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D A Y 3 – T H E G O O D L I F E

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF

HAPPINESS

EXPERIENCE SAMPLING

On a scale of 1 (not at all) – 10 (extremely)

Do you feel:

•Happy?

•Relaxed?

•Awake?

AGENDA

• Grounding Exercise

• Homework Discussion

• Self-Assessment& Review from Last Class

• Meditation/Mindfulness

• Flow

EXPERIENCE SAMPLING

On a scale of 1 (not at all) – 10 (extremely)

Do you feel:

•Happy?

•Relaxed?

•Awake?

HOMEWORK DISCUSSION

• Honoring Yourself

• Delayed Gratification

• Best Possible Selves

• Dealing with 2nd Darts

EXPERIENCE SAMPLING

On a scale of 1 (not at all) – 10 (extremely)

Do you feel:

•Happy?

•Relaxed?

•Awake?

HAPPINESS GUIDE

(REVIEW)

• What are three key ideas from last class that you found most insightful?

SELF-ASSESSMENT

True or False

1. Being happy tends to lead to more success in a person’s endeavors.

2. We are always conscious of our needs and how to fulfill them.

3. The Hedonic Treadmill is the result of sensory adaptation.

4. For the most part, pleasure is detrimental for happiness.

5. We perceive the world exactly as it is.

6. One way to counterbalance the negativity bias is to make the experience of positive emotions more common – a habit.

REVIEW:

THE PLEASURABLE LIFE

Dealing with Unpleasant Emotions:

• From Unpleasant Events

• Without any Unpleasant Events (resulting from our Negativity Bias).

Enhancing Pleasant Emotions:

• Practice of Delayed Gratification

• Learning to Experience Joy from Within

What skills do all of these commonly rely upon?

Attention and self-awareness.

DAY 3: “THE GOOD LIFE”

Engagement with the World &

Satisfaction in Daily Life

• Meditation & Mindfulness

• Finding Flow

MINDFULNESS

What is your background with mindfulness and meditation?

HOW NECESSARY IS MINDFULNESS?

St Francis de Sales

French Bishop (1567-1622)

Half an hour’s meditation each day is

essential, except when you are busy.

Then a full hour is needed.

WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?

Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through…

1. Paying attention on purpose,

2. In the present moment, (we’ll discuss today)

3. And non-judgementally to things as they are.

WHY PRESENT MOMENT?

WHY DO WE HAVE STRESS?

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Fight or Flight Response

CalmingResponse

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Fight or Flight Response

CalmingResponse

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

Fight or Flight Response

CalmingResponse

STRESSORS:

WHAT CAUSES STRESS NOW?

WHERE ARE THESE STRESSORS?

Regrets/Grudges Worries/Fears

(past) (future)

Present: own thoughts wanting things to be different than they are now.

MANY STRESSORS ARE NOT REALLY

HERE, NOW.

EXPERIENCE SAMPLING

On a scale of 1 (not at all) – 10 (extremely)

Do you feel:

•Happy?

•Relaxed?

•Awake?

BASIC MINDFULNESS PRACTICES

Concentrative Meditations:

• Mindful Breathing

• Image Meditation

• Word/sound Meditation

• Guided imagery meditation

• Body Scan

Mindfulness Meditations:

• Mindful Walking

• Mindful Eating

• Random Task

IMAGE MEDITATION

• Focus your attention on the image.

• Try to avoid lingering on judgments and labels.

• If your mind wanders to thoughts of the experience, bring your attention back to the pure experience itself.

EXPERIENCE SAMPLING

On a scale of 1 (not at all) – 10 (extremely)

Do you feel:

•Happy?

•Relaxed?

•Awake?

MINDFULNESS PRACTICE

(EXERCISE #1)

Daily Seated Meditation

• Every morning and evening dedicate some time (5 or more minutes) to a concentrative meditation.

• Remember that there is no goal with the exercise.

• Let go of any expectations.

• You are simply practicing the art of paying attention.

MINDFULNESS PRACTICE

(EXERCISE #2)

Random Task Meditation

• Pick any daily task and try to use it as a mindfulness practice. As you perform the task, become non-judgmentally aware of the sensations associated with the task. When you notice thoughts enter your awareness, draw your attention back to the activity.

• Examples: taking a shower, brushing your teeth, taking a walk, washing the dishes, folding the laundry.

MINDFULNESS PRACTICE

(EXERCISE #3)

The “Ok” Mantra

• We often take our lives for granted. However, if we take the time to think about it, we are wealthier than many, have health that allows to function, and live a life full of freedoms that many lack.

• A simple daily mindfulness practice is cultivating the habit of simply saying “everything is ok.”

• You may want to set an alarm to remind you on a daily basis, or you may want to simply keep the intention to say the this phrase whenever you feel stress and anxiety.

EFFECTS OF MEDITATION

• Triggers Relaxation Response: • Internal response that prevents activation of adrenal

glands (parasympathetic NV)

• Stress Control:• Lowers heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, boosts

immune system

• Help with Pain Reduction, insomnia, anxiety disorder, anger management

• Increase in levels of happiness.

• Relief from Habitual Thinking & Judgment

AN INTERESTING STUDY

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Hungarian-Born Psychologist

1980s-’90s Happiness Study:

What points in a persons day did they feel happiest?

When they were active and in FLOW.

FLOW DESCRIPTIONS

• “My mind isn’t wandering. I am not thinking of something else. I am totally involved in what I am doing.”

• “My concentration is like breathing. I never think of it.”

• “I am so involved in what I am doing. I don’t see myself as separate from what I am doing”

• “I lost my sense of time.”When have you felt

this way?

EXAMPLES OF THE FLOW EXPERIENCE

EXAMPLES OF FLOW EXPERIENCE

“Flow” – since many subjects stated it felt like life was

“flowing” or that their actions were “flowing” out of them.

FLOW AND HAPPINESS

Csikszentmihaly’s Explanation

• World is chaotic. Therefore our consciousness is often chaotic.

• Psychic Disorder

• We are most satisfied/happy when our thoughts and actions are organized to achieve order in consciousness:

• Ordered Attention

• People have “optimal” experiences when this state of consciousness is achieved

• = Fully engaged with life.

M. CSIKSZENTMIHALYI

Athletics “being in the zone”

Religion “ecstasy”

Art, Music “aesthetic rapture”

Athletics “being in the zone”

Religion “ecstasy”

Art, Music “aesthetic rapture”

Provides the deep satisfaction

of successful engagement.

“The opposite state from the condition of psychic entropy (disorder) is optimal experience. When the information that keeps coming into awareness is congruent with goals, psychic energy flows effortlessly. There is no need to worry, no reason to question one’s adequacy. But whenever one does stop to think about oneself, the evidence is encouraging: “You are doing all right.” The positive feedback strengthens the self, and more attention is freed to deal with the outer and inner environment.”

PRACTICING FLOW

(EXERCISE #4)

Experiencing Flow

• Reflect on an activity that you do, or have done, that has provided you with the flow experience. Schedule some time daily to participate in this activity, altering it if it becomes to difficult or too easy over time.

HOW TO ENTER FLOW:

1. SET CLEAR GOALS

Csikszentmihalyi explains that having meaningful goals and a clear sense of purpose is essential to attaining flow.

Why do you think this helps us enter flow?

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HOW TO ENTER FLOW:

2. FOLLOW INTRINSIC MOTIVATIONS

Utilizing “Signature Strengths”

Martin Seligman

• � Let’s focus on strengths rather than weaknesses!

• � Throughout the last 3000 years of cultural traditions, religions, philosophies, what are a list of human virtues?

• �Chris Peterson and Martin Seligman founds lots, but each tradition valued 6 common virtues.

• � Each virtue can be displayed in several ways – 24 character strengths.

SIGNATURE STRENGTHS

• Seligman referred to these as signature strengths and described their classification as “ a classification of the sanities”

• They provide a counterbalance to classifications of psychological illnesses.

• People happiest when engaged in their signature character strength. Allows one to be more “authentic” and true to their nature.

• Would anyone care to share theirs?

This approach to happiness, though, is not new news.63

SELF-ACTUALIZATION

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)American Psychologist

SELF-ACTUALIZATION

Abraham Maslow

“What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization…”

“If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you’ll be unhappy for the rest of your life.”

The Case for Authenticity

MAKING USE OF YOUR

INHERENT GENIUS & SKILLS

Multiple Intelligences

Harvard Psychologist

Howard Gardner

(’42 - present)

MAKING USE OF SIGNATURE STRENGTHS & INHERENT GENIUS

Utilizing your signature strengths and inherent skills often leads to flow, so…

• Use Strengths in Novel Ways:• Seek out novel experiences and new areas and opportunities

to apply your strengths. Especially at work or home.

• Use Strengths to Manage Weaknesses: • When you have to do something you are not good at or do

not like doing, find a way to use your strengths to get it done. In groups, networking strengths, or effectively utilizing each group-member's set of strengths for the best of the group can lead to the highest achievement.

CHARACTER STRENGTHS

(EXERCISE #5)

Utilizing Your Character Strengths

• Reflect on a mundane activity that you do regularly (or an activity that you simply do not look forward to doing).

• Think of a way to make use of your character strengths while doing this activity.

• Attempt to utilize your character strength while performing this activity. Feel free to alter your strategy or activity depending on your emotional feedback.

ACTIVELY ENGAGED

Personal Guide to Well-Being

• Take three ideas you found insightful from each of the last three

classes and find an image that you feel relates to each idea. The

image can be from the internet, a magazine, newspaper,

advertisements, etc…

• Do the same with any exercises you feel to be useful.

• Do the same with the most important idea that arises from your

readings on meaning & purpose this week.

• Then, create either a booklet, poster, or any other physical medium

that you could easily refer to and that you can share with the class.