The Foundation: Take Ownership of Your Happiness and Well-being (week 1)

Taking ownership of our own experience is the key to creating a life you love. In this session, we unpack the meaning of happiness, learn about the happiness set-point, and dispel happiness myths that sabotage us from experiencing true happiness and well-being. In addition, we strengthen our ability to choose our response to events, and practice happiness habits of empowerment.

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The Pillar of the Mind (week 2)

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven.

                 - John Milton, English poet           

 

In this session, we learn how to make an ally of our mind. We discuss negativity bias, the sabotaging effect of negative thoughts and their negative impact on our mood, relationships, and health, and the role of the brain in how and how often we experience happiness and well-being. In addition, we learn and practice how to create and strengthen neural pathways that engage the area of the brain where humans experience happiness and well-being; in other words, how to turn our minds in our favor.

 

The Pillar of the Heart (week 3)

The heart, the seat of our emotions, is central to human happiness and wisdom. Our so called “positive emotions” create heart rhythm coherence, which increases production of good hormones that support our health, normalizes blood pressure, improves cognitive function, and strengthens the immune system, not to mention the increase in happiness and sense of well-being that comes as a result. In this session, we discuss the connection between negative thoughts and “negative” emotions; we decipher and gain a deeper understanding of the role of negative emotions in our lives as part of the human experience; and how to manage them. In addition, we learn and practice how to use “positive” emotions to create happiness and well-being habits for the heart.

 

The Pillar of the Body (week 4)

Being in a state of happiness is good for your health, and being healthy is good for your happiness. The way we eat, move, breathe and rest impacts the type of chemicals that our brain releases to our organs, either stress-creating or happiness-enhancing. In this session, we discuss taking our MEDS—meditation, exercise, diet, and sleep—to keep a healthy body, and what gets in your way from achieving your goals in this area. We also learn about the four happiness neurotransmitters, whose absence may be affecting your mood, and we learn and practice happiness and well-being habits for the body.

 

The Pillar of the Soul (week 5)

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.

- Albert Einstein

 

The more connection we feel to an energy bigger than ourselves, the richer, healthier, and more joyful our life is. In this session, we discuss what this energy bigger than yourself is to you, and many ways to stay connected with it. We highlight the importance to taking time for silence, listening to your inner voice, and trusting life’s unfolding. We learn different ways of doing it, and we practice happiness and well-being habits for the soul.

 

The Roof: A Life of Inspired Purpose (week 6)

How would your moment-to-moment life feel if it was inspired by a sense of purpose and meaning? Living inspired by purpose can take many forms—the key is to first discover the sense of meaning and purpose within you. In this session, we discuss how purpose and meaning may or may not be linked to work. We make the distinctions between a job, a career, and a calling, and discern not only how to differentiate them, but also the opportunities available to you if you are not in a job you love. We learn and practice happiness and well-being habits for a life of purpose.

 

The Garden: Cultivate Nourishing Relationships (week 7)

Having good social relationships is one of the strongest predictors of happiness and well-being. In this session, we discuss how your relationships impact your energy, how to manage toxic relationships, the power of emotional contagion, and how to build up emotional immunity. We also learn how to strengthen the relationships we care about and practice happiness and well-being habits to cultivate nourishing relationships.

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*Based and adapted from Marci Shimoff’s work on Happy for No Reason.