More evidence-based practices

Here are several other practices you can use to create internal change for greater happiness

LOVING-KINDNESS MEDITATION

Loving-kindness meditation is a form of meditation in which you practice generating warm and caring feelings for yourself and others, sometimes including people toward whom you usually have cold or hostile feelings. This kind of meditation has been shown to create lasting changes in how we see ourselves and others, increasing our capacity for compassion and boosting our emotional happiness. For an important study, see Barbara L. Fredrickson, et al. (2008), “Open hearts build lives: positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources.”

PRIORITIZING EXPERIENCES OVER THINGS

Research shows that when we spend our money with the purpose of gaining enjoyable or otherwise valuable experiences, we get a greater increase in happiness than when we spend this money simply to acquire valued material items. Compared to materialistic purchases, experiential purchases make us feel more alive and aren’t as easily subject to social comparison. They also don’t last as long, making them less susceptible to hedonic adaptation. See, for example, the study by Robert T. Howell and Graham Hill (2009), “The mediators of experiential purchases: Determining the impact of psychological needs satisfaction and social comparison.”

SLEEP AND EXERCISE

Getting adequate sleep and exercise can make a big difference in your happiness level. For a study on the value of exercise to your well-being, see Michael Babyak et al. (2000), “Exercise treatment for major depression: maintenance of therapeutic benefit at 10 months.”