If we can accept as true that life circumstances are not the keys to happiness, we'll be greatly empowered to pursue happiness for ourselves. Sonja Lyubomirsky More Quotes by Sonja Lyubomirsky More Quotes From Sonja Lyubomirsky It turns out that the process of working toward a goal, participating in a valued and challenging activity, is as important to well-being as its attainment. Sonja Lyubomirsky vision goal challenges If you're not happy today, then you won't be happy tomorrow unless you take things into your own hands and take action. Sonja Lyubomirsky today happiness hands If we observe genuinely happy people, we shall find that they do not just sit around being contented. They make things happen. They pursue new understandings, seek new achievements, and control their thoughts and feelings. In sum, our intentional, effortful activities have a powerful effect on how happy we are, over and above the effects of our set points and the circumstances in which we find themselves. If an unhappy person wants to experience interest, enthusiasm, contentment, peace, and joy, he or she can make it happen by learning the habits of a happy person. Sonja Lyubomirsky unhappy-person powerful happiness Thus the key to happiness lies not in changing our genetic makeup (which is impossible) and not in changing our circumstances (i.e., seeking wealth or attractiveness or better colleagues, which is usually impractical), but in our daily intentional activities. Sonja Lyubomirsky makeup happiness lying Happiness is not out there for us to find. The reason that it's not out there is that it's inside us. Sonja Lyubomirsky reason happiness ...The more a person is inclined to gratitude, the less likely he or she is to be depressed, anxious, lonely, envious, or neurotic. Sonja Lyubomirsky envious gratitude lonely In a nutshell, the fountain of happiness can be found in how you behave, what you think, and what goals you set every day of your life. Sonja Lyubomirsky goal happiness thinking All that is required to become an optimist is to have the goal and to practice it. The more you rehearse optimistic thoughts, the more 'natural' and 'ingrained' they will become. With time they will be part of you, and you will have made yourself into an altogether different person. Sonja Lyubomirsky optimistic goal practice Find a happy person, and you will find a project. Sonja Lyubomirsky happy-person projects meaningful The practice of gratitude is incompatible with negative emotions and may actually diminish or deter such feelings as anger, bitterness, and greed. Sonja Lyubomirsky gratitude greed practice The combination of rumination and negative mood is toxic. Research shows that people who ruminate while sad or distraught are likely to feel besieged, powerless, self-critical, pessimistic, and generally negatively biased. Sonja Lyubomirsky pessimistic self people I prefer to think of the creation or construction of happiness, because research shows that it's in our power to fashion it for ourselves. Sonja Lyubomirsky fashion happiness thinking Women’s magazines will often ask me things like, 'All right, I need six five-minute happiness strategies.' And I say, well, there aren’t any five-minute happiness strategies. This is something you have to do kind of every day for the rest of your life. Just like if you want to raise moral children or if you want to advance in your career. It’s a goal you pursue your whole life. Sonja Lyubomirsky careers goal children Exercise may very well be the most effective instant happiness booster of all activities. Sonja Lyubomirsky wells exercise may No one in our society needs to be told that exercise is good for us. Whether you are overweight or have a chronic illness or are a slim couch potato, you've probably heard or read this dictum countless times throughout your life. But has anyone told you-indeed, guaranteed you-that regular physical activity will make you happier? I swear by it. Sonja Lyubomirsky slim our-society exercise When we are fully mindful of the transience of things - an impending return home from an overseas adventure, a graduation, our child boarding the school bus for the first day of kindergarten, a close colleague changing jobs, a move to a new city - we are more likely to appreciate [be grateful for] and savor the remaining time that we do have. Although bittersweet experiences also make us sad, it is this sadness that prompts us, instead of taking it for granted, to come to appreciate the positive aspects of our vacation, colleague, or hometown; it's 'now or never.' Sonja Lyubomirsky gratitude jobs children 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. Sonja Lyubomirsky stress emotional happiness Every day you have to renew your commitment. Some of the strategies should become habitual over time and not a huge effort. Sonja Lyubomirsky strategy effort commitment Forgiving people are less likely to be hateful, depressed, hostile, anxious, angry, and neurotic. Sonja Lyubomirsky hateful forgiving people People prone to joyful anticipation, skilled at obtaining pleasure from looking forward and imagining future happy events, are especially likely to be optimistic and to experience intense emotions. Sonja Lyubomirsky optimistic events people
