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3 Surprising Reasons to Celebrate at Work

If you go to Las Vegas, make sure to visit the Zappos headquarters. You can schedule your visit online, and the Zappos van will come pick you up. As you walk into the building, you’ll encounter people chatting, smiling and saying hi to you. You’ll also see a big gong in the middle of the large office space. Anyone—including you or any Zappos employee—can go up to the gong at any point and make a big announcement.It can be an employee celebrating, “Hey! I just spoke to a customer who says he now loves us more than ever,” or a visitor saying, “Hey! I’m visiting from Europe and this is the coolest company I’ve ever seen!”Encouraging celebrationWhy do Zappos and other innovative companies encourage celebration? Most workplaces make some effort, be it going out to lunch to recognize a colleague’s birthday or presenting awards to the top producers. But you don’t have to limit your celebrations to once or twice a year. Create a culture of celebration instead. Here are three reasons you’ll be happy you did.1. It brings people togetherLaughter tunes a room, says David Sloan Wilson, Ph.D., in Evolution for Everyone. The sound and the positive expression of laughter are contagious. Psychologists used to think that in order for people to grow closer to each other, they needed to share their deepest, darkest vulnerabilities.In one of the most groundbreaking pieces of research on human psychology in the last couple of decades, Shelly Gable, Ph.D., of the University of California at Santa Barbara and her colleagues turned those findings on their head.They found that asking dating couples to discuss positive events—i.e., to celebrate together—led to more closeness, better relationships and fewer breakups than discussing negative events. So go ahead. Ask your colleagues what’s going well or what they are most proud of, and notice what happens.2. It's free and effectiveZappos is the king of workplace celebration. For example, each time Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh congratulates an employee, he is using what we call Frequent Recognition and Encouragement (FRE). He changes the tone of the workplace with a technique that is free to use and can result in a 42 percent boost in productivity for teams, as we show in our book Profit from the Positive.Simply recognizing and celebrating progress together can result in a more productive team. Why not use a technique that is free, fun and can increase productivity at the same time?Recognize and encourageOne very important aspect of using FRE: Don’t wait until a huge success or the end of your project to celebrate and recognize co-workers. Find smaller milestones along the way. Remember that feedback can go in any direction: peer to peer, manager to employee, or employee to manager. Members of one team we know say they count on their casual weekly Thursday lunches—where they talk about everything except work—to relieve stress.Celebrate Fridays. Celebrate birthdays. Celebrate the good weather with lunch outdoors. If you work remotely, you can celebrate virtually, like the education company EverFi does. Each month a plastic shark gets mailed to the team member who was nominated by his peers for accomplishing something big. The recipient takes a funny photo of himself with the shark and shares it with the team.3. Celebrations reverberate beyond the momentBarbara Fredrickson, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discovered that one major benefit of positive emotions is that they broaden our thinking—we are more open to new ideas. That’s why we begin our weekly conference call with this question: “What’s one piece of good news, personally and/or professionally since we last talked?” In this way, we are encouraging our minds to be open to new ideas as we dive into our agenda.“Happiness lies within every employee regardless of title, position or salary,” says one of our clients, Erneshia Pinder. “True leaders recognize what it takes to activate this happiness across all levels of the organization by knowing that every employee wants the same thing—to excel at what they do and to be happy while doing it.”Last year on March 20, the International Day of Happiness, Erneshia hosted a potluck lunch at the office with the song “Happy” playing in the background, decorated a bulletin board with some pages from Live Happy, played a few games with the staff and gave away prizes.“The intent was simple—to demonstrate that we valued employees by encouraging them to partake in activities that make them happy,” Erneshia says. “I have to say it was one of the best days in the office. The atmosphere was upbeat and positive and everyone wore a smile.MARGARET H. GREENBERG and SENIA MAYMIN, Ph.D., regular columnists for Live Happy, are organizational consultants and executive coaches whose popular talks and workshops inspire business leaders around the world. Their best-selling book, Profit from the Positive: Proven Leadership Strategies to Boost Productivity & Transform Your Business, is now available in Chinese. Connect with Margaret and Senia at Facebook.com/ProfitFromThePositive.

Self-Care

11 Steps to a Braver You

Think about The Wizard of Oz and its Cowardly Lion, who wishes for one thing: courage. He presents himself as fearful, timid and insecure. It’s only at the end of the story, when the Wizard of Oz places a medal around the Cowardly Lion’s neck, signifying the gift of courage, that he realizes he’d been courageous all along.And just as the Cowardly Lion learned, courage isn’t something we can receive in the form of a medal or find in a book, and it’s not something we’re born with. Rather, courage, in its truest form, is something we nurture and grow within ourselves.Here’s the good news: Courage doesn't have to involve rescuing someone from a burning building, grand sacrifices or awesome feats of physical derring-do. If you think about it, many of the things we do in our daily lives take courage. A certain amount of bravery is necessary just to get by in life.Cultivating courage can be easy, if we focus on putting in the time and energy to do it. Here are some of my favorite methods for developing courage on a daily basis:1.Know yourselfTake the time to examine who you are as a person so you can figure out your strengths and the areas where maybe you need to grow a little to be courageous. Then, start working on those areas where you could use some improvement or ask for help from others so they can pick up the slack.2.Take responsibility for your mistakesLook at how you live your life and where you have made errors. Own up to your mistakes, recognize them and try to learn from them. Apologize as needed.3.Forgive yourselfNo one is perfect. Strive for progress, not perfection. If you fall off the horse, be kind to yourself and get right back on.4.Stand up for yourselfDo not let others push you to think, act or feel in ways not right for you. Be brave in standing up for your wants and needs.5.Don’t give upRemember, you will always have hope as long as you keep trying. When times get tough and your courage is waning, rest, recharge and then keep going. Fight for what you want and need.6.Learn to say yesIf something sounds appealing but it is a little (or a lot!) scary, say yes and try it. At least put a toe in the water—you may discover something new about yourself.7.On the other hand, learn to say noIf something or someone makes you uncomfortable, rally your courage and say no to investing your time and energy.8.Let go of what you can’t fix or changeEven the most courageous of people can’t change what they can’t change. If you can’t change something, let go of it, accept it as it is and invest your skills in areas that you can change or improve.9.Don’t be afraid to be afraidMany of us think that we need to wait for the fear to go away, but sometimes it never goes away, so acknowledge your fear, allow it to exist and take the steps you need to anyway. Being afraid is both healthy and necessary.10.Focus on the positiveFocusing on the positive is important in every situation; however, it’s absolutely critical during challenging times. Look for the diamond in the rough, think about how great you will feel in the end and take time to smell the roses.11.Pat yourself on the backFacing your fears takes bravery. Much like the Cowardly Lion, we all deserve some sort of a “medal.” Pat yourself on the back, tell yourself “Job well-done” and allow yourself to enjoy recognition for your successes.Stacy Kaiser is a successful Southern California-based licensed psychotherapist, author, relationship expert and media personality, and a frequent contributor to Live Happy.To read more about courage, see the June 2015 issue of Live Happy magazine.

Castle Hills Elementary school kids spelling out "happy"

Self-Care

Elementary Students Celebrate Happiness

The cold and rainy weather didn't stop the festivities at Castle Hills Elementary School in Lewisville, Texas today, as nearly 800 jubilant students and faculty gathered on the blacktop wearing orange and purple shirts, spelling out the word “happy.” In celebration of the International Day of Happiness, everyone in the building took the #happyacts challenge and posted how they will share happiness on the school’s Happiness Wall—just one of many walls bustling with activity across the country. Life lessons “Learning to be happy, grateful and content for what you have are life-long skills that encourages a child not to be selfish,” says Castle Hills principal Donna J. Taylor. “Promoting happiness and focusing on the good in life will benefit the entire school community.” Students in kindergarten through fifth grade wrote out and posted how they would share happiness, ranging from smiling at one another and helping others to cleaning up the cafeteria and having “millions of playdates with my friends.” For each act of kindness, Live Happy has pledged to donate a dollar to the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. Building happiness into the curriculum All week Castle Hill Elementary School teachers weaved happiness into the curriculum, teaching about the meaning of the IDOH and how important it is to be nice to one another. Big orange buckets were placed throughout the school for students to randomly drop in their happy thoughts about being grateful, kind and nice. Donna says that the effort to keep talking about the value of happiness won’t end after today. Nurturing positivity “Our school will continue to encourage and model exceptional leadership and kindness through our Great Expectations program,” she says. “We will also encourage putting others before our self and doing nice things for others without being asked, because that’s the kind of culture we want in our school."

Self-Care

Habits Can Be Happiness-Forming

Happiness expert Gretchen Rubin had a lightbulb moment during a conversation with a friend that took her interest in habits and spiked it into the realm of near-obsession. Her friend wanted to exercise. She knew she’d feel more energetic and happier if she did, but she couldn’t get herself to do it. “The funny thing is,” said the friend, “when I was in high school, I never missed track practice, but I can’t get myself to go running now.” A "eureka" moment Gretchen was thunderstruck by this new perspective on behavior. “Why is that?” she thought. “Same habit, same person. At one time it was effortless, now it’s impossible. What’s the difference?” “That got me really focused on this idea of habits,” Gretchen says. From her research, she knew that people with steady, productive habits are happier and healthier. As she looked more deeply into habits, she had more questions than answers. Why do some people have an easier time forming habits than others? Why do some people like habits while others dread them? She began researching habits and testing her theories on willing friends and family members. Her findings led to her latest book, Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives. She calls it a prequel to her best-selling The Happiness Project because it answers the question, “How do you start doing those things that lead to happiness?” The secret to positive habits To understand how people are able to change, Gretchen knew she must understand how habits are formed and how they stick. “Habits are the invisible architecture of daily life. We repeat about 40 percent of our habits daily, so they shape our existence and our future. When we change our habits, we change our lives. “I think people have a pretty good idea of the things that will make them happier, but they often can’t make them happen,” Gretchen says. She noticed that when people talk about something that makes them happy, they often focus on a healthy habit they finally managed to set in motion. Put your brain on autopilot “Most of the things people want to do, they want to do regularly,” Gretchen says. “Habits allow us to go on automatic. The crucial thing about habits is the lack of decision-making. You are not deciding whether to brush your teeth or put on your seat belt. You are just doing it automatically.” In this way, habits can free us from stress. “Making decisions is draining. Habits free you from using self-control or willpower,” Gretchen says. “Everything that is important to you—from getting enough sleep to exercising, working on a big project or even having more quality time with your family—once it’s a habit, you don’t have to decide.” Start small And while you’ll find lots of advice about how to set habits, from starting small to tackling a new habit first thing in the morning, Gretchen’s advice is different and goes deeper. To start a new habit, she says, “we have to first know ourselves. Once we know ourselves, we can manage ourselves better.” For example, if you are a night person you shouldn’t try to take on the habits of a morning person. Work with who you are, building on strengths and patterns that are already in place. What's your habit tendency? Habits are one way we follow through on things we know will make us happier, but the same strategies don’t work for everyone. “When we form a habit, we set expectations for ourselves,” Gretchen says. “How we respond to expectations—both internal (keep a resolution) and external (meet a work deadline) is a key question for habit change. To better explain how we fall into types when it comes to our relationships with habits, Gretchen developed a framework called The Four Tendencies. Upholders respond readily to both internal and external expectations. “I do what others expect of me—and what I expect from myself.” Questioners challenge all expectations. They meet an expectation only if they believe it’s reasonable (effectively making it an internal expectation). “I do what I think is best, according to my judgment. I won’t do something that doesn’t make sense.” Obligers respond readily to outside expectations but struggle to meet their own expectations. “I don’t like to let others down, but I often let myself down.” Rebels resist all expectations. “I want to do what I want, in my own way. If you tell me to do it, I’m less likely to do it.” Knowing thyself According to Gretchen’s research, if you identify your tendency, you will have a better idea of which one of her 21 identified habit-changing strategies will work for you. You can deploy multiple strategies at once or use a single strategy to master a habit. “For instance,” says Gretchen, “upholders do especially well with the strategy of scheduling, questioners with the strategy of clarity, obligers with the strategy of accountability and rebels with the strategy of identity. Base your style on personality and values “With habits, some people should start small and others should start big. One person should keep it private and another should go public,” Gretchen explains. “If you are going to have coffee with a friend once a week or read Scripture, it’s so much easier when there’s a habit to it. If something is really important to you, build a habit around it.” To help tailor your habits to your nature, ask yourself questions about how you spend your time, what you value most, and what habits you currently pursue. To do this, the book includes a helpful list with questions like: At what time of day do I feel energized? What’s most satisfying to me: saving time, or money, or effort? If I could magically change one habit in my life, what would it be? The more your habits reflect your values, the happier you will be. Start with a strong foundation Begin with habits that strengthen self-control, what Gretchen calls The Foundation Four. These habits serve as the foundation for forming other good habits: sleep, move, eat and drink right, unclutter. “Foundational habits protect us from getting so physically taxed or mentally frazzled that we can’t manage ourselves. If you are a person who doesn’t get enough sleep and then you start getting enough sleep, that’s generally going to boost your sense of self-command. Foundation habits can even make profound change possible,” Gretchen explains. “A friend once told me, ‘I cleaned out my fridge, and now I feel like I can switch careers.’ I knew exactly what she meant.” Foundation habits reinforce each other. For instance, exercise helps people sleep, and sleep helps people do everything better. Ask yourself what you really want “I think a lot of people are plagued by these vague notions of habits they should change, and that’s very draining and makes you feel out of control of yourself,” Gretchen says. “Ask yourself what you really want and make your life reflect that.” Gretchen’s No. 1 rule on her Habits Manifesto: What we do every day matters more than what we do once in a while. “Harness the power of habits to create a life that makes you freer and happier.”

Self-Care

Wake Up Happy: Series 7

We thank you for being a part of Wake Up Happy Series 7! As a special bonus for your participation, we are gifting you with immediate access to the entire series--at no cost to you. If you missed a call – you’re in luck, we have it all right here at your fingertips; no matter what time of day.These powerful insights and practices will give you the positive outlook you need to plow through your busy schedule. Listen to these leading happiness experts and positive psychologists from all over the country and have a greater positive emotional benefit. Listen in as Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Science Director at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, talks about Compassion in the Brain. Tune in as Dr. Fab Mancini, FOX News’s Healthy Living Expert, world renowned Chiropractor, and Hay House’s bestselling author of The Power of Self-Healing, talks about Self-Healing and Happiness. Join in as Roko Belic, Director of The Happy Movie, a movie that takes you on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy, talks about The Happy Movie. Get excited as Jeff Olson, Founder of Live Happy and author of The Slight Edge, talks about The Little Things that Matter. Catch Ken Kragen, lead organizer of renowned humanitarian projects ‘We are the World’ and ‘Hands Across America’, as he talks about The Power of Optimism and Enthusiasm.

Practice

Get Involved!

“Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.”So said Chuang Tzu, preeminent Taoist thinker, some 2,500 years ago. Nonetheless, many of us actively seek out happiness in self-help books, courses, new age practices, and with the help of life coaches.Yet we are constantly bombarded with negative messages: angsty status updates from friends and family on Facebook and Twitter, awful news headlines, and advertising that plays on our worst insecurities. Our response: switch off, log-out, and block.How often do you read a bad-news article and feel powerless to help, disengaged from your community or from the larger world, or too overwhelmed by personal responsibilities to actively respond by volunteering, donating, or carrying on the conversation? It could be argued that shutting out larger world problems is actually a way of retreating further away from fulfilling your true potential as a person.Self-actualization is a term originally created by organismic theorist Kurt Goldstein. By realizing your full potential you can reach some sort of enlightenment that allows you to actively live the best life possible for yourself. Let’s specifically reference the 19 Characteristics of Abraham Maslow’s Self-Actualizer.Maslow’s theory entails 19 unique characteristics he found to be consistent within each of his subjects that have been developed into advice on how one self-actualizes. The foundation of Maslow’s theory is that you not only must understand what is preventing your happiness but you need to face, and resolve, those issues as well. This notion suggests that by avoiding, or retreating, from the issues hindering your happiness you are merely prolonging the process.1. Perception of RealityThe first trait is that of a superior relationship with reality. This means he or she understands that the unknown is a part of reality and not only is he or she comfortable with that but he or she embraces it with open arms.2. AcceptanceThe next is the idea that he or she simply accepts himself or herself unconditionally. So much so that the whole idea doesn’t even cross his or her mind.3. SpontaneityThe third coincides with the first in that a self-actualized individual’s behavior is natural and it is not dictated by a forced agenda. In other words, he or she does not take actions simply for the reason of being a plot device that is meant to cause a specific reaction.4. Problem CenteringSelf-actualizers tend to have goals and a mission in life. They have small things they would like to accomplish in the short-term and large overarching things they would like to accomplish in the long run.5. SolitudeSelf-actualizers also tend to value their privacy and time alone slightly more than the average individual.6. AutonomyThe sixth trait is that of independence from the need for external accolades or praise. A self-actualizer has realized that inner growth and self-development are much more pertinent to life than these things.7. Fresh AppreciationSelf-actualizing people are able to maintain the appreciation of a child experiencing something new even for the most basic experiences in life. They never allow themselves to feel like they are simply going through the motions.8. Peak ExperiencesThis is the groove that you get into when you are in your element and your focus has never been better. Self-actualizers allow themselves to reach this state more often than most.9. Human KinshipThe ninth trait is the characteristic of universal empathy. Self-actualizers feel as though everyone is family and they have a human connection with every individual they encounter.10. Humility and RespectSelf-actualizing people tend to be as humble as they come. They are able to befriend all types of people and could be described as unable to see the superficial differences that are often so important to the average person.11. Interpersonal RelationshipsThough they have a connection with mostly everyone, self-actualizers often have small circles of close loved ones. The love they feel for these few is profound and unwavering.12. EthicsPlain and simple, self-actualizing people have very distinct beliefs on right and wrong and they religiously do what they believe is right.13. Means and EndsSelf-actualizers are true believers in the saying “a means to an end.” They are fixated on ends and not preoccupied with the means.14. HumorThey are not amused by hostile, superiority, or authority-rebellion humor and don’t usually consider what the average individual finds to be funny to be funny.15. CreativityMaslow simply states that this is a universal trait throughout all people who were studied. But basically, self-actualized people find outlets where they can successfully exercise their creativity.16. Resistance of EnculturationSelf-actualizers naturally resist enculturation and maintain a distance from the culture they are immersed in. Due to their non-bias nature in all facets of life it makes it difficult for them to be consumed by such a subjective matter.17. ImperfectionsIt is important to note that self-actualizers are not perfect. They have negative and mundane characteristics just like everyone else, but they are aware of them and use that knowledge to their advantage.18. ValuesSelf-actualized people have a strong set of values that they keep close to their heart. These beliefs tend to indoctrinate their lives so that everything they do fits within them.19. Resolution of DichotomiesThe final trait is the idea that the line between selfishness and selflessness disappears because in reality every act is both selfish and selfless.Now, before you start to worry about having all of these traits yourself, remember that this was one man’s conclusion from one study. It’s difficult to say that all self-actualized people have all 19 of these traits all the time. After all, doesn’t trait number six claim that a self-actualizer wouldn’t be bothered by Maslow’s classification anyway?The point is that all of these traits have one theme in common: they are all choices that can be made. You can choose whether or not to be terrified by the unknown, whether you want to be limited by society’s standards, limited to your daily responsibilities, or whether you want to take a little leap of faith and start doing something more. Instead of striving for immediate happiness, we might reframe our feelings of discontent in the face of terrifying news headlines and remember that we are part of it, we are connected, and there is someone, somewhere who we could lend a hand to in some small, manageable way.Once you know what you feel would make the future a little better for the world, following through, reaching out to people, nonprofits, and community groups and offering a little time or expertise or money is a tangible step toward achieving self-actualization.Phillip Sontag is an editor at Idealist, currently one of the world’s preeminent organizations for connecting nonprofits worldwide with more than a million people each month who can imagine a better future. Visit Idealist.org to find out more.

Self-Care

6 Secrets of Better Body Language

Need a quick pick-me-up? Skip the coffee, and instead, stand straighter, smile and even try imitating a cheerful walk to lift your spirits.Here are six easy ways to beat the blues with your body language:1. Walk the walkScientists at Canada’s Institute for Advanced Research had two groups of study participants walk on a treadmill, one with their shoulders slumped and with a slow gait, and the other in a more cheerful fashion. As they walked, the test subjects were shown a list of positive and negative words.The depressed walkers recalled more negative words, while the cheerful walkers remembered the upbeat words on the list, suggesting that their body language during the test had affected their moods and memory. The lesson here? Lift your head and stand tall, and you may just see your spirits look up as well. 2. Smile!You know the saying “Fake it until you make it”? Well, it’s actually true when it comes to smiling. Since the 1970s, research has shown that even a manipulated smile can boost your mood. A genuine smile—one that involves both the mouth and the eyes—does all kinds of great things for you, like releasing endorphins into your bloodstream and boosting your immune system.What’s more, researchers at the University of Kansas found that people who smile have better heart recovery rates after stressful events. So, if you find yourself in a stressful situation, a smile could just be what the doctor ordered.3. Power poseTry a power pose to restore your confidence. Either raise your arms in the victory post or put your hands on your hips like Superman, and then hold your pose for a few moments. “Power posing” can help us reduce our cortisol (our stress hormone) while increasing our feel-good hormones, says Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy, Ph.D.4. Become a mirrorBody language expert Christopher Carter says subtly mirroring others is a great way to build an instant connection, but warns mirroring exactly can feel like mocking. For example, if the person you’re with sits down and adopts a relaxed posture, do the same. And if the person's energy is very "up," you can build rapport with him or her by mirroring their energy. Later, once your rapport is established, try lowering your energy, says Carter, and the other person will lower their energy, too.5. LaughLaughter is a great mood booster—it allows your muscles to relax, improves our blood sugar, and raises and then beneficially lowers our blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. Because laughing is a social thing (you’re 30 percent more likely to laugh with others than alone), it decreases isolation. But that laughter better be the real thing: It turns out, the brain can easily detect the difference between real and faked laughter.6. Spread outWhen you’re feeling nervous, uncertain and or afraid, you may find yourself crossing your arms or legs or may be putting your hands in front of our face or mouth. That’s called “body blocking,” and it’s a universal sign of discomfort, Carter says. To feel better, he advises flinging your limbs out and taking up more space. Making yourself and your space bigger conveys confidence, not just to those around you, but also to your brain.Peggy Conger is a freelance writer who lives on a ranch in New Mexico with 32 horses, assorted dogs and cats, and the occasional mountain lion. She writes about issues important to women at Moxie Lady.

Workplace

What’s the Secret of the Happiest Employees?

There’s a revolution taking place at this very moment in our workplaces and it’s being led by employees just like you and me.Fed up with bosses who drain our energy, jobs that suck away our souls and the financial uncertainty that cheats us of our choices, a grass-roots campaign underway in a growing number of workplaces aims to restore people’s happiness. And new data suggest it’s about to hit a tipping point.I recently partnered with the VIA Institute to release The 2015 Strengths @ Work Survey. Here’s what we discovered:While in 2001 only 2 out of every 10 people said they had the opportunity to do what they do best each day at work, this number has increased by 30 percentage points to five out of every 10 people today.56% of employees can now name their top five strengths, compared to estimates a decade ago that reported only one-third of employees could do this.64% of employees now believe building on their strengths will make them more successful at work, compared to 63% in 2006 who believed they’d grow most in their areas of weaknesses.Even when they have neither organizational nor supervisor support for focusing on their strengths, 49% of employees are still able to name their strengths and 26% still find the opportunity to do what they do best each day. Why are they bothering? Because it makes them happier at work.Putting your strengths to workWe found that 70% of employees who report they have the opportunity to do what they do best each day—to use their strengths regularly—look forward to going to work. Not only that, but 78% of them feel engaged and energized in their jobs because they believe they’re making a difference and that their work is appreciated.Most importantly, 70% of these employees describe themselves as flourishing at work over the last six months. How are they achieving these results, even when their bosses are not supportive?Many are taking these three simple steps:1. Discover your strengths The best way to identify your strengths is taking the free, 10-minute strengths assessment at viacharacter.org. Then pay attention to your best moments at work – when you feel really engaged, energized and enjoying what you’re doing – to see which of your top strengths are in play so you know how to apply them in your role and in your organization.2. Meet your best possible future selfOnce you’ve discovered your strengths, boost your levels of optimism and self-belief by imagining what might be possible in the year ahead if everything went as well as possible and you were using your strengths each day. Journal whatever comes to mind for about 15-20 minutes a day, for three days in a row. Try to detail what you’d spend your time doing, what your colleagues or clients might say and which strengths you’d be using.3. Create a small, daily strength-development habitPick a strength to develop that will bring you closer to the future you’ve described. Think about how you could use this strength for at least 10 minutes each day as you go about your job. For example, use your strength of curiosity to learn one new thing, your strength of gratitude to genuinely thank a client or a colleague or your strength of persistence to power through on a task you’ve been putting off. Or check out this free e-book with more than 70 strength-development habit ideas.Are you ready to join the revolution? It is possible to feel more engaged, energized and happy at work. As these employees have already demonstrated, you just have to be willing to start using your strengths and doing what you do best–even if it’s just for a small moment each day.

People celebrating International Day of Happiness

Workplace

The International Day of Happiness is Here!

When the third annual International Day of Happiness kicks off on March 20, countries around the globe will celebrate it in a variety of ways.A global grassroots celebration“There are a lot of celebrations being planned around the world, things that we don’t even know about yet,” says Jayme Illien, the United Nations adviser who, along with photographer Joseph Peter and then-U.N. Ambassador of Iraq Dr. Hamid Al-Bayati, drafted the U.N. resolution to create the special day. “But it’s still more of a grassroots call to action.”Among the planned events will be a day of special recognition at the United Nations, which passed the resolution declaring the pursuit of happiness “a fundamental human goal” in 2011.Join the movementRegardless of how near (or far) from a celebration, Jayme says that everyone can participate in this year’s International Day of Happiness and become part of the happiness movement.“We would like to see as many people as possible celebrate it,” he says, adding that such a celebration doesn’t have to be officially sanctioned. “It’s just a matter of doing something that makes people happy.”One way to celebrate is to visit one of Live Happy’s hosted Happiness Walls, or to host a wall yourself!Do something for othersAmong Jayme’s suggestions for furthering the day of happiness are to do something for others, whether it’s offering to carry their groceries or buying a cup of coffee for someone. (See more about this kind of giving at #HappyActs.org.)“Giving is such an important part of it, because that’s how you impact an entire community,” he says. “Often people don’t think of giving as a piece of happiness, but it is. You’ll be surprised how much happier it makes you.”Enjoy the day in any way you choose!Even if you’re short on ideas or time, Jayme says there are ways to make the most of the day.“The main thing we want to see is people wishing others a happy International Day of Happiness – just like you would wish someone happy birthday. That’s one of the best things you can do,” Jayme says, noting that it helps brightens the day of both the greeter and the recipient, while at the same time building more awareness about IDOH.“This really is like a birthday celebration – but this time, it’s everyone’s birthday.”For more information about the International Day of Happiness, and about how happiness is expressed all over the world, pick up the April, 2015 issue of Live Happy magazine.

Self-Care

33 Ideas to Bring Happiness Into Your Life

As the International Day of Happiness approaches on March 20, we’re highlighting some of the things that we think make life great. Pick and choose your favorites from our list to watch, read, contemplate and share happiness!1. “People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” —H. Jackson Brown2. Read The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau.3. Listen to “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.4. Watch E.T.5. Make someone else happy.6. “Happiness is a direction, not a place.” —Sydney J. Harris7. Read Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard and Daniel Goleman.8. Listen to “Love and Happiness” by Al Green.9. Watch Amelie.10. Smile. It’s contagious.11. “At some point, you gotta let go, and sit still, and allow contentment to come to you.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love12. Read Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence by Rick Hanson.13. Listen to “Shiny Happy People” by R.E.M.14. Watch I Love You, Man.15. Celebrate the United Nations’ International Day of Happiness by visiting a happiness wall on March 20.16. “I've got sunshine on a cloudy day.” —The Temptations17. Read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.18. Listen to “Happy Together” by The Turtles.19. Watch or read Julie and Julia.20. Take a walk on a nice day.21. “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” —Jack Kerouac22. Read The Wisdom of Compassion by the Dalai Lama and Victor Chan.23. Listen to “If It Makes You Happy,” by Sheryl Crow.24. Watch Yes Man.25. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson.26. Read You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment by Thich Nhat Hanh and Melvin McLeod27. Take the #HappyActs Challenge.28. Enjoy the silence.29. Watch Happy Feet.30. Listen to “The Hallelujah Chorus,” Handel’s Messiah (Easter is April 5)31. Be kind—to yourself and others.32. Send a letter of gratitude to a positive influence in your life.33. Come back in April for 33 Ideas on Green Living.

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