有時,讓我們感到開心的是一些大事,比如孩子誕生、大幅升職,或是彩票中獎。 但有些時候,一些小事也會讓人高興。比如上班路上遇到一個鮮花盛開的花園拍些美照,或者跟久別的朋友重逢相擁。 本文著重探討以上第二種令人幸福感增加的方式。美國財經科技新聞網站BusinessInsider提供了七條建議,認為只要對日常生活習慣稍作調整,就可以過得更幸福、更健康、做事更有成效。改變過程最多只需要十分鐘,而且今天就可以開始行動。 記錄個人想法和感受 著有暢銷書《每周工作四小時》的投資者蒂姆·費里斯建議,每天早上不妨在日記里記下想法。 費里斯采用了茱莉亞·卡梅倫在《藝術家之路:清早記日記》(The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal)一書中介紹的方法。他強調,寫下文字的過程比寫了什么內容更重要。而且,記日記能讓人擺脫恐懼和擔憂的情緒,不用糾結在不良情緒里。 我們還可以嘗試《五分鐘日志》(Five Minute Journal)介紹的方法。書中摘取了一些鼓舞人心的名言,也提出了一些發人深省的問題。 如果晚上記日記更方便,也可以調整時間。 上班途中和同路人聊天 心理學期刊《實驗心理學雜志:普通心理學》(Journal of Experimental Psychology: General) 2014年刊發的一項研究發現,在上班途中和同行的乘客聊聊天,人們會開心得多。 不過大部分受訪者都表示,如果上班途中和陌生人攀談,心情可能會受影響,效果可能也沒那么好。 但如果你不用總擔心打擾到別人,能大膽主動開口,可能對別人和自己都有幫助。 上班路上拍一張漂亮的照片 這個點子來自谷歌母公司Alphabet旗下創新實驗室Google X的高管、《解開快樂之謎》(Solve for Happy)一書作者莫·喬達特。每天步行去上班途中,喬達特都會找到些漂亮的東西拍下來。 喬達特之所以想到這種法子,是為了充分投入尋找美好事物,從而避免消極情緒。他認為這也是一種冥想:只是不用特別留意呼吸吐納,也不用刻意面壁,只要認真關注周圍世界就可以。 為新一天計劃些開心的事。 強迫自己開心通常會適得其反。 期刊《情緒》(Emotion)2014年發布的一項研究發現,關鍵在于“優先做快樂事”,或者說把一天的工作生活內容規劃好,要包括一些可能讓你開心的事。 上述研究報告的合著者蘭納·卡塔利娜向美國科學雜志《科學美國人》表示,為了規劃日程時盡可能提升幸福感,應該“仔細考慮能讓自己滿意或者快樂的活動,盡可能為之騰出時間。對有些人來說,可能就是規律地做園藝和烹飪,還有些人可能喜歡經常跟好朋友聯系。” 關鍵在于不要強迫自己在特定時間產生某種特定感受。 為晚上計劃一件要優先完成的事 下班回家后,由于感覺疲憊,又不像工作一樣任務有硬性的截止期限,很容易浪費時間。 因此,工作效率專家、暢銷書《時間管理手冊》的作者勞拉·范德卡姆建議,工作日晚上設定一件需要優先完成的事,可能是晚飯后陪家人散步,或是給朋友打個電話,或者讀上100頁小說,也可能是上一節健身課。 范德卡姆說:“下班回家很容易覺得,太累了什么都做不了。但其實有好幾個小時,浪費就太可惜了。” 將雜務分出去 《美國國家科學院院刊》(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)最近刊發的一項跨文化研究發現,愿意花錢節省時間的人往往比不愿意為此花錢的人過得幸福。購買半成品食物或者請人打掃衛生都屬于此類投資。 有趣的是,研究調查中很少有受訪者表示,愿意為了節省個人時間花錢。這意味著,大部分人都沒有意識到這種聯系。 每天早中晚飯都訂外賣可能有些過分。但長遠來看,假如你今天把衣服送出去洗,明天利用家政服務平臺Task Rabbit組裝書架,都可能減少很多麻煩。 列舉三件心存感激之事 美國心理學家馬丁·塞利格曼和同事共同設計了有助于增加幸福感的“三件順心事”訓練。加州大學伯克利分校教育研究中心“至善科學中心”(Greater Good Science Center)介紹如下: 每天晚上臨睡前寫下三件順心的事,再解釋下為何感覺順心。開心的事可大可小,小到愛人主動扔垃圾,大到工作上升職加薪。要盡可能寫詳細,還要寫清楚你的感受。 塞利格曼和同事發現,人們堅持寫順心事六個月后會感到更幸福,抑郁情緒減少。 要是覺得早上更適合,也可以早上起來寫。(財富中文網) 譯者:Pessy 審稿:夏林 |
Sometimes it’s the big things that make us happy — the birth of a child, an impressive promotion, winning the lottery. But other times, it’s the small things. Think capturing the most beautiful photo of a flower garden on your way to work, or hugging a friend you haven’t seen in a while. It’s the second type of happiness boosters that we’re focusing on here. Below, Business Insider has rounded up seven tweaks to your daily routine — all of which take 10 minutes or less — that can make you happier, healthier, and more productive. Read on for ideas you can implement starting today. Jot down your thoughts and feelings Author and investor Tim Ferris recommends jotting down your thoughts in a journal every morning. Ferris uses “The Artist’s Way Morning Pages Journal” by Julia Cameron, and emphasizes that the process of writing matters more than the final product. What’s more, journaling allows you to get fears and worries out of your head so you can stop fixating on them. Another journal option is the “Five Minute Journal,” which comes with inspirational quotations and thought-provoking questions. You can switch things up and journal in the evening if that’s more convenient. Chat with a fellow commuter A 2014 study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, found that people are much happier during their commutes when they engage another passenger in conversation. Still, most people surveyed said they expected their commute to be less positive and productive if they talked to a stranger. If you can get over the fear that you’d be bothering someone else, you might be doing them — and yourself — a favor. Take one beautiful photo on your way to work That’s a tip from Mo Gawdat, who is an executive at Alphabet’s moonshot lab, X, and the author of “Solve for Happy.” Every day during his walk to the office, Gawdat searches for something beautiful and snaps its photo. The idea behind searching for one perfect photo is that it prevents Gawdat from thinking distressing thoughts, since he’s fully engaged in searching for beauty. He calls it a form of meditation: Instead of focusing on his breath, or a spot on the wall in front of him, he’s focusing on the world around him. Plan something joyful for tomorrow Forcing yourself to be happy generally backfires. A 2014 study, published in the journal Emotion, found that the key is “prioritizing positivity,” or structuring your day so that it includes activities that are likely to make you happy. To schedule your days to maximize happiness, study co-author Lahnna I. Catalino told Scientific American you should “reflect on the activities that bring you contentment or joy and make time for these events in your daily life. For some people, this could mean regularly setting aside time for gardening and cooking; for others, it could mean making time to connect with good friends.” The idea is not to force yourself to feel any specific way at any given moment. Set one priority for this evening It’s tempting to waste the hours after you get home from work — you’re tired and there aren’t any hard deadlines to meet like there are at the office. So productivity expert and author Laura Vanderkam recommends setting one (simple) priority for every weekday evening. Maybe you want to go for a walk with your family after dinner, or call a friend, or read 100 pages of a novel, or go to a gym class. Vanderkam said: “It is very easy to come home after work and just feel like, well, I’m too tired to do anything. But you have several hours then that are going and you will never get that back.” Consider outsourcing a chore A recent cross-cultural study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that people who spend money to save time tend to be happier than those who don’t. Think paying for a meal-kit service or hiring a house cleaner. Interestingly, few people surveyed said they would spend a hypothetical sum of money on services that would save them time, suggesting that most of us aren’t aware of this connection. Ordering takeout for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day might be going overboard. But sending out your laundry today and having a Task Rabbit assemble that bookshelf tomorrow might save you a headache in the long run. List three things you’re grateful for The “three good things” exercise was developed by psychologist Martin Seligman and colleagues. Here’s how it works, according to UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center: Every night before bed, write down three things that went well for you, along with an explanation of why they went well. The good things can be as seemingly small as your partner taking out the garbage or as big as getting a promotion. Make sure you include as much detail as possible, as well as how the event made you feel. Seligman and colleagues found that people who used the three good things exercise felt happier and less depressed for six months. Again, you can do the same exercise in the morning, if that works better for you. |