, has long been touted as a great method of maintaining happiness.
Experiences make that easy, especially if it's something you've never done before. How could you not be in the moment if you're experiencing
something brand new? As explained by Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia—and co-author of
Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending—change is a huge part of buying happiness. In her research, she found that buying big things
like a house didn't make people any happier:

This was one of the most surprising findings I came across. It's quite striking that what so many of us are pouring our incomes into turns
out not to have that big an impact on happiness. The human happiness system is fundamentally attuned to change and houses are very stable.
So if you want an easy boost to your happiness, you need to get out in the world and do some new things. But you don't have to do it alone!
In fact, it might even be better for you to buy experiences with others. Being social makes us happy, and investing in experiences that you
can talk about later with others is a great way to do that. You get the benefits of a new experience, as well as the perks of feeling like
you were involved in something special later on. Think of something of you've always wanted to do and get some friends or family involved. If
you can, plan multiple things far ahead, so you can build the anticipation (which can help you enjoy it even more).
Make It Rain for Others

When you think of buying happiness, you probably think of spending money on yourself. That's perfectly normal, but there's a strong case for
spending money on others to create happiness. Sometimes seeing someone else's smile can do more for you than making yourself smile.
In the TED talk above, social science researcher Michael orton describes an experiment he conducted in Canada in which people were given
money and asked to spend a certain amount of money each day. Some were told to buy things for themselves and others were told to buy things
for others. When it was all said and done, the group that was told buy things for others reported feeling much happier. Of course, this was
in a first world country and performed with a sample of fairly wealthy undergrads. They ran the same experiment in Uganda, where things are a
little different, and got similar results, with the group who bought things for others reporting more happiness. Of course, if you can't buy
something for others, or donate money, volunteering is a great way to buy your happiness with a different kind of currency—your time.

Spending money on others doesn't have to mean buying them trinkets and trivets, either. Think of a way to invest in others as if they were a
stock or bond. Instead of money, you know that you're going to get a great return rate on happiness. Know a painter that's short on cash? Buy
them some canvases and feel the joy when you see them become beautiful paintings. Have a niece or nephew that's learning to read? Buy them a
collection of books and try not to smile when they read them out loud to you. Sure, you could just toss some money at someone, but finding a
way to invest in what they love will make a huge difference for both of you.
Buy the Right Kind of Material Goods
How to Buy Happiness: The Purchases Most Likely to Bring You Joy
There's nothing wrong with buying a material item, but there are some ways to increase the chance that it will actually make you happy. You
might get sudden rush of excitement when you buy something expensive, but nothing kills your happiness faster than a big wave of buyer's
remorse.
First of all, spend your money where you spend your time. It might seem obvious, but spending money on things that you actually use will make
you much happier. Yet people often fail to consider "the comfort principle." For example, if you spend a ton of time sitting in a desk chair,
you'll be pretty happy buying a new chair that's insanely comfortable—even if it doesn't seem like a "fun" purchase. On the other hand, if
you rarely go for a bike ride, an overly-expensive bicycle will just feel like a pricey item in your garage, which certainly won't make you
happy.

When we first talked about the comfort principle, we came up with a generic list that holds up pretty well:
·8 hours: (Work) Office chair, computer, office desk, monitor
·2 hours: (Commute) Car, car stuff
·1 hour: (Cooking) Kitchen utensils
·3 hours: (Living room recreation) TV, video games, music
·1 hour: (Reading) Kindle/iPad
·1 hour: (Exercise) Running, treadmill, elliptical
Make a list of your own and really think about what you spend your time doing. Be careful about trying to trick yourself into doing things,
too. You might think that buying an expensive treadmill will get you to run more, but there's a good chance it will just become something
that sits in the guest room. Stick to "experiential items" whenever you can. Just like with buying experiences, experiential items offer you
excitement and joy over extended periods of time. A good book that you'll enjoy reading over and over, or even a video game that gives hours
of entertainment are good examples of these.

Materialism May not Be All Bad, if You Purchase "Experiential" Items

If you're going to splurge on things, it's best to only splurge on inexpensive things. When you buy a bunch of expensive things, they seem
exciting and special for a little while, only to lose their luster. Same goes for inexpensive things, but you spend a heck of a lot less
them. So go ahead, splurge a little and feel that happiness surge. Just do it with things that don't cost you an arm and a leg so you have
some limbs left when the magic's gone.
Lastly, make sure you don't overdo it. Trying to buy too many things will take away the excitement of buying something. Abundance is the
enemy of appreciation, and getting yourself a treat loses a lot of its power when you take it too far.
Buy Yourself More Time
How to Buy Happiness: The Purchases Most Likely to Bring You Joy
It may not seem like it some days, but time is even more limited than money. If that's the case for you, you can take the money you already
have and buy more time in a couple different ways. For example, our own Adam Pash found that he was much happier after hiring a house
cleaner. It freed up his time and he didn't have to argue about cleanliness with his wife. Imagine what you could do with the amount time you
spend cleaning now.

When Money Can Buy Happiness, Use It

Of course, it doesn't have to be a house cleaner. It can be anything that frees up time. Services like Amazon Prime Pantry or Yummy.com can
do your grocery shopping for you, or a nanny or babysitter can watch the kids a couple times a week. When you have more time to do the things
you want to do, you'll be much happier. It's not always cheap for these kinds of things, but if you use that extra time well, it may be well
worth the price.
Beware of the Pitfalls

How to Buy Happiness: The Purchases Most Likely to Bring You Joy

As you open your wallet for all of these potential happiness boosters, it's important to stay aware of the downsides. First, manage your
expectations. obody—including the experts—believes that you can become happy just through buying things. Experiences, time, and material
goods can only go so far. Inner peace, love, and overall contentedness can't be bought with any amount of money.
Second, be sure to buy what you like. ot what others like. Following the herd can sometimes make you feel like a part of the group, but in
the long run you'll be spending money on things you never actually wanted to buy in the first place. In those instances, you might be better
off looking for a herd that fits your likes a little more.
Third, as you make more money, avoid spending more money. This is called "lifestyle inflation", and it can make it seem like you never got a
raise to begin with. Spending more money on the things you used to spend less on won't make you any happier. Remember the things that made
you happy before your bump in earnings and tell yourself that it doesn't have to change.2

Avoid "Lifestyle Inflation" When You Get a ew Job to Keep Your Finances in Check

With those things in mind, go forth and find some fun things to do, some people to invest in, and some items that will give you some real
bang for your buck. Is money the key to happiness? o, so don't ever believe it is. But money is a part of our lives and you might as well
use it for things that make the work day worth it.

One more thing: happiness is not a place you reach and rest at. Instead, imagine it like a garden, as it takes constant upkeep and care. As
soon as you stop watering and pulling weeds, it can go away. So while it may be true that money can't make you perpetually happy, it can
certainly be a quick watering that your plants so desperately need every now and again.

(Lifehacker.com)

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Things about how to be happy

2014-12-27T16:45:00.004+00:00

Things about how to be happy

Start learning to be more human again. – Gadgets are great, but they can get in the way if you aren’t careful. Control them so they don’t control you. In other words, put down the phone. Don’t avoid eye contact. Don’t hide behind a screen. Ask about people’s stories. Listen. And smile together.
Start filtering out the noise in your life. – Be careful about who you give the microphone and stage to in your life. Don’t just listen to the loudest voice. Listen to the truest one.
Start choosing differently, for your own well-being. – A big part of your life is a result of the little choices you make every day. If you don’t like some part of your life, it’s time to start tweaking things and making better choices, right now, right where you are.
Start being way more productive than you are busy. – There’s a big difference between being busy and being productive. Don’t confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but never makes any forward progress. In other words…
Start dedicating time every day to meaningful activities. – What you do every day matters, but WHY you do what you do matters even more. So quit doing just what you’re able to do; figure out what you were made to do, and then do more of it. And if you only have fifteen minutes a day to spare, no problem – make those fifteen minutes meaningful.
Start being present. – If your mind carries a heavy burden from the past, you will experience more of the same. Let it go. And also be careful not to dwell so much on creating your perfect future life that you forget to live today. Be here now and make the most of it. (Read The Untethered Soul.)
Start replacing your worries with positive actions. – Most of the things I’ve worried about didn’t happen. Most of the things I’ve hoped for and worked hard for did. The same is true for the happiest and most successful people I’ve talked to and worked with over the years. So keep dreaming and keep DOING.
Start running toward things, not away from them. – The best way to move away from something negative is to move toward something positive.
Start letting your love overpower your fear. – There are only two energies at the core of the human experience: Love and Fear. Fear pushes what you want away from you. Love draws it in.
Start doing what’s right, even if it’s not the easiest option. – Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Just because it’s easy, doesn’t mean it’s worth your while. Do what’s right, not what’s easiest right now. It’s a less stressful and regretful way to live in the long run.
Start comparing yourself to yourself, and no one else. – Forget what others have and where they are. You’re not walking in their shoes, and you’ll never comfortably walk in your own if you keep comparing yourself to them. So focus on what’s best for YOU and your unique circumstances. What do you need to do next for your own objectives? Do it! You won’t be distracted by comparison if you’re captivated with purpose.
Start genuinely being happy for others. – The more beauty you find in someone else’s journey, the less you’ll want to compare it to your own.
Start being more tolerant of those who see things differently. – Remember, love and kindness begets love and kindness. The way we love people we disagree with is the best evidence of what we really believe about ourselves.
Start letting grace have the last word. – We’ll only lose the arguments our pride insists on winning. When it’s more important to win arguments than love people, we need to start all over again with our faith and priorities.
Start giving without expectations. – You will end up very disappointed if you expect people will always do for you as you do for them. Not everyone has the same heart as you. Which is why you sometimes must give twice as much without expectations to eventually get something better than you ever imagined. It’s about the long-term, big picture. The fact that you can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another’s, smile at someone and give them hope, is proof that generosity works wonders behind the scenes. So…
Start being the difference you want to see in the world. – Honestly, you were born with the ability to change someone’s life. Don’t ever waste it. Be kind. Be present. Be someone who makes a difference. What you give to another person is really what you give to yourself. When you treat others with love, you learn that you are lovable too.
Start making your “relationship wealth” a top priority. – People who spend all their time trying to make money, spend all their money trying to make time. Don’t do this to yourself. Put first things first. Be wealthy in good friendships and family time from the get-go. (Read The Happiness Project.)
Start SHOWING your loved ones what they mean to you. – Our closest relationships are vital to our happiness. As we tell those we love that we love them, we must never forget that the highest compliment is not to utter words, but to live by them.
Start being grateful for the life that is yours. – Gratitude is simply the awareness of what’s good. Count your blessings, no matter how small, and start with the breath you’re taking now.
Start replacing the phrase “I have to” with “I get to” whenever you catch yourself starting to complain. – So many activities we complain about are things others wish they had the chance to do.
Start opening up to new growth opportunities. – In almost every situation, a little more willingness to acknowledge that there may be something you do not know could change everything. Go somewhere new, and countless opportunities suddenly appear. Do something differently, and all sorts of great new possibilities spring up. Keep an open mind and have fun with life.
Start letting little frustrations go as soon as they arrive. – You can’t let one bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones. Don’t let the silly little dramas of each day get you down. Happiness starts on the inside. You control your thoughts about everything. Meaning, the only person who can hurt your happiness in the long run is YOU.
Start focusing only on what you can control. – Never force anything. Give it your best shot and then let it be. If it’s meant to be, it will be. Don’t hold yourself down with things you can’t control.
Start turning the pages that need to be turned. – No book is just one chapter. No chapter tells the whole story. No mistake defines who we are. Keep turning the pages that need to be turned. (Angel and I discuss this in detail in the “Adversity” chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)
Start embracing the lessons life is teaching you. – Everything that happens helps you grow. Sometimes painful experiences teach us priceless life lessons we didn’t think we needed to know. If you’re having problems, that’s good. It means you’re making progress. The only people with no problems are the ones doing nothing.
Start measuring your progress every day, no matter how small. – You are a work in progress; which means you get there a little at a time, not all at once. You may not be where you want to be yet, but look how far you’ve come, and be grateful that you’re not stuck where you once were.
Start embracing the uncertainty in front of you. – Don’t let not knowing how it’ll end keep you from beginning. Uncertainty chases us out into the open where life’s true magic is waiting.

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How to get Happy

2014-06-23T09:26:00.000+01:00

Happy people:

They devote a great amount of time to their family and friends, nurturing and enjoying those
relationships.
They are comfortable expressing gratitude for all they have.
They are often the first to offer helping hands to coworkers and passersby.
They practice optimism when imagining their futures.
They savor life’s pleasures and try to live in the present moment.
They make physical exercise a weekly and even daily habit.
They are deeply committed to lifelong goals and ambitions (e.g., fighting fraud, building
cabinets, or teaching their children their deeply held values).
Last but not least, the happiest people do have their share of stresses, crises, and even
tragedies. They may become just as distressed and emotional in such circumstances as you or I,
but their secret weapon is the poise and strength they show in coping in the face of challenge

or,

1. Practice mindfulness. Be in the moment. Instead of worrying about your checkup tomorrow

while you have dinner with your family, focus on the here and now — the food, the company, the

conversation.

2. Laugh out loud. Just anticipating a happy, funny event can raise levels of endorphins and

other pleasure-inducing hormones and lower production of stress hormones. Researchers at the

University of California, Irvine, tested 16 men who all agreed they thought a certain videotape

was funny. Half were told three days in advance they would watch it. They started experiencing

biological changes right away. When they actually watched the video, their levels of stress

hormones dropped significantly, while their endorphin levels rose 27 percent and their growth

hormone levels (indicating benefit to the immune system) rose 87 percent.

3. Go to sleep. We have become a nation of sleep-deprived citizens. Taking a daily nap or

getting into bed at 8 p.m. one night with a good book — and turning the light out an hour later

— can do more for your mood and outlook on life than any number of bubble baths or massages.

4. Hum along. Music soothes more than the savage beast. Studies find music activates parts of

the brain that produce happiness — the same parts activated by food or sex. It’s also relaxing.

In one study older adults who listened to their choice of music during outpatient eye surgery

had significantly lower heart rates, blood pressure, and cardiac workload (that is, their heart

didn’t have to work as hard) as those who had silent surgery.

5. Declutter. It’s nearly impossible to meditate, breathe deeply, or simply relax when every

surface is covered with papers and bills and magazines, your cabinets bulge, and you haven’t

balanced your checkbook in six months. Plus, the repetitive nature of certain cleaning tasks —

such as sweeping, wiping, and scrubbing — can be meditative in and of itself if you focus on

what you’re doing.

6. Just say no. Eliminate activities that aren’t necessary and that you don’t enjoy. If there

are enough people already to handle the church bazaar and you’re feeling stressed by the

thought of running the committee for yet another year, step down and let someone else handle

things.

7. Make a list. There’s nothing like writing down your tasks to help you organize your thoughts

and calm your anxiety. Checking off each item provides a great sense of fulfillment.

8. Do one thing at a time. Edward Suarez, Ph.D., associate professor of medical psychology at

Duke, found that people who multitask are more likely to have high blood pressure. Take that

finding to heart. Instead of talking on the phone while you fold laundry or clean the kitchen,

sit down in a comfortable chair and turn your entire attention over to the conversation.

Instead of checking e-mail as you work on other projects, turn off your e-mail function until

you finish the report you’re writing. This is similar to the concept of mindfulness.

9. Garden. Not only will the fresh air and exercise provide their own stress reduction and

feeling of well-being, but the sense of accomplishment that comes from clearing a weedy patch,

watching seeds turn into flowers, or pruning out dead wood will last for hours, if not days.

10. Tune out the news. For one week go without reading the newspaper, watching the news, or

scanning the headlines online. Instead, take a vacation from the misery we’re exposed to every

day via the media and use that time for a walk, a meditation session, or to write in your

journal.

(Read more: www.rd.com/health/wellness/20-simple-ways-to-get-happy/#ixzz35RusQO3F)

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How to be Happy..

2014-02-27T18:45:00.003+00:00

They really do take time to appreciate the little things.

How to be Happy:

Savoring small, positive moments throughout the day can make a big difference in overall happiness:
Flourishing—a state of optimal mental health—has been linked to a host of benefits for the individual and society, including fewer workdays lost and the lowest incidence of chronic physical conditions. The aim of this paper was to investigate whether and how routine activities promote flourishing.

The authors proposed that flourishers thrive because they capitalize on the processes featured in the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, specifically by experiencing greater positive emotional reactivity to pleasant events and building more resources over time. To test these hypotheses, the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) was administered to a prescreened community sample of adults (n = 208), and they were recontacted two to three months later.

Results showed that relative to those who did not flourish or were depressed, people who flourish generally responded with bigger “boosts” in positive emotions in response to everyday, pleasant events (helping, interacting, playing, learning, spiritual activity), and this greater positive emotional reactivity, over time, predicted higher levels of two facets of the cognitive resource of mindfulness. In turn, these higher levels of mindfulness were positively associated with higher levels of flourishing at the end of study, controlling for initial levels of flourishing.

These results suggest that the promotion of well-being may be fueled by small, yet consequential differences in individuals’ emotional experience of pleasant everyday events. Additionally, these results underscore the utility of the broaden-and-build theory in understanding the processes by which flourishing is promoted and provide support for a positive potentiation perspective.

Source: “A Tuesday in the Life of a Flourisher: The Role of Positive Emotional Reactivity in Optimal Mental Health” from Emotion, Volume 11, Issue 4, August 2011, Pages 938-950

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One word to get happy

2014-01-31T17:29:00.001+00:00

For Happiness Say Yes

“Yes” creates opportunity. Saying yes a lot makes more things happen.

And research shows that lots of little good things are the path to happiness. Spending money on many little pleasures beats

rare big positives.

One researcher, for example, interviewed people of all income levels in the United Kingdom and found that those who

frequently treated themselves to low-cost indulgences— picnics, extravagant cups of coffee, and treasured DVDs— were more

satisfied with their lives. Other scientists have found that no-cost or low-cost activities can yield small boosts to

happiness in the short term that cumulate, one step at a time, to produce a large impact on happiness in the long term.

Saying yes to activities and events keeps you busy — and studies show you’re happier when you’re busy.

The happiest people are those that are very busy but don’t feel rushed:

Who among us are the most happy? Newly published research suggests it is those fortunate folks who have little or no excess

time, and yet seldom feel rushed.

So say yes to things and stay active — especially socializing, which makes us happier than almost anything else.

Having a better social life can be worth as much as an additional $131,232 a year in terms of life satisfaction.

And research shows that making more opportunities — saying yes — actually makes you luckier.

Hold on. I know what you’re thinking:

If I say yes to everything that comes down the pike, won’t more bad things happen too?

First off, I’m not telling you to say yes to armed robbery or heroin.

And studies show that as we get older we remember the good and forget the bad. So more stuff makes for happier memories.

What about regrets? Yes, we all occasionally say yes to dumb things and later regret them.

But what do you learn when you look at the things most people regret before they die?

For the most part the old saw is true: we regret the things we didn’t do more than the things we did.

Want to be happier? Make “yes” your default.

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The best way to get smarter, happier, healthier and ..

2014-01-18T17:01:00.002+00:00

A scientifically validated way to get smarter, happier, healthier and calmer?

Stop reading this right now and go for a walk.

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Exercise Powers The Body — And The Mind
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They used to say you don’t grow new brain cells. They were wrong.
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As an illustration of just how new this territory is, I’ll go back to the story of neurogenesis, the once-heretical theory that the brain grows new nerve cells throughout life. “Ten years ago people weren’t even convinced that it happened,” says neurologist Scott Small. It was at his Columbia University lab, in 2007, where they witnessed telltale signs of neurogenesis for the first time in live humans. “Five years ago people said, OK, it might happen, but is it really meaningful? Now there isn’t a week that goes by where there’s not another study that shows neurogenesis has some kind of effect on the brain.”

What really feeds those baby brain cells? Hitting the gym.
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A 3 month exercise regimen increased bloodflow to the part of your brain focused on memory and learning by 30%.
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n his study, Small put a group of volunteers on a three-month exercise regimen and then took pictures of their brains. By manipulating a standard MRI machine’s processing— essentially zooming in and cocking the shutter open— he captured images of the newly formed capillaries required for nascent neurons to survive. What he saw was that the capillary volume in the memory area of the hippocampus increased by 30 percent, a truly remarkable change.

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The Dumb Jock Is A Myth
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Being in good shape increases your ability to learn. After exercise people pick up new vocabulary words 20% faster.
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One of the prominent features of exercise, which is sometimes not appreciated in studies, is an improvement in the rate of learning, and I think that’s a really cool take-home message,” Cotman says. “Because it suggests that if you’re in good shape, you may be able to learn and function more efficiently.”

Indeed, in a 2007 study of humans, German researchers found that people learn vocabulary words 20 percent faster following exercise than they did before exercise, and that the rate of learning correlated directly with levels of BDNF.

Want to be more creative? Sweating for about a half hour on the treadmill notably increases cognitive flexibility.
----------
A notable experiment in 2007 showed that cognitive flexibility improves after just one thirty-five-minute treadmill session at either 60 percent or 70 percent of maximum heart rate… Cognitive flexibility is an important executive function that reflects our ability to shift thinking and to produce a steady flow of creative thoughts and answers as opposed to a regurgitation of the usual responses.

Fine, you can see differences on an MRI and with nerdy tests. Does it make a difference in the real world?

Yes.
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Office workers who exercised at lunch were more productive, less stressed and had more energy.
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In 2004 researchers at Leeds Metropolitan University in England found that workers who used their company’s gym were more productive and felt better able to handle their workloads. Most of the 210 participants in the study took an aerobics class at lunchtime, for forty-five minutes to an hour, but others lifted weights or practiced yoga for thirty minutes to an hour. They filled out questionnaires at the end of every workday about how well they interacted with colleagues, managed their time, and met deadlines. Some 65 percent fared better in all three categories on days they exercised. Overall, they felt better about their work and less stressed when they exercised. And they felt less fatigued in the afternoon, despite expending energy at lunchtime.

That super-productive co-worker who runs every day might not exercise because they have energy — they might have energy because they exercise.
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Sweating Increases Smiling
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Can’t make it simpler than this: Research from Duke University shows exercise is as effective as antidepressants in treating depression
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In a landmark study affectionately called SMILE (Standard Medical Intervention and Long-term Exercise), James Blumenthal and his colleagues pitted exercise against the SSRI sertraline (Zoloft) in a sixteen-week trial… Blumenthal concluded that exercise was as effective as medication.

It also reduces anxiety.
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One interesting study in 2005 measured the physical and mental effects of exercise in a group of Chilean high school students for nine months… The experimental group’s anxiety scores dropped 14 percent versus a statistically insignificant 3 percent for the control group (an improvement that could be explained by the placebo effect).

What if you’re not depressed or anxious? Stay sedentary and you’re 1.5x more likely to eventually become depressed.
----------
Researchers tracked 8,023 people for twenty-six years, surveying them about a number of factors related to lifestyle habits and healthiness starting in 1965. They checked back in with the participants in 1974 and in 1983. Of all the people with no signs of depression at the beginning, those who became inactive over the next nine years were 1.5 times more likely to have depression by 1983 than their active counterparts.

Still not convinced? People who exercise are, across the board, mentally healthier: less depression, anger, stress, and distrust.
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A massive Dutch study of 19,288 twins and their families published in 2006 showed that exercisers are less anxious, less depressed, less neurotic, and also more socially outgoing. A Finnish study of 3,403 people in 1999 showed that those who exercise at least two to three times a week experience significantly less depression, anger, stress, and “cynical distrust” than those who exercise less or not at all.
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Okay, Okay — How Much Do I Need To Do?
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What’s optimal? Exercise 6 days a week, 45 minutes to an hour per day.
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The best, however, based on everything I’ve read and seen, would be to do some form of aerobic activity six days a week, for forty-five minutes to an hour… In total, I’m talking about committing six hours a week to your brain. That works out to 5 percent of your waking hours.

Stop rolling your eyes. It’s not all or nothing.

Regarding body health and brain health, experts and neuroscientists agree: “A little is good, and more is better.”

Here’s something proven to make you smarter, healthier, and happier. What could be a better investment of your time?

(source:http://www.bakadesuyo.com)

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Happiness with P..P..P..P.. !

2014-01-03T19:24:00.001+00:00

Happiness with 4 P’s.

Purpose
Perspective
People
Play

Work those into every day and you’ll be smiling more.

Purpose

This one gets short shrift in the modern era so we’ll put it first. You don’t need to live and die by the Bushido code but the best lives have purpose.

Studies of older Americans find that one of the best predictors of happiness is whether a person considers his or her life to have a purpose. Without a clearly defined purpose, seven in ten individuals feel unsettled about their lives; with a purpose, almost seven in ten feel satisfied. - Lepper 1996

This can be religion or a set of ethics or goals. But your vision of your life needs structure.

Research on the effect of religion on life satisfaction found that regardless of what religion people affiliated themselves with, those who had strongly held spiritual beliefs were typically satisfied with life, while those who had no spiritual beliefs typically were unsatisfied. – Gerwood, LeBlanc, and Piazza 1998

Being happy and being moral buttress each other. People who feel they lack morals report they are half as likely to feel happy compared to those who feel they are moral. – Garrett 1996

Goals are crucial to one’s orientation to the world and to life satisfaction. If one’s goals conform to one’s self-concept, it increases by 43 percent the likelihood that goals will contribute in a positive fashion to life satisfaction. – Emmons and Kaiser 1996

And it’s not enough to just have beliefs. We really feel good when we make progress toward our ideals.

In research on hundreds of college students, individuals were found to be happiest when they felt they were moving closer to achieving their goals. Students who could not see progress were three times less likely to feel satisfied than students who could. - McGregor and Little 1998

Perspective

Happiness is more about how you look at life than what actually happens.

Happy people and unhappy people’s lives, objectively, are not all that different.

Happy people do not experience one success after another and unhappy people, one failure after another. Instead, surveys show that happy and unhappy people tend to have had very similar life experiences. The difference is that the average unhappy person spends more than twice as much time thinking about unpleasant events in their lives, while happy people tend to seek and rely upon information that brightens their personal outlook. - Lyubomirsky 1994

Compare yourself to those better than you and you’ll feel bad. Compare against those below you and you’ll feel better.

…despite that the circumstances might be exactly the same.

A large group of students was given a word puzzle to solve. Researchers compared the satisfaction of students who finished the puzzle quickly or more slowly. Students who finished the puzzle quickly and compared themselves with the very fastest students came away feeling dissatisfied with themselves. Students who finished the puzzle more slowly but compared themselves with the slowest students came away feeling quite satisfied with themselves and tended to ignore the presence of the quick-finishing students.- Lyubomirsky and Ross 1997

If you focus on the added work and pressure, even a promotion can be seen as negative.

People who have experienced similar life events can wind up with nearly opposite perceptions of life satisfaction. Researchers have compared, for example, people who have received a job promotion, and they found that while some of the people treasure the opportunity others lament the added responsibility. The implications of life events are a matter of perspective. – Chen 1996

Happy people see negative things as isolated incidents. Unhappy people see bad times as part of who they are.

In a study of adult self-esteem, researchers found that people who are happy with themselves take defeat and explain it away, treating it as an isolated incident that indicates nothing about their ability. People who are unhappy take defeat and enlarge it, making it stand for who they are and using it to predict the outcome of future life events. – Brown and Dutton 1995

People

70% of happiness is your relationships with other people.

Contrary to the belief that happiness is hard to explain, or that it depends on having great wealth, researchers have identified the core factors in a happy life. The primary components are number of friends, closeness of friends, closeness of family, and relationships with co-workers and neighbors. Together these features explain about 70 percent of personal happiness. – Murray and Peacock 1996

Do you have a group of people you feel very close to? You’re four times as likely to be happy.

Close relationships, more than personal satisfaction or one’s view of the world as a whole, are the most meaningful factors in happiness. If you feel close to other people, you are four times as likely to feel good about yourself than if you do not feel close to anyone. - Magen, Birenbaum, and Pery 1996

Friends and family were nine times more important than money when it comes to being happy.

In a study using surveys and daily observation, the availability of material resources was nine times less important to happiness than the availability of “personal” resources such as friends and family. – Diener and Fujita 1995

And it’s not just getting. Giving has a huge effect on happiness.

Life satisfaction was found to improve 24 percent with the level of altruistic activity. – Williams, Haber, Weaver, and Freeman 1998

In an experimental research program, a relationship was found between happiness and helping behavior. By helping others, we create positive bonds with people and enhance our self image. Those who had more opportunities to offer help felt 11 percent better about themselves. – Pegalis 1994

It’s hard to tell how happy you are from knowing how many problems you have.

It’s much easier to tell by knowing how many people love you.

The need for support or the number of problems individuals face is a less strong predictor of their happiness than the amount of support available to them. – Jou and Fukada 1997

Play

It’s not all serious, deep stuff. You need to have plain old fun to really have a happy life.

Regularly having fun is one of the five central factors in leading a satisfied life. Individuals who spend time just having fun are 20 percent more likely to feel happy on a daily basis and 36 percent more likely to feel comfortable with their age and stage in life. – Lepper 1996

Laugh.

In studies of hundreds of adults, happiness was found to be related to humor. The ability to laugh, whether at life itself or at a good joke, is a source of life satisfaction. Indeed, those who enjoy silly humor are one-third more likely to feel happy. - Solomon 1996

Rest.

Quality and quantity of sleep contribute to health, well-being, and a positive outlook. For those who sleep less than eight hours, every hour of sleep sacrificed results in an 8 percent less positive feeling about their day. – Pilcher and Ott 1998

Exercise.

Research on physical activity finds that exercise increases self-confidence, which in turn strengthens self-evaluations. Regular exercise, including brisk walks, directly increases happiness 12 percent, and can indirectly make a dramatic contribution to improving self-image. – Fontane 1996

Read.

Reading engages the mind. Reading materials, by exercising our memory and imagination, can contribute to happiness in ways similar to active positive thinking. Regular readers are about 8 percent more likely to express daily satisfaction. – Scope 1999

Keep The 4 P’s In Mind

(http://www.bakadesuyo.com)

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself in your way of thinking.” - Marcus Aurelius,

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$16 million lottery ticket expires in Florida

2013-12-19T17:36:00.005+00:00

$16 million lottery ticket expires in Florida

A $16.6 million cut of a winning Powerball jackpot expired without a claim Thursday night in Florida, the 180-day deadline passing without the lucky ticket holder coming forward.

The ticket was purchased at a Carrollwood Market, a convenience store in Tampa, Fla., in May. When 2, 6, 19, 21, 27 and a Powerball of 25 were drawn on May 25, the holder was entitled to a third of a $50 million jackpot. Two other winners claimed their shares in Delaware and Louisiana.

In a case where a jackpot ticket is not claimed, “the funds to pay a jackpot that goes unclaimed will be returned to the lottery members in their proportion of sales for the jackpot rollover series,” according to the site.

In Florida, current law requires 80 percent of all unclaimed prizes to be transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, a fund that provides educational benefits to the state such as scholarships and school construction projects. The rest of the money goes back to the lottery.

This is not the first time a Powerball jackpot went unclaimed. In 2011, a $77.1 million prize expired after a winning ticket holder in Georgia never came forward.

(source: usnews.nbcnews.com)

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Lottery jackpot: Hundreds of millions unclaimed every year

2013-12-19T17:29:00.000+00:00

Lottery jackpot: Hundreds of millions unclaimed every year

More than a half a billion dollars went missing last year — in glove compartments, washing machines, desk drawers and sometimes even literally in the trash.
That's because big lottery jackpots that go unclaimed or come close to expiring get plenty of attention, but people fail to cash out on millions in smaller prizes every year — especially casual players who

only jump in when the jackpot swells as big as Tuesday’s Mega Millions drawing, which was hovering around $640 million.

NBC News reached out to the 43 states that participate in Mega Millions and Powerball to find out just how much money is left unclaimed at the end of the year.
More than 30 states responded, and the results were staggering.

In 2013, there was more than $500 million in unclaimed lottery prizes from scratch-off games, Lotto and daily games. While the number fluctuates each year, it can sometimes total more than big Mega Millions

and Powerball individual jackpots.

And 2013 was an unusually low year, according to several state lottery officials.
“Everybody must need their money this year,” said Danielle Frizzi-Babb, a spokeswoman for the Ohio state lottery. This year, Ohio’s unclaimed prizes totaled $16.2 million, but Frizzi-Babb said it’s usually

higher.

When a jackpot gets as big as Tuesday’s people get so excited about the jackpot that they forget there are smaller but substantial prizes to be had. If see that the jackpot number wasn’t hit, or see that

someone won in a different state, they often just scrap their ticket.
“When you have a number that’s that large, everyone gets focused on the jackpot and they do lose sight of the fact that there are second, third, fourth place prizes,” said Christy Calicchia, a spokeswoman for the New York state lottery.

For example according to the Mega Millions website, the second prize, for someone who matched just five numbers, is $1 million, with odds of 1 in 18,492,204. Matching four numbers gets you $500, and matching

three numbers plus the mega ball wins $50. With odds of 1-in-10,720, that's not so bad compared to the one-in-258,890,850 chance of hitting the jackpot.
But many big money seekers don't even realize they can cash in with less than a perfect ticket.

“There are some people who really only play when the jackpot is high,” Calicchia said.

According to Monday’s projections, ticket sales on Tuesday would be more than double than last week when the jackpot was a relatively measly $344 million, said Paula Otto, the Mega Millions' lead director.
And all of those people that lottery experts call “occasional players” might not know that even if they don’t win the jackpot, they could still be holding a $5 million ticket if they “megaplied” by adding an
extra dollar when they bought their ticket, Otto said.

“We used to do a little tracking of unclaimed prizes years ago, but have given up,” said Charles Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association. Now, individual states maintain their own
records.

(source: usnews.nbcnews.com)

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How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big:

2013-12-08T20:02:00.002+00:00

Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big:

Scott Adams created a multimillion dollar empire. That empire is more commonly known as”Dilbert.”
I mentioned him on this blog before because he gave some of the simplest, most profound advice for getting along with people that I’ve ever heard:
Be brief and say something positive.
If you’ve read Dilbert, you know Adams understands a great deal about human nature.
(Then again I probably relate more to Calvin and Hobbes than most of the western canon.)
His new book, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life, has a number of useful insights about life.
And what’s really fascinating is they line up with a lot of the research I’ve posted about before.
Here are 5 great life lessons he gives and the research I’ve posted that backs them up:

Have A System, Not A Goal
This is such a powerful distinction. Losing 20lbs is a goal, eating right is a system. Which one do you think provides a better path to success?

…one should have a system instead of a goal. The system-versus-goals model can be applied to most human endeavors. In the world of dieting, losing twenty pounds is a goal, but eating right is a system. In the exercise realm, running a marathon in under four hours is a goal, but exercising daily is a system. In business, making a million dollars is a goal, but being a serial entrepreneur is a system.
A system provides a method and requires activity on a regular basis. That’s how successful people operate.

For our purposes, let’s agree that goals are a reach-it-and-be-done situation, whereas a system is something you do on a regular basis with a reasonable expectation that doing so will get you to a better place in your life. Systems have no deadlines, and on any given day you probably can’t tell if they’re moving you in the right direction. My proposition is that if you study people who succeed, you will see that most of them follow systems, not goals…
Oliver Burkeman pointed out research that made a very similar distinction in my interview with him:
The best thing to do is to set process goals rather than outcome goals. Stop telling yourself you’re going to write the great American novel, and tell yourself you’re going to do 500 words a day. Step back from focusing on the outcome and focus on process.

Success Creates Passion More Than Passion Creates Success
Many people are passionate about things but don’t follow through. Passion is great — but it’s not everything.

…my boss taught us that you should never make a loan to someone who is following his passion. For example, you don’t want to give money to a sports enthusiast who is starting a sports store to pursue his passion for all things sporty. That guy is a bad bet, passion and all. He’s in business for the wrong reason. My boss, who had been a commercial lender for over thirty years, said the best loan customer is one who has no passion whatsoever, just a desire to work hard at something that looks good on a spreadsheet… Passionate people who fail don’t get a chance to offer their advice to the rest of us…
Dilbert didn’t start out as a passion project. Adams describes it as another get-rich-quick scheme he had.
But once it became successful he developed passion for it.

…Dilbert started out as just one of many get-rich schemes I was willing to try. When it started to look as if it might be a success, my passion for cartooning increased because I realized it could be my golden ticket. In hindsight, it looks as if the projects I was most passionate about were also the ones that worked. But objectively, my passion level moved with my success. Success caused passion more than passion caused success.
This sounds a lot like what Georgetown professor Cal Newport said in our interview:
I set out to research a simple question: How do people end up loving what they do? If you ask people, the most common answer you’ll get is, “They followed their passion.” So I went out and researched: “Is this true?” From what I found, “Follow your passion” is terrible advice… My advice is to abandon the passion mindset which asks “What does this job offer me? Am I happy with this job? Is it giving me everything I want?” Shift from that mindset to Steve Martin’s mindset, which is “What am I offering the world? How valuable am I? Am I really not that valuable? If I’m not that valuable, then I shouldn’t expect things in my working life. How can I get better?”

Focus On Energy, Not Time
Scott Adams determines what activities to engage in by his energy level. To be creative he needs peak energy, so he draws Dilbert in the morning.
By the afternoon, his brain is fuzzy. That’s a good time for busy work.

The way I approach the problem of multiple priorities is by focusing on just one main metric: my energy. I make choices that maximize my personal energy because that makes it easier to manage all of the other priorities.
One of the most important tricks for maximizing your productivity involves matching your mental state to the task… At 6: 00 A.M. I’m a creator, and by 2: 00 P.M. I’m a copier… It’s the perfect match of my energy level with a mindless task.
How can you do this if you’re not a rich and famous cartoonist? Wake up early to work on your own projects first.

Most people aren’t lucky enough to have a flexible schedule. I didn’t have one either for the first sixteen years of my corporate life. So I did the next best thing by going to bed early and getting up at 4: 00 A.M. to do my creative side projects. One of those projects became the sketches for Dilbert.
Sounds like my main takeaway from The Power of Full Engagement:
Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.

(more: www.bakadesuyo.com )

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Family wins 50 million in Lottery

2013-08-11T22:06:00.000+01:00

TORONTO - When Lynda Powell struggled to speak about her family's $50 million lottery win Monday, her husband and children joked she had lost her voice after hours of excited screaming and non-stop chatter ever since winning the July 5 Lotto Max jackpot.
The Peterborough, Ont., family — made up of father John, mother Lynda and adult children Daniel, Gaylene, Michael and Sion — gathered in Toronto to receive their giant cheque from Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.
Lynda Powell, who quit her job Monday as a dietary aide at a retirement home, was the first to find out about winning Friday's jackpot.
"I checked the ticket on the self-scanner after grocery shopping and was shocked to see all the zeros," she said in a statement handed out to reporters on account of her laryngitis.
She returned home to tell her husband, who needed to check the numbers himself.
Wearing pyjamas and slippers, John Powell went to the local corner store, in disbelief over the win.
News spread amongst the family, and on Saturday night they gathered to celebrate.
Sion Powell said upon seeing everyone's cars parked the driveway, he thought something was wrong or he had missed a birthday dinner.
"I approached the deck, everyone's yelling at me," he said, adding no one was able to reach him during the day. "A family of jokers, you don't really think it's true."
The winning ticket was closely guarded over the weekend by 66-year-old Lynda Powell, who took it to work, hiding it inside a sock and locking it away.
"She didn't want to leave it out of her sight," Sion Powell said.
The 38-year-old said his mother had played the lottery "religiously" for 25 years but for the last few years the family bought tickets together.
Though they have no firm plans on what to do with all the money, a family vacation to Wales — where 71-year-old John Powell is originally from — is in the works.
"We have some extended family, we're going to be a little bit gracious and look after some people," Sion Powell said.
He added that a four-door Land Rover and trips to visit friends in North America are on the top of his personal wish list.
"I need a new phone, nobody could message me that day," he said, with a laugh.
As for possible family squabbles over the money, Powell said the close-knit clan won't have a problem.
"I think we're grounded enough that it wouldn't have an effect on us," he said. "We're all equal winners."

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The Ultimate Lucky Personal Numbers, Randomize my Family Machine !

2013-07-28T19:20:00.002+01:00

Don't always end up with the same numbers !

GOTo:
http://www.luckynumbers4u.com/luckynumbers_mixyourfamily.html

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Is life a game ?

2013-06-28T17:24:00.002+01:00

Is life a game ?

Saying “life is a game” seems to encourage you to take life less seriously. But it can also make you take it more seriously by getting you more invested and interested — the way any good game does.
“Scoring points” of any kind has an interesting effect. What gets measured gets managed.

Kids do better in school when it’s treated as a game and scored:

The class and its grading procedure include a number of features modeled on the computer game World of Warcraft, complete with “quests,” “monsters,” and “guilds.” Throughout the semester, the students can compare their standing with that of their classmates and devise a plan to accumulate more experience points. Whenever they do well on their assignments or exams, they earn points rather than traditional grades. When Sheldon introduced this system, he found that his students worked harder and were also more enthusiastic in class. In addition, the new system triggered collaborative behavior among the students and reduced cheating.

Want to quit a bad habit? Initially, don’t worry about reducing how often you do it, just monitoring the amount can help a lot.

Behavioral economist H. Rachlin proposes an interesting trick for overcoming the problem of always starting a change tomorrow. When you want to change a behavior, aim to reduce the variability in your behavior, not the behavior itself. He has shown that smokers asked to try to smoke the same number of cigarettes every day gradually decrease their overall smoking— even when they are explicitly told not to try to smoke less.

And becoming happier is no different.

The most powerful psychology technique for increasing happiness is merely to count three things a day you feel thankful for. As M. Seligman, professor at the University of Pennsylvania explains:

Every night for the next week, set aside ten minutes before you go to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well. You may use a journal or your computer to write about the events, but it is important that you have a physical record of what you wrote. The three things need not be earthshaking in importance (“ My husband picked up my favorite ice cream for dessert on the way home from work today”), but they can be important (“ My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy”). Next to each positive event, answer the question “Why did this happen?”

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News and Happiness ?

2013-06-09T12:17:00.000+01:00

What does research say about news and happiness?

Research has shown that TV news throws off our ability to be accurate judges of life’s risks and rewards:

Psychologists have found that people who watch less TV are actually more accurate judges of life’s risks and rewards than those who subject themselves to the tales of crime, tragedy, and death that appear night after night on the ten o’clock news. That’s because these people are less likely to see sensationalized or one-sided sources of information, and thus see reality more clearly.

And studies have also concluded that the news can make depression worse:

This study examines television viewing motives and psychological outcomes of television news viewing by persons in depressive moods. Subjects were measured for depression, motives for television use, and psychological outcomes of viewing TV newscasts. Results suggest that, in general, television viewing can serve as a means of escape from depressive moods, although viewing of news programming may exacerbate such moods.

And what news bothers us the most? :

People appear to dislike politics and politicians so much that prompting them to think about them has a very large downward effect on their assessment of their own lives. The effect of asking the political questions on well-being is only a little less than the effect of someone becoming unemployed, so that to get the same effect on average well-being, three-quarters of the population would have to lose their jobs.

What to do?
Try a news fast. Set a period of time, like a week, and don’t read or watch the news. See what happens.

I think you’ll be surprised how little going without it genuinely impacts your life. And you might end up happier.

(source: E. Barker)

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How to be the best with 5 things

2013-06-02T11:26:00.000+01:00

1) Realize it’s not about natural talent. It’s about hard work.

We all know intelligence is important, creativity is important… but how much do these types of natural talent control really what you can achieve in life?
In ~95% of cases, they don’t.

Read more: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/01/checklist-best/#ixzz2V3MgX2Zw

2) 10,000 hours is not the whole story

As Malcolm Gladwell discussed in his bestseller, “Outliers“, to become an expert it takes 10,000 hours (or approximately 10 years), right? Wrong. It takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. That means actively working to improve. Just showing up doesn’t cut it.
Most people may do something for 10,000 hours (driving a car over the course of a lifetime) but never get anywhere near expert level (Formula One). Most people plateau and some even get worse.

3) Make your practice as close to the real thing as possible

Nothing beats really doing it

4) Commit to the long term

Merely deciding you’re committed for the long-term vs the short-term makes an enormous difference

5) The best goal is merely to “get better”

When challenged, focus on “getting better” — not doing well or looking good. Get-better goals increase motivation, make tasks more interesting and replenish energy

Read more: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/01/checklist-best/#ixzz2V3Lu4Q00

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Ways that improve your happiness:

2013-05-19T10:59:00.002+01:00

Think about time

One of the chapters in Happy Money is all about buying time. So, everything you buy, think about how it’s going to affect your time. Not the product itself, but what you’re going to do with it later and that massively changes your decision-making. So, not to come back to TVs, but buying a TV, you think, “Oh. This is going to be great. I’m going to have friends over and we’re going to watch TV and the kids will be there. We’ll have family movie night.” It turns out, when you buy a TV, what you do is you watch it by yourself in a dark room. It’s not good for you. If you think about, “Wait. How am I actually going to use this TV? How will it actually change my time?” you might say, “Maybe I don’t want to get a TV.“

Those kinds of decisions, alone, are very important to think about, not your fantasy of what it’s going to do, but “How will this actually change the time I spend in the weeks going forward?” and a TV commits you to thousands of hours by yourself, and that is not good for our happiness. I use this in my own life.

Really think about everything you buy. If you want to buy a huge house, that’s great. If it’s adding a two-hour commute, that’s not great, and think about not just, “Oh. Commute’s fine. I can do a commute.“ Think about two hours every day for the rest of your life. Do you really want to add that to your time or do you want to stay in the house that you’re in? It’s really an important thing to think about.

“Make it a treat”

The idea is that the things that you really like a lot, stop. Stop it. So, if you love, every day, having the same coffee, don’t have it for a few days and, when you wait, and then you have it again, it’s going to be way more amazing than all of the ones that you would have had in the meantime.

The problem with that is, on any given day, it’s better to have a coffee than not, but if you wait three days and don’t have it, it’s going to be way better once you finally do. Interrupting our consumption is free. It actually saves you money and gets you more happiness out of the money spent. It’s like the best of all worlds, but we’re completely unable to do it, because we always want to watch the thing or eat the thing right now. It’s not “give it up forever.” It’s “give it up for short periods of time, and I promise you you’re going to love it even more when you come back to it.”

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5 smart ways to buy happiness:

2013-05-15T17:29:00.000+01:00

Buy Experiences
.Make It A Treat
Buy Time
Pay Now, Consume Later
Invest In Others

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Tips that can help build a happier life:

2013-05-14T17:38:00.003+01:00

1) Cut the small talk. Discuss what matters.
2) Make sure to have at least five friends you can discuss your problems with.
3) Don’t just cheer people up. Celebrate their good news.
4) Write down your hopes and dreams.
5) Live a month like it’s your last.
6) Know what makes everyone happy and everyone sad.
7) Join a group.
8) For a happier life, set goals.
9) Optimism can save your life.
10) Anticipating happiness will double your happiness.

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Advice on Happiness

2013-05-07T18:46:00.002+01:00

Older people’s advice on happiness:

What I consistently heard was that you can choose to be happy on a day-to-day basis, despite external circumstances.

A lot of them think of young people as believing that you can be happy if only something occurs: if only they lose weight, gain weight, find a partner, lose a partner, get new job, get a different job, etc. They argue that once you hit 70, if you can’t learn to be happy in spite of bad things happening to you, you aren’t going to be happy for those 20 or 30 years. Almost everybody learned at some point in their life, that happiness is more of a choice than it is a condition. The reason why that’s not just a cliche to these folks is that they’ve been through all the stuff, especially in their 80′s and 90′s, that keeps young people awake at night. They know what they’re talking about. Almost everybody can point to a moment, or a day, or a week where they were feeling miserable about something, and they changed their attitude rather than the circumstance.

Those are really two of the most fundamental lessons, that happiness is a choice, not a condition and you take responsibility for happiness.

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Money and Happiness ??

2013-04-18T17:55:00.001+01:00

6 ways money *can* buy happiness:

1) Spend Your Money On Many Small Pleasures Instead Of A Few Big Ones

One researcher, for example, interviewed people of all income levels in the United Kingdom and found that those who frequently treated themselves to low-cost indulgences— picnics, extravagant cups of coffee, and treasured DVDs— were more satisfied with their lives. Other scientists have found that no-cost or low-cost activities can yield small boosts to happiness in the short term that cumulate, one step at a time, to produce a large impact on happiness in the long term.

2) Spend Money On Fundamental Feelings

If money isn’t making us happy, it’s likely because we are spending it to keep up with the neighbors, validate our wealth, or flaunt our looks, power, and status. The problem, then, isn’t in the money but in how we use it. Perhaps the most direct and most reliable way to maximize the happiness and fulfillment that we can extract from money is through need-satisfying pursuits— for example, by spending our capital on developing ourselves as people, on growing, and on investing in interpersonal connections. In other words, the purchases or expenses that will yield the greatest emotional benefit are those that involve goals that satisfy at least one of the three basic human needs—( 1) competence (i.e., feeling capable or expert), (2) relatedness (i.e., belonging and feeling connected to others), and (3) autonomy (i.e., feeling a sense of mastery and control over one’s life). Such activities have been shown by researchers to bring happiness and, equally important, not to stimulate ever-increasing addiction-like desires for more and more.

3) Spend Money On Others, Not Yourself

In a groundbreaking set of studies, University of British Columbia professor Elizabeth Dunn and her collaborators set out to test the notion that money can buy happiness, but only if it’s spent pro-socially— that is, when we invest in others rather than in ourselves. First, they surveyed a nationally representative sample of over six hundred U.S. residents on their spending habits, and found that the more they spent their money on gifts for others and charitable donations, the happier they were. Notably, the amount they spent on gifts for themselves, bills, and expenses was unrelated to their happiness.

4) Spend Money To Give You Time
If we spend our money to open up more “free” hours in the day— for example, by reducing our work hours (because we already make enough) or paying others to perform time-consuming chores (e.g., fix the plumbing, stand in line at the post office, fill in tedious documents, call airlines)— we can spend our time enjoying those things in life that both empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests make us happy. Essentially, these activities include the kinds of need-satisfying pursuits I discussed earlier— for example, connecting with friends, nurturing intimate relationships, socializing at parties, consuming art, music, and literature, learning new languages and skills, honing talents, and volunteering at our neighborhood hospital, church, or animal shelter. Tellingly, these are precisely the activities that people on the brink of death, like mountaineers caught in a blizzard on Mount Everest, wish they would have spent more time doing in their everyday lives. Therein lies the rub. The critical issue is how we consume the extra time we buy. If, instead of doing something meaningful, engaging, fruitful, or growth-promoting, we fritter the hours away by mindlessly watching television shows, obsessing over our looks or gadgets, or drifting aimlessly from one undertaking to the next, then happiness will surely not come from riches.

5) Spend Money Now But Wait To Enjoy It

For example, a month before embarking on a guided twelve-day tour of several European cities, eager travelers report expecting to enjoy their trip significantly more than they actually do during the twelve days. Identical results are found when students are surveyed about their expectations three days before their Thanksgiving vacation, and when midwesterners are surveyed three weeks before a bicycle trip across California. Indeed, researchers who studied a thousand Dutch vacationers concluded that by far the greatest amount of happiness extracted from the vacation is derived from the anticipation period, a finding that suggests that we should not only prolong that period but aim to take several small vacations rather than one mega-vacation.

6) Spend Your Money On Experiences Rather Than Possessions

Growing evidence reveals that it is experiences— not things— that make us happy. Many experiences, such as hikes with friends or family game nights, are virtually free. And many others— road trips, boozy dinners, sports tournaments, cooking lessons, and rock concerts— cost money…In sum, the research on the superiority of experiences over possessions is hugely persuasive, and all of us— but especially those of us with meager budgets— would do well to apply its recommendations. However, it’s important to remember that material things can also make us happy— as long as we turn them into experiences. We could take along our family and friends in an adventure in our new car; we could throw a party on our new deck; and we could practice a self-improvement program on our new smartphone.

(source:www.bakadesuyo.com- by Eric Barker)

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How to improve your life:

2013-04-13T17:33:00.001+01:00

1) Get out in nature:
You probably seriously underestimate how important this is. (Actually, there’s research that says you do.) Being in nature reduces stress, makes you more creative, improves your memory and may even make you a better person.

2) Exercise:
We all know how important this is, but few people do it consistently. Other than health benefits too numerous to mention, exercise makes you smarter, happier, improves sleep, increases libido and makes you feel better about your body. A Harvard study that has tracked a group of men for more than 70 years identified it as one of the secrets to a good life.

3) Spend time with friends and family:
Harvard happiness expert Daniel Gilbert identified this as one of the biggest sources of happiness in our lives. Relationships are worth more than you think (approximately an extra $131,232 a year.) Not feeling socially connected can make you stupider and kill you. Loneliness can lead to heart attack, stroke and diabetes. The longest lived people on the planet all place a strong emphasis on social engagement and good relationships are more important to a long life than even exercise. Friends are key to improving your life. Share good news and enthusiatically respond when others share good news with you to improve your relationships. Want to instantly be happier? Do something kind for them.

4) Express gratitude:
It will make you happier.
It will improve your relationships.
It can make you a better person.
It can make life better for everyone around you.

5) Meditate:
Meditation can increase happiness, meaning in life, social support and attention span while reducing anger, anxiety, depression and fatigue. Along similar lines, prayer can make you feel better — even if you’re not religious.

6) Get enough sleep:
You can’t cheat yourself on sleep and not have it affect you. Being tired actually makes it harder to be happy. Lack of sleep = more likely to get sick. “Sleeping on it” does improve decision making. Lack of sleep can make you more likely to behave unethically. There is such a thing as beauty sleep.
Naps are great too. Naps increase alertness and performance on the job, enhance learning ability and purge negative emotions while enhancing positive ones. Here’s how to improve your naps.

7) Challenge yourself:
Learning another language can keep your mind sharp. Music lessons increase intelligence. Challenging your beliefs strengthens your mind. Increasing willpower just takes a little effort each day and it’s more responsible for your success than IQ. Not getting an education or taking advantage of opportunities are two of the things people look back on their lives and regret the most.

8) Laugh:
People who use humor to cope with stress have better immune systems, reduced risk of heart attack and stroke, experience less pain during dental work and live longer. Laughter should be like a daily vitamin. Just reminiscing about funny moments can improve your relationship. Humor has many benefits.

9) Touch someone:
Touching can reduce stress, improve team performance, and help you be persuasive. Hugs make you happier. Sex may help prevent heart attacks and cancer, improve your immune system and extend your life.

10) Be optimistic:
Optimism can make you healthier, happier and extend your life. The Army teaches it in order to increase mental toughness in soldiers. Being overconfident improves performance.
(www.bakadesuyo.com)

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Stumbling on Happiness

2012-10-14T14:05:00.000+01:00

We overestimate how happy we will be on our birthdays, we underestimate how happy we will be on Monday mornings, and we make these mundane but erroneous predictions again and again, despite their regular disconfirmation.

Do you dread going to work, going to the gym or to that family gathering? How do you really feel when you finally get there or after? It’s often very different from your prediction. Some things that look like an enormous chore to do in the future are actually very fulfilling in the moment and afterward… like, oh, blogging.
So how do we fix this? Easy. Look at other people, what they do, and how they react in the moment:

This trio of studies suggests that when people are deprived of the information that imagination requires and are thus forced to use others as surrogates, they make remarkably accurate predictions about their future feelings, which suggests that the best way to predict our feelings tomorrow is to see how others are feeling today.

“But I’m different and unique!” you reply. No, you’re probably not. We delude ourselves about that more than anything else

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