188-How To Improve Your Happiness #5

Dr. Laurie Santos has four ways to thwart hedonic adaptation (the idea that you get used to the way it is and your happiness weigns) and improve your happiness.  Today, we dive into the third strategy, Make this day your last. 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I was listening to the Yale happiness course by Dr. Laurie Santos and she asks: if we can reflect on the good things as if they were about to end, how would we feel?  She has this concept “make your day your last” and she’s not talking about a terminal illness or something tragic like that, but more in the context of what if this great thing was about to end.   

 

So what if tomorrow you are about to lose this thing you love a lot.  The act of feeling just about to lose something, that’s the moment you really realize that gratitude, that happiness.  So what researchers found was when they did a study with graduating seniors.  They said you have 1200 hours left in college or you have ¼ a year left in college.  The people that heard 1200 hours, felt as if they had little time left, and when plotting their feelings on a happiness scale, they were happier than the students who were told they have ¼ a year left. Thinking about imminently losing something, what will it be like to not have that, quickly bumps you out of the hedonic adaptation trap (the idea that our minds get used to stuff) - and bumps you higher into happiness. 

 

This is a great trick when you are feeling the ho-hums of the day, the churn of the day, that everything feels the same - where is the excitement?   I invite you to try it out.  If you are so inclined, let me know it worked for you.  And, if you are feeling generous, share this podcast with a friend - or two - getting the word out organically is how we grow and create a ripple effect of kindness and happiness in our small part of this world.  

 

I hope this gives you some inspiration on improving your happiness, just a little, through what it would feel like if something you love was more time-bound. 

 

Until next time. 

 

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