More adventures in happiness

After finishing The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, I've moved onto The How of Happiness (2006) by Sonja Lyubomirsky, who is one of the leading researchers on the psychology of happiness/well-being. Lyubomirsky gave center stage in the book to a pie chart depicting that “50 percent of individual differences in happiness are governed by genes, 10 percent by life circumstances, and the remaining 40 percent by what we do and how we think—that is, our intentional activities and strategies." Last year, at a talk during the 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology (how cool is that?!), she backed off that statement a bit, saying that she regrets assigning hard numbers to those three factors, but she still emphasizes that all three exert "sizable influences" on well-being. The idea remains that even though there are genetic and circumstantial components to happiness, your "intentional activities and strategies" still play a big role in how happy you are.

The book lives up to its subtitle—"A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want"—as Lyubomirsky takes you through the science in laying out a step-by-step approach to finding the happiness-enhancing activities you should try to increase your own well-being. You start by taking a Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic, which helps you determine which of the 12 happiness activities she describes are the best fit for you. After that, you take the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire to get a baseline for your happiness level. Then you dive into one or more of the activities that are best fitted to you and re-test every month or so to see how you're progressing.

 

It sounds like some work, but the questionnaires don't take long, especially if you do the self-scoring ones online, and it's kinda fun once you get started. The Person-Activity Fit Diagnostic certainly rang true for me, as my top four happiness activities turned out to be:

1. Taking care of your body ("engaging in physical activity, meditating, and smiling and laughing");
2. Savoring life's joys ("paying close attention, taking delight, and replaying life's momentary pleasures and wonders, through thinking, writing, drawing, or sharing with another");
3. Doing more activities that truly engage you (increasing the number of challenging and absorbing "flow" experiences at home and work in which you lose yourself); and
   
4. Expressing gratitude (counting your blessings for what you have, either privately, in a journal or through contemplation, or to a close other).

Lyubomirsky includes a lot more detail about the activities, and more of them to try, than Achor did in The Happiness Advantage (which is a quicker, more entertaining read). But after a month or so of doing some of the activities from The Happiness Advantage, I already scored above average on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, which correlates to "rather happy; pretty happy." That seems like a pretty amazing start for me.

*********

 

I'm a little surprised I haven't posted a recipe yet for couscous, but I guess I forgot about it when it went the way of most glutenous things. This is easily the quickest, simplest side dish you'll ever prepare, and tasty too. Don't be put off by the picture with the raisins in it; you can substitute whatever kind of dried fruit you like or just leave it out entirely. I bet eating couscous can even make you a little happier.

 

 Couscous with Cinnamon

Adapted from One Good Dish (2013) by David Tanis

Time: ~15 minutes

Raisins are easy to use here, but you can substitute ½ cup of whatever kind of dried fruit you like, such as cranberries or chopped apricots, dates, or figs.

150 grams (1 cup) couscous
75 grams (½ cup) golden raisins (see note)
21 grams (1½ tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¾ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
265 grams (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) boiling water
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place the couscous in a small bowl or saucepan with the raisins, butter, and salt. Pour the water slowly over the couscous. Cover tightly. Let stand until the grains are tender and the water is absorbed, about 7 minutes. Uncover. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the couscous. Fluff with a dinner fork. Taste for seasoning. Serves 4.

 

Couscous with Pistachios and Dates or Apricots

Substitute 75 grams (½ cup) chopped dates or apricots for the raisins. Stir in 60 grams (½ cup) toasted and coarsely chopped pistachios along with the cinnamon.