Tips for Overcoming 6 Common Barriers to Happiness. Happiness can be a paradox: The more you reach for it, the more it seems to slip through your fingers. Could it be you’re looking for happiness in all the wrong places? The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) Good & Bad Food List. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is a carb, grain and sugar-free diet that often helps with irritable bowel. Xanadu Dogs Based in Ridgway, Colorado, XANADU breeds family dogs that love people, want to please their families, and are healthy and companionable throughout their. Do you think happiness is what you get when you get what you want? Some say happiness is a little like falling in love, that you can’t make it happen. If that’s the case, then how can you become happier? At the 2. 00. 8 Happiness & Its Causes Conference in San Francisco, a wide range of people - - from scientists, doctors, and psychologists to artists, philosophers, and Tibetan Buddhists - - offered their thoughts on the topic. Here are a few of their tips for overcoming six common barriers to happiness. Happiness Barrier No. Are Happy Gut Bacteria Key to Weight Loss? Imbalances in the microbial community in your intestines may lead to metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes.Complexity. Solution: Simplify. Schooled in Buddhist monasteries since childhood, Thupten Jinpa, Ph. D, knows a thing or two about the benefits of simplicity. Why do you think monks and nuns shave their heads, he asks? For one, it simplifies their lives. A principal English translator to the Dalai Lama, Jinpa is no longer a monk. But he still holds on to some of the lifestyle's spartan values. Multiple credit cards? They don’t create freedom or happiness, he argues - - although, these days, he might get less of an argument about that. Modern life has elevated individual choice to the highest level, he says, but these choices come at a big price. A Breakneck Pace. Solution: Take a Pause. The same culture that entangles you in a web of complexity may also have you on the constant chase, Jinpa says. A good time to do this is in the morning. Without it, your life may feel out of control. Venerable Robina Courtin, a Buddhist nun and organizer of the Happiness & Its Causes Conference, recommends spending these minutes practicing mindful meditation. When your mind wanders, bring it back to your breath. ![]() By implementing them in your own life, you. Stevens, PhD, titled his book with the bold assertion, You Can Choose to Be Happy. Through this process, you learn to observe what your mind is saying. Continued. Happiness Barrier No. Negativity. Solution: Let go“Your prison is nothing in comparison with the inner prison of ordinary people: the prison of attachment, the prison of anger, the prison of depression, the prison of pride.” wrote Lama Zopa Rinpoche to a California prisoner, a student of the Liberation Prison Project, which offers Buddhist teachings to people in prison. Some might view this statement as a bit of an exaggeration. But negative, compulsive thoughts do have a quality of stickiness to them, Jinpa says. How you see things and the way you experience the world are strongly linked, making it critical to adopt a positive outlook. It says you can’t do anything about it.” If you believe your abusive boss, father, or partner is the main cause of your suffering, for example, then you’ve tied your own hands and risk becoming imprisoned by toxic thoughts. The Buddhist view, by contrast, is that happiness is what you get when you give up a neurotic state of mind, Courtin says. It’s empowering, she says, because knowing you can change it gives you the courage to look inside, pay attention, and take responsibility for your thoughts. Rather than judging negative thoughts, Courtin advises observing them with compassion. Then ask yourself, “What can I do about this?”Techniques like mindful meditation can help with this, but may not be for everyone, especially those experiencing severe depression, says Philippe R. ![]() Goldin, Ph. D, research associate in the department of psychology at Stanford University. But there are other simple steps you can take to counteract negativity and enhance your happiness. Practicing gratitude is one. People appear to have a certain set point for happiness, a range that’s influenced by genetics. But those who regularly practice gratitude can enhance this set point by as much as 2. Robert Emmons, Ph. D in his book, Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier. ![]() Through his research, Emmons found that people who kept gratitude journals felt better about their lives, exercised more, and were more optimistic. Continued. Happiness Barrier No. Despair. Solution: Stay hopeful. Did a parent attempt to protect you as a child by saying, “Don’t get your hopes up”? There’s no evidence that hope is hurtful, says David B. Feldman, Ph. D, assistant professor of counseling psychology at Santa Clara University in California. ![]() Instead, hope can greatly enhance happiness in people. But genuine hope isn’t a yellow smiley face or the denial of death at the bedside of a loved one in hospice, says Feldman, who’s pursued research and clinical work addressing the question: “How do people maintain hope and meaning in the face of adversity? Three components are essential for hope to thrive, Feldman says. They are having goals, as well as a plan and the motivation to achieve them. They have a greater tolerance for pain. ![]() They use health- promoting behaviors. They also have a lower risk for depression, anxiety, and heart disease. Feldman advises setting personally meaningful goals and checking to see where your hope falters - - is it with the plan or the motivation? Allow yourself to daydream, he says. It’s a wonderful source of hope and, therefore, happiness. Happiness Barrier No. Suppressing sadness. Solution: Feel the real. Having a positive outlook doesn’t mean you never allow yourself to feel sadness. The parents who try to protect their children from dashed hopes - - or any kind of sadness - - may actually produce the opposite effect than is intended, says James R. Doty, MD, director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University. Some suffering, he says, makes you a whole person and allows you to acclimate and move forward in your life. Doty speaks from experience. He had an alcoholic father and invalid mother. He lived on public assistance for much of his youth.“Happiness is not the absence of sadness,” says David Spiegel, MD, medical director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. It is not a stiff upper lip or the pop psychology mantra, intoning “always stay upbeat” in the face of cancer. ![]() Using others as a sounding board - - not as a toxic dumping ground - - can help convert generalized anxiety and depression into targeted feelings you can address with specific solutions. Continued. Happiness Barrier No. Navel- gazing. Solution: Connect with others. How important are social networks to your happiness? Perhaps even more important than you realized. A recent 2. 0- year study of more than 4,0. The happiness of a friend of a friend of a friend - - someone you’ve never even met - - can also influence your happiness. It turns out that happiness can spread through social networks, like a virus. Unfortunately, many people spend so much time by themselves navel gazing, they don’t benefit from this positive “contagion.”The more self- absorbed you are, the more your world closes in, and the less realistic you become, all of which produces a vicious circle. But using a “wide- angle lens” instead helps you see connections you wouldn’t otherwise see, such as the universality of suffering. All it may take is having a loved one diagnosed with a serious disease to realize how many people are grappling with similar challenges. Feeling joined by others on this journey provides some comfort and happiness. The straightest path to making connections like these? Compassion and caring for others. Even primates seem to understand this, says Robert M. Sapolsky, Ph. D, author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers and research associate with the Institute of Primate Research at the National Museum of Kenya. Primates that groom each other after a stressful event experience a reduction in blood pressure. The clincher? Grooming others has a greater impact than getting groomed, says Sapolsky. Compassion engages us with others, removes isolation, builds resilience, and leads to deep fulfillment, says Doty. Emmons, R. Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, Mariner Books, 2. Snyder, C. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, April 1. Fowler, J. BMJ Online, Dec. Web. MD Medical News: “Happiness Is Contagious. Goldin, Ph. D, research associate, department of Psychology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. David B. Feldman, Ph. D, assistant professor of counseling psychology, Santa Clara University, Calif. James R. Doty, MD, clinical professor, department of neurosurgery; director, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. David Spiegel, MD, professor, department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; medical director, Center for Integrative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, Calif. Robert M. Sapolsky, Ph. D, professor, department of biology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif; research associate; Institute of Primate Research, National Museum of Kenya. All rights reserved. Bistro. MD Diet Food Delivery Plansbistro. MD is a revolutionary diet food delivery service. We are consistently ranked number one in diet meal delivery, and have been named the Best Meal Delivery Diet of 2. Diets. In. Review. It is our passion to provide gourmet meals in the comfort and convenience of your own home. Caroline Cederquist has been helping people achieve their weight loss goals for the past 2. She works with our team of registered dietitians to create and deliver healthy, balanced weight loss meal delivery plans to meet your individual needs. Each meal is prepared using only the freshest ingredients, so that quality and taste are never sacrificed. Bistro. MD is more than just diet meals delivered to your door. 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