493-The Two Prongs of Happiness

According to happiness science, there are two prongs of life where we derive our happiness. Tune in to find out what they are and how I utilize them! 

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 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 when we talk about balance and harmony and fulfillment, I believe what we are really after is happiness.  The definition of happiness is a two pronged definition.  1) happiness emotions, joy, contentment, love, positive emotions with 2) satisfaction and purpose.  Together, you get well-rounded happiness - life fulfillment. 

 

In her 2007 book The How of Happiness, positive psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky (LU-BO-MER-SKE) elaborates, describing happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”

 

How can you have a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile if you are overwhelmed, over-tasked and so busy that you fall to your pillow every night with a todo list longer than when you started in the morning.

 

When we are in harmony with our todos and our priorities, when we are mostly doing the right things in the right season, we can’t help but feel happiness.  When we are happy, we can’t help but be less stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed.  

 

You can’t hold two emotions at the same time.  So for happiness to win, we need to create that harmony and work specifically on that second prong of the happiness definition - satisfaction and purpose. 

 

I can tell you what makes me happy (and fulfilled) in the first prong, it’s spreading random acts of kindness and spending time with my friends.  A beautiful dinner out.  Snuggling with my kids.  Watching the waves of any ocean.  Spending time with my husband, having a conversation.  That’s all the first prong.   

 

What satisfies the second prong of happiness for me is order.  I need order in my day and my life.  That looks like a tidy kitchen, a calendar that is not double-booked and with time to breathe.  That also looks like researching and writing and recording this micro-podcast.  My work feels purposeful and that contributes to my happiness.  

 

So, what I do is intentionally incorporate these things into my life, in the season that they are most valuable to me, which not only helps me feel in harmony when I am so busy, but also happy.  And isn’t that what we’re all after? 

 

What this comes down to is that no one can make you happy.  No one can change your life for you.  That’s a job only you can do. And it starts with intention. 

 

 

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Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/