Carrying out good deeds for other people has a double benefit. Not only does it enhance the life of the person you have given to, but it also helps you feel good about yourself. Giving is a great way to boost happiness and who better to help than a friend?

Playfulness and humour is one of my top signature strengths, so it’s probably not surprising I like to laugh. And sometimes when I laugh, I admit I am loud. I can’t help it. I feel it rise up inside me and I have to let it out. It feels great. It’s a great release and I highly recommend it. Laughter after all is good for you. It increases mood, releases muscle tension, helps relieve stress and may help you live longer. Well I’m not sure about that last one, however given the health risks of stress, it makes sense.

Last week I wrote an article on ways to save time that would also give your happiness a boost. Now I would like to add another suggestion: give up smoking.

I don’t smoke, so I don’t know for sure, but I do wonder how much time is wasted due to smoking. There’s the time spent actually smoking of course. Usually outside and alone, away from friends and family enjoying themselves. Then there’s the time spent thinking about smoking and wondering when you’ll get the chance to nip outside to have a quick drag. If there’s a delay to when you normally get a fix, then presumably your attention will be focused on your craving, rather than what you are currently doing.

Can watching sport increase happiness? I would like to think so, but the reality is, I think this is just wishful thinking.
I am a member of Adelaide United and pretty much since I’ve been in Australia, I have turned up to every game. If you know anything about the A League, you will know how bad a season they’ve just had. Yet we’ve had some stunning seasons and they have been a joy to watch. Unfortunately this season was not one of them and last Wednesday night’s performance in the …

So I had my first game of golf for the year on Sunday and I really enjoyed myself. As I sent balls in various directions (I never said I was good!), it occurred to me that playing golf is the perfect way to inject a little happiness. These are some of my realisations:
1)    Golf can suit all personality types. Because you can play it on your own, or with a group of people, it can be suited to both introverts and extraverts. Introverts will value the opportunity for some quiet …

If you pursue a life of happiness, there are many, many benefits to your overall mental health and wellbeing. There is however, one potential downfall. By exuding a happy disposition and not complaining about those small things that really don’t matter, people think your life is fine and dandy. It can be assumed that you are not affected by real life – somehow the struggles have bypassed you, just because you’ve managed to handle them in a healthy and productive way.
It seems sad to me that people don’t like to …

There’s always something to do right? Every day something new comes along to take up your energies. You have a huge list of tasks to do and you say to yourself that once these are done, then you will do the things that bring you pleasure.  How often has it happened that you never quite get around to the fun activity you’d planned for yourself, once the boring stuff was done? You ended up running out of time, or were too tired, or you decided that you didn’t deserve it …

If you want to increase your happiness, one way is through nurturing your character strengths. Positive psychology has identified 24 strengths which can be divided into 6 distinct virtues. In this article I will talk about the strengths which make up the virtue ‘humanity’: love, kindness and generosity and social intelligence. In addition, I offer tips to help you develop each strength.
Love
Having close, loving relationships is important to people with this strength. It is not just about loving your partner, but your friends, family and people around you. Such people …

Use your strengths

Rather than focusing on your limitations, try to spend time nurturing your strengths. In particular I mean your character strengths. Positive psychology has identified 24 different character strengths of which some will be more important to you than others. These are your signature strengths. If you can, use your  strengths everyday. It will help you feel good about yourself.

Carry out volunteer work

Try giving some of your time to a worthy cause. It can be as  often as you like; however, the more time you spend volunteering, the happier …

Recent research indicates people no longer have close friendships. However they are important to your happiness and wellbeing. Friends can offer you an important means of support. Also the support you can offer a friend can be highly satisfying and an important way to boost your mood. A friendship can bring important benefits to the both of you.
Focusing on your friends and relationships rather than material things or simple pleasures will reduce your feelings of depression. Friendships can boost mood, increase self-esteem as well as easing stress and worries. Research …