Thank you so much for your interest in The Insight, by Sheba. I hope you enjoyed this week’s blogs about “Happiness That Lasts.”

Next week’s topic will be “Competition”

Friday Review: Happy Reading!

1. Experiment in You.

• Our ability to overcome adversity and cultivate positive emotions despite life circumstances and set range is ultimately what determines our levels of enduring happiness. Don’t get discouraged if life throws a challenge your way. Rather, look for an encouraging and forward-thinking perspective. You are responsible for the amount of happiness in your personal formula. Experiment in you!

2. Are There Steps?

• We can’t buy happiness, nor can we depend on others to make us happy. Each individual is responsible for his or her own happiness. Take the necessary measures and make the necessary changes, no matter how silly they may seem to anyone else, to promote positivity and increase happiness for yourself. No one else will do it for you.

3. Primes.

• Long-term happiness is not dependent upon temporary moments of positive emotions, but creating opportunities for positivity will only help to enhance and sustain positivity in the long run. Invest in your own happiness. Discover what makes you happy and place symbols and reminders of those things where you can look to them for comfort and positivity throughout the day.

4. It’s Contagious!

• There’s no denying our attitudes are intertwined with the attitudes of the people we interact with. Your smile might just be enough to brighten someone’s day. But take caution, and be strong in character in the event that you encounter a bad mood. Try to understand where the other person is coming from so that you might effectively improve his or her demeanor instead of allowing his or her mood to bring you down.

The Insight: Happiness looks different to everyone that pursues it. Regardless of what it looks like, the same factors influence how we go after that happiness. Decide for yourself what makes you happy. Keep reminders of whatever that is near you always to promote future happiness. And although moods are temporary, do your best to keep yours positive. It will help sustain happiness through almost any circumstance, and you never know whose life you might influence with your positive outlook!

Have a wonderful weekend!

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario – Has your mood ever been affected by someone else’s?  Were you having a great day before that person started complaining about his or hers, and left you feeling down but you could not explain why?

How can one person’s mood affect another’s and how do you manage it?

According to a recent study conducted by Allan Filipowicz, Ph.D., Sigal Barsade, Ph.D., and Shimul Melwani, moods are contagious. We have the ability to influence another person’s perception of us and his or her own disposition based on our attitude. The study found that we respond differently according to other peoples’ dispositions:

1.     Steady State

• People who interacted with an individual whose mood showed little alteration (i.e. began angry and remained angry) perceived the emotional individual as one whose mood did not reflect their interaction.

 2.     Emotional Transitions

• People who interacted with an individual who underwent an emotional transition believed that the change in moods in that individual was a result of their interaction.

 3.     Interactions

• The people were less accommodating and less receptive to the individuals with steady state emotions than they were to those who exhibited an emotional transition. The emotional transitions served to diffuse some of the ill temper because those individuals were at one point happy, or eventually became happy.

(Read More)

The Insight – Our attitudes are contagious. When interacting with someone in a bad mood be strong in character, compassionate and engage in active listening. Those simple acts of kindness might be enough to help that person better manage concerns and help you from feeling weighed down. Sometimes listening is better than trying to help the other person solve the issue.

What does your attitude say about you?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – Have you ever caught yourself laughing about a past memory or been unable to suppress a smile while looking at old photographs? Maybe you heard a song on the radio and couldn’t help but bust a move. How do those minor things bring us so much joy?

What can we do to inspire and maintain personal happiness?

According to Caroline Adams Miller, MAPP, and Dr. Michael B. Frisch, authors of Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide, personal mood and overall happiness are influenced by various environmental primes. A prime is any object, image or phrase that triggers certain thoughts, positive and negative alike, which translate to disposition. Miller and Frisch suggest boosting your overall happiness by strategically placing positive primes in your life to trigger and sustain happiness. Some suggestions:

 1.     E-mail Address

• Change your e-mail or create a new e-mail inspired by something that brings you happiness.

2.     Vanity License Plate

• Choose a phrase for your license plate that will serve as a reminder of something positive in your life.

3.     Ring Tone

• Set your ring tone to an upbeat song that will get you pumped and smiling every time you hear it.

4.     Pictures of Family and Friends

• Keep pictures of your loved ones at work, on your computer desktop, or in your wallet to invoke happy memories so that you have something positive to look to throughout the day.

5.     Vision Boards

• Hang a vision board near you at home or in your office displaying your short-term and long-term goals to inspire you to continue to work toward them.

The Insight – Long-term happiness is not dependent upon temporary moments of positive emotions, but when you create opportunities for positivity it will help enhance and sustain positivity in the long run. Invest in your own happiness. Discover what makes you smile and place symbols or reminders of those things where you can look to them for comfort throughout the day.

Do you know how to make yourself happy?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – In the age of information sharing, we’re consumed by a plethora of new apps and inventions that flash across our phones, the Internet and television.  Each new product promises to make life faster and easier. The creators can make you happier if you pay for their invention. What if instead of trying to buy simplicity and happiness, we just took action to make ourselves happier?

What actions can we take to increase happiness?

Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D., author of The How of Happiness, suggests 12 practices to increase happiness in your life:

1.     Count Your Blessings

2.     Cultivate Optimism

3.     Avoid Overthinking and Social Comparison

4.     Practice Acts of Kindness

5.     Nurture Relationships

6.     Participate in Activities that Engage You

7.     Replay and Savor Life’s Joys

8.     Commit to Your Goals

9.     Develop Strategies for Coping

10.  Learn to Forgive

11.  Practice Religion and Spirituality

12.  Take Care of Your Body

The Insight – We can’t buy happiness, nor can we depend on others to make us happy. Each individual is responsible for his or her own happiness. Take the necessary measures and make the necessary changes, no matter how silly they may seem to anyone else, to promote positivity and increase happiness for yourself. No one else will do it for you.

What steps will you take to increase happiness in your life?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – Science experiments are assigned with very specific instructions. You create your hypothesis, perform your experiment and then draw your conclusions. When it comes to happiness in your life, you are the scientist. If you had a formula for happiness, would you experiment in you?

What factors determine personal happiness?

Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., author of Authentic Happiness, proposes a formula comprised of three factors that determines personal levels of happiness.

 H= S+C+V

 1.     H= Enduring Levels of Happiness

• The formula specifically measures happiness that lasts as opposed to temporary positive emotions.

2.     S= Set Range

• Genetically predetermined level of happiness we tend toward.

3.     C= Life Circumstances

• Present situation and past experiences.

4.     V= Voluntary Control

• Sense of control within life circumstances.

The Insight – Our ability to overcome adversity and cultivate positive emotions despite life circumstances and set range is ultimately what determines our levels of enduring happiness. Don’t get discouraged if life throws a challenge your way. Rather, look for an encouraging and forward-thinking perspective. You are responsible for the amount of happiness in your personal formula. Experiment in you!

What are the ingredients in your happiness experiment?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life