I’m still writing about happiness over at Get Organized Wizard. There I focus on strategies and programs that help people overcome procrastination and take action for a happier and more organized life.

How To Be Happy – Articles

Check out the Happiness Category for posts like these:

• How To Feel Happier Now? Face It!
  According to a recent Scientific American article, a number of studies suggest our feelings are strengthened, perhaps even stimulated, by the faces we make.
  

• Why Self-Improvement is Like Slaying Vampires
  A reader raised the issue of our tendency to backslide when we try to make a fresh start, and wondered what we could do about it. Here are some brief thoughts.
  

• Organize Your Evening Ritual: 10 Things To Do At Night For A Good Morning
  The way you bid the world adieu each night affects the way the world greets you the next day. Here are 10 things to do before bed to make the morning a good one.
  

• 5 People Who Aren’t Responsible For Your Happiness
  There are some people to whom you really shouldn’t delegate responsibility for your happiness. Don’t worry – there are only five.
  

• Get Organized Mission #7: Be Happy!
  This week’s mission is all about being happy. We’re going to spend some time noticing the things we enjoy and then (here’s the shocking part) doing them!
  

• 11 Great Reasons To Be Happy
  We can all feel good about choosing to be happier. Here are 11 of the advantages that go along with happiness – and 11 great reasons to be happy!
  

• How to be Happier: A Scientifically Proven Strategy that Costs Nada
  Just reflect regularly on your good stuff, and you’ll be on the path to a happier life. Here are some ways you can organize yourself to get more grateful.
  

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Top image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/srboisvert/ / CC BY 2.0

The cover story in the current issue of Scientific American Mind is all about how a sense of humor can make you stronger, friendlier – and sexier!

Here are some key ideas from the article (quoted):

- The concept of laughter as a cure for disease lacks scientific support, but humor may indeed have significant effects on the psyche.

- Laughter relaxes us and improves our mood, and hearing jokes may ease anxiety. Amusement can also counteract pain.

- Cheerfulness, a trait that makes people respond more readily to humor, is linked to emotional resilience—the ability to keep a level head in difficult circumstances—and to close relationships. Life satisfaction may increase with the ability to laugh.

Read the whole story – and lighten up!

I thought you may find this article interesting:

Can happiness be found online?

Story Highlights:

• The ‘Virtual Happiness Project’ in the Netherlands looked at the relationship between Web 2.0 and happiness
• The findings suggest that blogs and social networks give people a strong sense of  belonging, which can be part of happiness
• It warns, however, that there’s a risk of being too internet-involved, which can detrimentally affect offline relationships

The report is yet to be published, but survey and experimental results point to findings:

that a lot of Facebook users already sense: social interaction is a driver for happiness, and the Web 2.0 is a valid way to experience it.

Read the article here.

(via @akselsoft)

Image by Kevin Zollman

The very special New Year’s Resolution prices over at Get Organized Wizard have been extremely popular! But the specials end this week.

If you’d like to get more organized or goal focused, you may be interested in our two most popular tools:

• Life MakeOver Journal is your month-by-month tool for setting SMART goals across all important life areas. It helps you organize goal-related actions, diary items, milestones and rewards, and ensure your goals are specific, measureable, achievable, relevant and time-framed.
• For the girls, Life & Goal Organizer is a 360-degree life & goal organizer. There are over 340 pages and more than 150 ready-made action plans across 12 areas to help you get your whole life organized.

The special prices end on Sunday – don’t miss out!

Look alive!

A new study has found that thinking
fast can improve your mood.

Princeton and Harvard researchers conducted six experiments requiring participants to briskly whisk through activities such as brainstorming, reading ideas on screen or watching a fast-forwarded film clip.

Thinking fast brought participants creativity, elation and, to a lesser extent, a sense of energy and power.

Scientific American observes:

It is unclear why thought speed affects mood, but [the study’s lead author, Emily] Pronin and her colleagues theorize that our own expectations may be part of the equation. In earlier research, they found that people generally believe fast thinking is a sign of a good mood. This lay belief may lead us to instinctively infer that if we are thinking quickly we must be happy. In addition, they suggest, thinking quickly may unleash the brain’s novelty-loving dopamine system, which is involved in sensations of pleasure and reward.

So up your thinking speed – and you’ll join the ranks of the quick and the glad.

Image by jurvetson