The “green smoothie” recipe for happiness?
About your potential to live a happy, meaningful life…I have some bad news, and some good news.
THE BAD NEWS: Your brain wasn’t built for happiness. It was built to keep you safe. Your mind evolved with a negativity bias that continuously brings your attention to potential threats to your survival.
Yikes.
Also, your thoughts are almost impossible to control. Thinking positively will always be an uphill battle, (though there are many ways to practice it.)
More yikes. Good news, please?
THE GOOD NEWS: There are infinite actions you can take to create happiness in your life!
Yes!
As this TED Talk by Katarina Blom explains, happiness is a skill that we can all train. It’s not something you find. A joyful and meaningful life doesn’t just happen to you.
You build happiness habits through consistent, positive action.
And there’s one particular kind of action proven to be most powerful for creating happiness. Katarina says it’s the “green smoothie” for your psychological wellbeing.
More good news: these actions can be incredibly simple and take less than five minutes!
The green smoothie happiness recipe is: take consistent action to strengthen your relationships, like sending a text to someone letting them know how much you appreciate them.
As she explains in the video, many studies show that “having quality relationships is just as important, if not more important than exercise and healthy diet.”
Now, I’m just as guilty of forgetting this as anyone else.
The other day my husband, Marco, let me know that once again, I’d been holed up at the computer too long, neglecting that his love language is quality time.
I know we’re both happier when we spend quality time together, but the pull of constant work is wicked strong.
Sometimes we know what’s good for us, but we don’t do it. And that’s okay.
Happiness is a life-skill that we practice. Sometimes we fail. We’re meant to feel the full gamut of human emotion on our journey.
The more we practice, the better we get. The more happiness we experience, and the more we can share with others.
I’m taking on this practice in a serious way, and I’d love for you to join me. Soon I’ll post a specific opportunity to practice this skill that the world is so desperate for!
In the meantime — take out your phone and text someone you care about. Let them know how much they mean to you, and see what happens.
Yours on the journey,
Elise
P.S. If you want to see my joy rant from yesterday, you can watch here ;)
