Self-Care | Live Happy

The Whole 30 Is a Whole New Take on Nutrition

I love a good makeover, and I love books. Two in one? I’m in heaven. The best-selling book, The Whole 30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedomby Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig is a cookbook and personal transformation guide. Like any good makeover, you can expect a change in your body, and a shift in the way you think. A new way of thinking about food Whole30 offers a 30-day meal plan designed to reset your health, habits and relationship with food so you can overcome cravings and addictions. The science behind Whole30 is covered in the authors’ first book, It Starts With Food. The plan focuses on the quality of food (“real” food) and omits processed foods and sugar, as well as grains and legumes. You will have to say goodbye to cheese, and even hummus (made from legumes) but you can keep your morning coffee if you drink it black or with almond milk. The Whole30 offers a way of eating that is intended to transform your relationship with food. The plan is designed to quash cravings for sugar and empty carbohydrates and encourage foods that meet the four “good food” standards, which are: Promote a healthy psychological response. Promote a healthy hormonal response. Support a healthy gut. Support immune function and minimizes inflammation. The authors, both nutritionists, claim that their approach to eating will lead to weight loss, better health and improvements in sleep, energy and mood. The approach is based on “the accumulation of more than five years of experience with hundreds of thousands of Whole30 participants, several focus groups and dozens of community surveys.” The recipes As someone who already cooks with whole and unprocessed foods, I loved the recipes I tried, such as Grilled Coconut Curry Chicken and Cauliflower Mash. The recipes are easy to follow and look quite elegant on your plate. Another recipe that makes it look like you slaved over dinner (but didn’t) is the Halibut With Citrus-Ginger Glaze. The delicious touch of ginger makes you forget this is from any kind of “diet” at all. Delicious. More of what you will take away from Whole 30. Improve your digestion The body wants real food in order to operate properly. Eat colorful recipes co-created with Culinary Institute of America-trained chef Richard Bradford that are alive with flavor and good for your body. Break unhealthy habits Eating dishes like Melissa’s Chicken Hash (chicken, walnuts, apple and arugula) and the more than 100 recipes included in the book are designed to quiet those urges to run to the pantry for a nighttime snack. Aspire toward food freedom If you want to feel in control of what you eat and say goodbye to emotional eating once and for all, this meal plan is designed to bust cravings and achieve what the authors call “food freedom.” The authors give extra tips like “distracting yourself” when you crave something off the plan. Take a walk around your office or drink a glass of water. Learn to savor Slow down and be mindful when you are eating. Taste the flavors of your food and enjoy eating meals supporting the health of your body. Build your kitchen confidence One of the founding principles of Whole30 is you don’t have to cook complicated meals from fancy recipes—all you need are fresh ingredient and basic kitchen techniques. The book includes a guide for sautéing every vegetable you can think of, kitchen gadget fundamentals, a glossary of knife cuts, and instructions on how to cook the perfect boiled egg. Get ready to become a whiz in the kitchen with its step-by-step tips. Get some cool extras Whole30 also includes lots of fun extras like a grocery shopping list, what to eat while traveling, how to handle dining out, success stories/testimonials, tips on how to get your kids to eat healthy and a supportive website community where people go for tips and support. For even more information, go to the website Whole30.com.

Caitlyn Jenner's transformation will pave the way for others

Self-Care

Transformation Can Bring Happiness

"I'm so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can't wait for you to get to know her/me," Caitlyn Jenner tweeted while revealing her Vanity Fair July cover photo by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. When Fran Fried read of the Olympian's transgender transition, she thought it sounded similar to another story—her own. Eight years earlier, Fran began what turned out to be a depression-lifting transition, experiencing a life-changing epiphany that “he” was in fact a “she” at age 46, while working as a newspaper editor in Fresno, CA. Everyone's experience is different, but both Fran and Caitlyn say they are happier after coming out as transgender to friends, family and eventually the world. "My smiles now are a hell of a lot more genuine; even my smiles looked sad before," Fran told Live Happy. Fran's story According to Fran, her transition added a new dimension to her life. "You feel much more the self you really are," she said. It's evident in talking to parents and friends. "I didn't trade in all my boy cards. Now I can talk to them about shoesandfootball." After years of struggling to hide that she felt like one of the girls despite being born a man, Fran began her transition in 2008 by coming out to close friends. In 2009, the newspaper where she worked laid her off in a staff reduction unrelated to her transition. After five months living full-time as a woman, she started therapy. In 2010, after undergoing psychological tests, a doctor gave Fran her first hormone treatment. "Two days later, my depression was gone," she said. Today, she says, she walks more confidently in heels, figuratively and literally. Now that Fran is well through her transformation, she describes herself as an "accidental human rights activist." "Just living is a political act sometimes. Just living out in the everyday world is my own little victory and my own little blow for civil rights. It took all the strength and the acceptance of people around me to help me become happier. You realize why were you hiding all these years. It's not a thunderclap." Tough transitions Psychologists and counselors say transitions are tough, but they usually have positive results despite challenges that remain. A study led by two University of Kentucky professors, Sharon Rostosky, Ph.D., and Ellen Riggle, Ph.D., revealed eight positive outcomes from identifying as transgender: Congruency of self Enhanced interpersonal relationships Personal growth and resiliency Increased empathy A unique perspective on both sexes Living beyond the sex binary Increased activism Connection toLGBTQcommunities "LGBTQ people clearly use their identities as opportunity to create positive meaning," Rostosky and Riggle wrote in their book, A Positive View of LGBTQ: Embracing Identity and Cultivating Well-Being. "Transgender people are happier in the sense they have less anxiety, less dysphoria and they feel better in their own skin," said Ami Kaplan, a New York-based licensed clinical social worker who counsels people about transition. How happy they are depends on how their transitions went, Ami says. People entering a stigmatized group face many land mines that could blow up relationships with family, friends and work, she said. "People come out pretty much as they were before, only in a new gender." Liberation, and discrimination "Coming out helps individuals reconcile conflicts and ambiguity," said JoAnne Keately, MSW, director of the Center of Excellence For Transgender Health at the University of California, San Francisco. "People not able to do that end up dealing with a lot of dysphoria and anguish and fear they will be found out. Coming out publicly is "liberating" because the "process eliminates fear of disclosure." Still, the process is fraught with danger. Regardless of socio-economic status, most trans people will experience stigma, bias and discrimination, JoAnne cautioned. Even Caitlyn, despite mostly friendly media coverage of her transition, has seen less-than-favorable responses, attempts at mockery and pushback on pronoun usage. "As celebrated an athlete as Caitlyn was before transition, as big a public figure as she's been, Caitlyn is not immune to bias many experience on a daily basis," JoAnne said. "However, Caitlyn's coming out won't hinder her ability to earn income," she said. "A lot of other trans people, if they are lucky enough to be employed, to come out would put them in danger of losing their employment." The more transgendered people rgar come out, the more likely acceptance and the waning of discrimination are to follow, JoAnne said. "Living in a closet builds a lot of self-doubt and lowers self-esteem. It eats at you if you can't be who you feel you are authentically. Living as your authentic self is a good thing for us all," she said. JoAnne credited Caitlyn with planning to use her position of privilege and her upcoming E! reality show to shed light on the conditions in which many of America's estimated 700,000 to 3 million transgendered live and on issues such as suicide. Getting a clear picture Transgender people are pretty common, Ami said, "We shouldn't think of it as people 'out there,' Hollywood celebrities or on society's fringe. "These are people in our lives, in our workplaces, who are gender variant. And never assume. Not everyone who is gender variant looks gender variant." Vanessa Fabbre, Ph.D., LCSW, professor at Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, focuses on late-life transitioners. "To really understand the experience, the magnitude and the implications of transitioning, you have to understand the social context of people making the decisions," Vanessa said. "We all have gender identity, a common connector. We all have gender expression." Her 2014 study, "Gender Transitions in Later Life: A Queer Perspective on Successful Aging," shows how transgender older adults experience challenges to their gender identities that put their emotional and physical well-being at risk. In the end, experts and people who have been through it all agree—transitions are incredible difficult. It may feel easier to sit it out and not rock the boat. But in the end, if you do not embrace who you really are, you may have trouble finding true, authentic happiness. Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who splits his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.

Self-Care

4 Secrets to Following Your Dreams

A decade ago Margaret was accepted into the University of Pennsylvania’s MAPP program, the first applied positive psychology graduate program of its kind. “What’s the big deal?” you might think. People apply to college and graduate school every day. For Margaret, it took courage.First, she had responsibilities. She was already paying college tuition for one daughter. She was also taking care of her teenage daughter still at home, who would be starting college the next year.Obstacles to the dreamExpenses were increasing, and the MAPP degree had a hefty price tag. She also had a busy consulting and coaching practice to run. She couldn’t just take a sabbatical, study full time, and expect her business to still be afloat when she returned. Lastly, Margaret hadn’t stepped foot into a college classroom for more than 20 years.Yet in her heart, Margaret was convinced this new field of positive psychology was something she just had to study. She had to find the courage to follow this direction. Courage originates from the French word coeur, meaning heart.Follow your heart—and your brainOur brains give us the ability to dream of what we want, but our hearts motivate us to act on those dreams. It takes courage to start a business. It takes courage to leave a comfortable job to embark on a new career. It takes courage to ask your boss for more challenging work or a raise. And most of all, it takes courage to go against the expectations others may have of you.In our coaching of hundreds of business leaders, colleagues and friends, we have found three main culprits that prevent people from pursuing their dreams: fear of success, fear of disappointing others and uncertainty of the very next step.So what can you do to be more courageous and resilient or to be what we call a “positive deviant” in our book, Profit from the Positive.1. Quit being an expertAsking for help is one of the hardest things any of us can do. But remember this: You know how good it feels to help someone, right? Give your friends, family and colleagues that same opportunity.2. Put on an explorer's hatExploring empowers and creates momentum. Dust off your resume and go on an interview just to practice. Looking to start your own business? Reach out to other business owners and pick their brains. Ask, "How can I make this work?"3. Win debates against yourselfIgnore the inner critic that tells you to "Play it safe" and "Don't look stupid." Trust the inner voice that says, "You can do this"; "What's the worst that can happen? and What might I learn even if I fail?4. DabbleHerminia Ibarra of INSEAD business school suggests that if you want to follow your dreams, don't quit your job cold-turkey. Dabble in the field or job you want. Blog. Volunteer at a business or organization for a few hours a week.Read more about avoiding pitfalls when starting your dream business.What have you been dreaming of doing? What is one small step you can take today to act on those dreams? Let us know in the Comments section, below.Margaret H. Greenberg and Senia Maymin, are organizational consultants and executive coaches, and authors ofProfit from the Positive: Proven Leadership Strategies to Boost Productivity and Transform Your Business, with a foreword by Tom Rath.For more information about Senia and Margaret, go toProfitFromThePositive.com.

Live Happy's Tips for Happy Healthy Summer

Well-Being

9 Ways to Stay Healthy and Happy This Summer

Summer is synonymous with happiness. How can you not be happy basking in the sunshine, relaxing on the beach, celebrating with a cookout, playing with your kids or lounging poolside? And while it all sounds heavenly, sometimes summer is spent figuring out how to entertain the kiddos from dawn to dusk so they don’t drive you wacko. If you really want a happy, healthy summer—one where you can bask in its long days without the kids driving you crazy—try these nine tips. (We recommend reading this in your hammock.) 1. Plan “me” time When life gets crazy, (when is it not?) the first thing that usually goes to the wayside is time just for you. Take turns with your spouse and make dates with yourself. Watch the kiddos while your spouse gets a little solitude, and then let your spouse give you that precious time, too. Hang out in a coffee shop, read a good book, meditate, take a long bike ride or catch an afternoon matinee—do something that allows you to think, reflect, relax or just unplug. 2. Make healthy eating fun Browse farmers markets and get some gorgeous seasonal produce. Teach your kids about the health benefits of real foods by experimenting with clean-eating recipes to make delicious, colorful meals and snacks. Learn the three easy steps to healthier eating. 3. Fill your calendar with joy You can have a lot of control and influence over how happy your summer is if you proactively plan weekends with your absolute favorite things to do, like hosting a cookout for your street, planning a weekend getaway or scheduling an outdoor adventure. Not only do you get the joy that comes from anticipation, but you also get a fun experience and a wonderful memory! (It’s a trio of happiness.) 4. Investigate your favorite exercise The key to exercising regularly isn’t about finding the time—it’s about finding an exercise you love. Because if you love it, you will do it. Summer is the ideal time to try out some new activities. Paddle-boarding anyone? Golf? (Skip the cart.) Take your kids on a family hike. Sign up to jog your first 5K. Go in search of an exercise to fall in love with, and you just might get hooked. 5. Remind yourself why sleep is wonderful Make your bedroom a place of serenity and calm by cleaning out any clutter that could be clogging you mentally. Get your favorite sheets and comforter. Open a window if it’s cool enough for gentle breezes. Fully embrace sleep as one of life’s great pleasures. 6. Know what recharges you When you’re feeling run down and frazzled, what restores you? What fills you up? Make a list of the top three activities that replenish your mind and body and then carve out time to do them. You’ll love life more when you feel full and mentally clear, instead of frazzled and depleted. 7. Seek a change of scenery Go on a vacation, drive to your neighboring town or just try a new restaurant. Changing up your normal environment can be uplifting and offer a new perspective. Read our 5 tips for an energy-boosting vacation. 8. Keep a journal Journaling helps with self-awareness, mental clarity and preserving memories, but keep the right journal for you. It could be a one-sentence journal about your day or maybe a travel journal where you record your summer adventures. You may even consider keeping a gratitude journal, where you jot down what you appreciate about your day. If it’s more your speed, use your journal to doodle or brainstorm your next big idea. Read more about journaling as a five-minute misery cure. 9. Go deeper with conversation If you’re having a dinner party, as you set the table, think about how you’d like to direct the conversation with your guests. Sometimes, with a little planning, you can cultivate meaningful conversations instead of surface chitchat. Bonus tip: Don’t start cleaning up when people are done eating, as that signals everyone that dinner is over. Sit and just enjoy your conversations—it’s good for your health and longevity! Make this your best summer yet by aligning it closer to what you value most. Happiness will follow. Click here to read about how to have a happy family roadtrip this summer. Sandra Bienkowski worked as the national columns editor for SUCCESS magazine for three years, and is widely published in print and on the web. See more about Sandra at The Media Concierge.

Self-Care

Color Yourself Happy

Here’s a new twist on stress reduction. More adults are turning off phones and tablets, putting credit scores, diets and gym workouts out of their minds, and picking up crayons and coloring books for their relaxation and self-expression. Not your 5-year-old's coloring books A new top seller on Amazon is simply titled Adult Coloring Book and is full of intricate "stress relieving patterns" from geometric shapes to fleur de lis. Selling more than 1 million copies and helping launch the coloring craze is 2013's Secret Garden, by Johanna Basford, whose pen-and-ink illustrations come to life as you discover tiny creatures and complete her scenes. Become mesmerized by the patterns "Chances are last time you spent an hour or so coloring in you didn't have a mortgage and you weren't worried about a nagging boss or the financial crisis!" Johanna says. "Coloring in seems to help people think about a time when life was simpler and more carefree." Adult colorists can't wait for her next book, The Lost Ocean: An Underwater Adventure & Coloring Book, on sale Oct. 27. Jim Gold is a veteran journalist who splits his time between Seattle and the Bay Area.

Self-Care

5 Strategies to Make You More Productive

Whether we love or hate our jobs, the amount of work most of us have to do each day has reached unsustainable levels. We start a typical workday anxious about how we will get it all done, who we might let down and which important tasks we will sacrifice—again—so we can keep our heads above water. As we grab our first cups of coffee, we check our e-mail in-boxes on our handheld devices, scanning to see who has added a new task to our to-do list. The stress builds as we read e-mail after e-mail, each containing a request that we know can’t be dealt with quickly. We mark these e-mails as unread and save them for . . . “later.” We mentally add them to the piles of work left undone the night before (when we left our offices much too late). More e-mails to answer, more phone calls to return, more paperwork to fill out. And everything needs our immediate attention. Attention deficit In fact, too many things need our attention before we can even get to the tasks that really matter—and too many things matter. We frequently work all day long—at the office and then at home, taking care of our families, cleaning up, paying bills—sometimes only stopping to sleep. There simply isn’t enough time, but so much always needs to be done. Work with your biology, not against it The key to achieving fantastic levels of effectiveness is to work with our biology. We may all be capable of impressive feats of comprehension, motivation, emotional control, problem solving, creativity and decision-making when our biological systems are functioning optimally. But we can be terrible at those very same things when our biological systems are suboptimal. The amount of exercise and sleep we get and the food we eat can greatly influence these mental functions in the short term—even within hours. The mental functions we engage in just prior to tackling a task can also have a powerful effect on whether we accomplish that task. Follow the science Research findings from the fields of psychology and neuroscience are revealing a great deal about when and how we can set up periods of highly effective mental functioning. In my book, Two Awesome Hours: Science-Based Strategies to Harness Your Best Time and Get Your Most Important Work DoneI share in detail five deceptively simple strategies that I have found are the most successful in helping busy people create the conditions for at least two hours of incredible productivity each day: 1. Recognize your decision points Once you start a task, you run largely on autopilot, which makes it hard to change course. Maximize the power of those moments in between tasks—that’s when you can choose what to take on next, and can therefore decide to tackle what matters most. 2. Manage your mental energy Tasks that need a lot of self-control or focused attention can be depleting, and tasks that make you highly emotional can throw you off your game. Schedule tasks based on their processing demand and recovery time. 3. Stop fighting distractions Learn to direct your attention. Your attention systems are designed to wander and refresh, not to focus indefinitely. Trying to fight that is like trying to fight the ocean tides. Understanding how your brain works will help you get back on track quickly and effectively when you get distracted. 4. Leverage your mind–body connection Move your body and eat in ways that set you up for success in the short term. (You can eat and physically do whatever you want on your downtime.) 5. Make your workspace work for you Learn what environmental factors help you be on top of your game—and how to adjust your environment accordingly. Once you know what distracts you or what primes your brain to be in creating or risk-taking modes, you can adjust your environment for productivity. Reap the rewards These strategies, derived from neuroscience and psychology, may sound simple; some may even seem like common sense. But we rarely employ them. Understanding the science behind them helps us know what’s worth acting on and how to do so within the constraints we have. We can all learn to deploy them regularly and consciously with powerful results. While I believe that you can accomplish great things under the right conditions, I’m not suggesting you’ll be able to get all your work done in just two awesome hours. I do think, however, that when you are mentally effective, you can accomplish whatever matters most to you at that moment, with pride in your work and inspiration to do more. Working in tandem with our biology—setting up the conditions for a couple of hours of peak productivity—allows us not only to focus on the tasks that are most important to us and our success but also to restore some sanity and balance to our lives.

Self-Care

The 5-Minute Misery Cure

Do you lead what many believe to be a charmed life—some variation of: a successful, ladder-climbing career and a well-suited husband to match, a healthy diet, nice car, good friends, etc., and yet wonder why you feel so miserable when you have so much?The truth is, many women today are less happy than ever, and it’s because they’re living in an emotional stone age. This is what I call The Misery Epidemic, which I write about in my forthcoming book The Misery Cure. Millions of women suffer from a feeling of disconnection in their relationships, lack intimacy with spouses and don’t know how to talk about any of it.The problem? These women are living in a disempowered place and don’t know how to handle their Big 5 Female Emotions. These feelings are designed to send up red flags; however, we often misread them.Here’s what these emotions are trying to tell you:Fear: Many women have been taught from birth that there’s something wrong with them if they are too emotional, and that they need to keep their emotions in control. This creates a fear of letting your guard down and showing that you are vulnerable. You’re really afraid that speaking up about feelings will exacerbate the problem, but not talking about them is making it worse.Anger: Anger for women in today’s culture can be like the F-word—it is thought to be totally inappropriate and uncalled for. It’s particularly not okay for women to feel or express anger in too extreme of a fashion or they will be labeled 'bossy' or 'entitled.' Instead of expressing anger, you suppress it and feel stuck., forcing you into a state of sadness or even depression.Sadness: Your emotions are trying to serve you, but you are afraid of how they make you feel, so you stuff them deep down inside. By looking at your emotions as “Bad,” you feel like you should try to get rid of them. When they don’t go away (because the real problem hasn’t been addressed), you feel extreme sadness.Anxiety: Anxiety is a result of not trusting yourself, and the more we don’t listen to ourselves the more we’ll struggle with anxiety. It’s like an awful merry-go-round that just never stops until we have the courage to jump off.Frustration: There’s no emotion quite like frustration to make those wheels spin round and round. And you are, quite literally, stuck. Frustration, however, means you are viewing a situation too narrowly, based upon beliefs rooted in fear. Because you are buying into your fears rather than paying attention to your emotions, you are frustrated in feeling like you can’t bury your negative emotions.Guilt: Guilt is about making you feel bad about who you are as a person—about doubting your worth. However, it’s also there to support you in reclaiming the aspects of yourself that have split off. You need to stop second-guessing your guilt and honor what it’s telling you.In order to have the intimate emotional conversation your mind is trying to carry out, you need to use what I call the 5-Minute Misery Cure:1. Identify how you feelWrite down all the emotions that are coming up for you. Now see which of the Big 5 is most related to how you feel. If you are feeling more than one of the Big 5, pick the emotion that wants to be addressed first.2. Release your egoAllow the ego’s version of what you are feeling to come through you. Write down all of your fears, objections and doubts. You want to be able to clearly identify what your ego is telling you on paper, rather than let the ego’s messages continue to run amok in your head.3. Work from an empowered placeNow that your ego feels heard, there is space for your inner voice to come through. Write out what it means to you.4. Take actionIdentify one action step you can take to make an empowered action. Set a due date by which you will demonstrate that step through an actionable measure.Sadly, despite the many freedoms woman have achieved, we are still behind the curve in terms of emotional awareness. We are growing but we have to communicate our needs if we want the world to grow with us. When we come out of the shadows and overcome our fears, we’ll feel more connected to our emotional selves, our closest relationships (partners, children, friends, co-workers) and finally be able to bring our new empowered self to the world.Michelle Bersell, M.A., M.Ed., is an author, psychotherapist, and mother of three who teaches and speaks about emotional empowerment. Her forthcoming book, The 5-Minute Misery Cure: Solutions for Women Who Are Sad, Stressed, and Suffering in Silence, is due out in 2016. Download Michelle's Misery Epidemic Kit and find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Self-Care

11 Ways to Be Happier Today!

Happiness is the gateway to success, but like most good things in life, it also takes some work. Roll up your sleeves and put some effort into becoming a happier you. Here are 11 things you can do to enhance your happiness today. (For all of you happiness over-achievers, click on the headings below for more information on each tip!) 1. Take a look back If you aren’t sure of your passion as an adult, revisit your youth for clues. Perhaps when you were a child, teenager or even a young adult, there was something that you were passionate about. Maybe there was something you loved to collect, a place you loved going, or an activity that you loved doing. Bring those old experiences back into your current life. 2. Go in search of awe A sense of awe may help you fight depression and inflammation. Find awe by visiting a natural wonder. Listen to your favorite music. Lose yourself in an art museum. Go in search of what inspires you deeply. 3. Connect with people Our relationships can have an almost magical effect on our happiness. Singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb feels fulfilled when she’s collaborating and connecting with others. You can find inspiration in others, too. 4. Value experiences over things Things are nice, but the joy we get from experiences lasts longer, causes less waste and probably has a smaller negative environmental impact. Walk to a destination with your family to enjoy the outdoors and connect through conversation. Take a hike in nearby hills. Plan an exciting trip together. All of these things will give enjoyment that you can anticipate, experience and then savor afterward. 5. Get a pet Your new dog can make you more active. What's more, our pets bring bundles of emotional benefits to the humans who love them, according to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 6. Cultivate your courage Identify your strengths and the areas in your life where you could be a little more courageous. Start working on those areas where you could use a little improvement. 7. Host a dinner party Recent research by psychology professor Barbara Fredrickson shows that even casual positive interactions with acquaintances can cause a major lift in spirits. 8. Start off a meeting with a compliment Kick off your next office meeting with a compliment roundtable. Pay a compliment or say a kind word about a coworker or employee. Employees feel more valued, happier and more productive when there is a focus on what they're doing right. 9. See possibilities everywhere Do you see your glass as half-full or half-empty? If you choose to see the world optimistically, you can more fully appreciate everything and enjoy your life more. We can't always choose to be happy immediately, but we can always choose to work toward being happier. 10. Get a happy app Start your happiness track backed by science on Happify. Each day you can participate in fun and easy-to-follow activities, like taking a Savor Quest or relaxing for a few minutes in a Serenity Scene. Explore different tracks to stay on course to living the good life. 11. Strike a pose Research shows that even standing in a "superman" pose (standing tall, hands on hips, legs slightly apart) a few minutes before a job interview can actually improve performance. Fake it till you make it!

Well-Being

Green is Good

Sprawling across three city lots, the Bodine Street Community Garden in Philadelphia is a far cry from the trash-strewn eyesore it once was. In 1980, an organization named Philadelphia Green transformed this vacant area into an urban oasis, providing a place for nearby residents to grow flowers and vegetables or just to gather and meet neighbors.An urban outdoor oasisWhile the reinvention of the space is highly praised foradding outward beauty to the area, it also plays another pivotal role—improving the physical and mental wellbeing ofthose who visit it.Mathew White, Ph.D., a lecturer in risk and health at theUniversity of Exeter Medical School at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health in Truro, Cornwall, UnitedKingdom, says a 2009 study about how nature influenced participants piqued his interest in the potential health properties of green spaces.Research goes back to nature“Spending time in nature came out as the most positive[activity] people reported,” he recalls. “This was totally unexpected, and I wanted to learn more.” That led to the study, “Longitudinal Effects of Moving to Greener and Less Green Urban Areas,” which Mathew conducted with colleagues Ian Alcock, Benedict W. Wheeler, Lora E. Fleming and Michael H. Depledge.The study, published in December 2013 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, tracked mental health data for five consecutive years. It showed study participants who moved to greener areas enjoyed measurable improvements in their mental health scores, while those who moved to less green areas “showed significantly worse mental health.” The study concluded “environmental policies to increase urban green space may have sustainable public health benefits.”Long-lasting health benefitsWhat was most surprising to the study’s authors, Mathewsays, is how long the positive effects lasted. While those who moved to less-green areas eventually adapted and returned to their baseline mental health state, those who moved to greener areas continued to show improved mental health scores.“The fact that these benefits lasted over time, withoutdecreasing, was the most surprising find,” he says. “People didn’t adapt to more green space.”His findings support those discovered by University of Essexresearcher Jules Pretty, who found that just five minutes in a green space such as a park (or even a backyard) provides a significant mental health boost.Mathew notes that depressive disorders are on the rise,something he believes is related to the fact that nearly 78 percent of people in the world’s developed regions live in urban areas.Nature linked to less stressThis urbanization has significantly reduced our access to green spaces, which has been identified as a natural stress reliever in numerous studies, including the 2012 report “More Green Space is Linked to Less Stress in Deprived Communities” published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning.“There are several theories [as to why increased exposureto green spaces is beneficial],” he says. “They include stress reduction, cognitive restoration, increased physical activity—which is good for mental health—and place attachment.”While scientists haven’t quite pinned down why it works so well,the research clearly shows its benefits. The best news for city dwellers is that even small strips of green space and community gardens can make a big difference. “A new paper we’re about to publish suggests that even having street trees near the home is good for mental health,” he says.

Self-Care

7 Tips to Find the Silver Lining Within Yourself

The idiom “every cloud has a silver lining” is a beautiful image, representing an attitude of finding the positive in any situation, no matter how challenging it might be. It’s more than just believing that good things are to come, it’s an understanding that every negative might be reframed as a positive, depending on how you see it.The more scientifically minded will be happy to know that this is more than just word play—it’s the subject of some interesting recent research out of NYU. Dubbed “silver lining theory,” the concept holds that some 90% of people believe that their negative traits are actually strengths in disguise - and it’s that very belief that makes them work harder at developing that positive attribute.Read on see the silver lining within yourself, every day - no matter who you are.Shy = ReflectiveDo you prefer the company of a few close friends over a pumping party? Wait for someone else to speak before raising your hand? It could be that you’re shy—but that means you’re also reflective.Sliver lining: You take your time before rushing in with an answer, and like to think things over alone or with the people closest to you. This calm, contemplative quality can be further cultivated by writing, or by taking up a meditation practice.Disorganized = CreativeYour clothes are more at home on your bedroom floor rather than they are in the wardrobe, your bills live in piles on the counter and your inbox is overflowing - sound familiar? Sure, you could be a bit disorganized, but you’re also highly creative, and naturally see the beauty in the chaos of life around you.Silver lining: You know how to lose yourself in a creative flow - whether it’s visual art, writing, or decorating your apartment, and this flair rubs off on the people around you.Impulsive = SpontaneousQuick decisions are second nature to you, and plans tend not to sit quite so well. You buy presents on a whim, call old friends when they pop into your mind, and send emails without much of a second thought. Sure, many would call you impulsive - but they probably also love how spontaneous you can be.Silver lining: Saturday night and nothing planned—no worries! You’re always quick to come up with ideas for last-minute fun, and can rush to help a friend on a moment’s notice if needed. Embrace this flowy side of your personality; you’ll probably find that your loved ones really value it, too. Intimidating = AssertiveEver been called the “life of the party”? Chances are, people also find you intimidating from time to time, but that’s okay. Your strong, confident energy points to your assertive nature—and that’s something you can put to use in both your personal and your professional life.Silver lining: Along with standing up for yourself, you can use your strong, clear voice to speak up on issues close to your heart. Connect with other assertive personalities with these TED talks that spark social change.Irresponsible = AdventurousDo you often misplace your things? Forget to return phone calls? Maybe even miss a deadline here and there? You might be aware that you’re a touch on the irresponsible side - but it’s likely just because your head has already moved on to your next adventure.Silver lining: Being tied down isn’t really your thing as you’d rather be out exploring - in your hometown or around the world. Infuse a sense of adventure into everything you do—it’ll fuel your passion and bring out the silver lining of this personality trait.Stubborn = PersistentIf you know you’re right, you’ll never back down - and why should you? You’ve got a point to prove! This quality might aptly be labelled stubbornness, but it can also be seen as persistence if applied to something worthwhile.Silver lining: If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly—right? You can use your strong, dedicated force of will to tackle difficult projects head on and keep going until your goal is achieved. Looking for something to sink your teeth into?Inflexible = OrganizedEverything has its place - and if something changes it can throw your entire day out of whack. This tendency towards inflexibility might make dealing with the inevitable changes of day-to-day life a challenge - but the flip side is that you are supremely organized.Silver lining: Your organizational skills can have many positive applications - from keeping your own life in order and getting the most out of every minute to running a business which has a positive impact on the world at large.Don’t see your personality on this list? You can try the silver lining exercise yourself - you probably already know which of your character traits have a flip-side that you can use to do good. Be kind to yourself in your analysis, and tell us about it in the comments below.

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