3 habits determine your overall happiness
To live a life of happiness may require some change. For some people, material riches and the latest gadgetry could produce some level of happiness. But will it produce sustainable joy? Will it make life more fulfilling? That’s subjective and left up to interpretation. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve learned to perceive life from different perspectives. The days of seeking instant gratification and taking more than giving are gone. Aging brings one a deeper appreciation for the things that we often take for granted.
What does this mean exactly? I now measure my overall happiness through the daily practice of three essential things that keep my world in perfect balance.
Care for mind and body
You can start with sleeping more. Arianna Huffington, the founder and CEO of Thrive Global, attributes her success to giving up hustle culture and the sleep deprivation that comes with it for eight hours of shuteye instead. She says, “When I get eight hours, I feel ready to handle anything during the day without stress and without paying a heavy price in terms of my own health and my own mental well-being.”
Consider taking a power nap. The New York Times reported in 2013 that daytime naps boost performance.
In studies mentioned in the article, when night-shift air traffic controllers were given 40 minutes to nap — and slept an average of 19 minutes — they performed much better on tests that measured vigilance and reaction time.
How often do you incorporate play during your regular work routine? I used to be hyper-productive and a workaholic. Play wasn’t even a blip on my radar, but it should’ve been. According to Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play and author of “Play,” science has shown that playful ways of working lead to more creative flow and innovation. He argues that play is a “biological drive as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition,” and adds that “we are designed by nature to flourish through play.”
What about your anxiety level? I used to be consumed by negative thinking and constantly worried about outcomes often out of my control. The shift was an intentional focus on the positive. If you’re feeling anxious, like I did, move. Literally, move. Go outside and get some fresh air. Put on your favorite relaxing music while going for a brisk walk. Try to take your mind away from what’s bothering you.
Sacred habit of downtime
Technology has made life so much easier and more convenient. But technology has also made life more challenging in ways we never imagined. Studies have been saying for years that our frantic need to stay hyper-productive and connected 24/7 is causing our brains to be overstimulated. Think about it: Do you wake up and the first thing you do is check your email?
This constant pursuit of connectivity is causing our brains to lose mental focus. Evidence states that rest and renewal for your brain is crucial for staying sharp, focused and productive during the day.
Just as our sleeping brains have 90-minute cycles, where we move from light to deep sleep and back out again, this cycle repeats itself during our waking hours as well, science shows. It’s been suggested that for every 80 to 120 minutes, we need to take a 10-minute break to calm down our brain activity.
Science recommends countless ways to help the brain rest and renew. Try putting these techniques into daily practice. Some of these brain-calming activities can take as little as five to 10 minutes.
■ Practice mindful meditation.
■ Listen to music or play an instrument.
■ Look at artwork.
■ Be around people who make you laugh.
■ Have positive conversations with friends (negative conversations overly activate your brain).
■ Take lots of breaks.
■ Take a hot shower or bath.
■ Go on a short nature walk.
■ Consider leaving gaps or “buffers” on your daily calendar to stop being busy and just take time to think (or meditate), or to look toward the future and think about the best way to improve the business. More busy executives are penciling in downtime gaps where meetings are outlawed and an hour is taken for uninterrupted and focused thinking. In other words, this is precious time that should be guarded. And that time will only be available if you carve it out for yourself.
Put love into action
We hardly ever associate love with a business principle. For those intense and driven leaders who put everything they have into their work, often at the expense of others, practicing more love in the form of empathy, care and compassion may not only elevate their leadership game but may make them better people in all aspects of life.
Since work dominates the majority of your awake time, happiness is also knowing you’ve chosen the right path for the journey; it’s the path of knowing that what you do matters.
Doing what you love gives you purpose, which fuels your drive to get up in the morning and serve others to the best of your ability. Research published in Harvard Business Review concluded that to be fully engaged and happy, people need to feel as if their work matters and that their contributions help achieve something important.
When people find purpose in their work, and they love what they do and they love others with whom they work, it not only improves their happiness, it also boosts their productivity.