You’re in Charge of Your Own Happiness:

Dr. Mike Doughty, Assistant Superintendent

The world wants you to be happy, and achieving happiness is within your control. While 90% of happiness comes from how your brain processes the world and only 10% from external factors, focusing on aspects like social support, optimism, and stress management can significantly enhance your life.

1. Take Care of Your Body

Dehydration can cause headaches, difficulty concentrating, impaired memory, fatigue, anxiety, dizziness, and heart palpitations. The National Institute of Medicine recommends women drink 2.7 liters (91 oz.) and men 3.7 liters (125 oz.) of water daily to stay hydrated. Besides hydration, sleep is crucial for your well-being.

How to Get Amazing Sleep

• Get more daytime sun

• Schedule your sleep

• Reduce caffeine and alcohol intake

• Avoid screens an hour before bed

• Keep a journal

• Maintain a quiet, dark, cool (64°-66°) room

• Stabilize blood glucose levels

• Track your sleep

According to Matthew Walker, PhD, author of "Why We Sleep," these habits can unlock the power of sleep and dreams.

2. Spread Joy

Aim to leave every person, place, and situation better than you found it. Your presence should be a source of joy, not misery.

3. Choose Your Response

Your locus of control influences your health, emotions, and experiences. By presuming competence and positive intent in others, you can choose to respond positively, making it a habit over time.

4. Create Positive Habits

Forming a habit requires consistency, repetition, and the removal of decision-making. Positive habits can combat issues like depression, anxiety, isolation, and procrastination, leading to a more fulfilling life.

5. Consume Media Mindfully

Gloria Mark of UC Irvine found that attention distraction leads to higher stress, bad moods, and lower productivity. Be mindful of the media you consume and how it affects your mental state.

6. Be Present

Gratitude stimulates the hypothalamus, which regulates stress, and the ventral tegmental area, part of the brain's reward circuitry. Practicing gratitude can increase your happiness and overall well-being.

7. Practice Gratitude

Recent surveys show that emotional support from friends and loved ones significantly impacts our happiness. By expressing gratitude and nurturing relationships, you can improve your emotional health.

8. Nurture Friendships

Friendship is crucial for happiness. The American Perspectives Survey shows a decline in close friendships over the years. Be deliberate in scheduling time with friends and developing habits that nurture these relationships.

9. Laugh Every Day

Laughter increases heart rate, respiratory rate, respiratory depth, and oxygen consumption, followed by muscle relaxation and decreased heart rate and blood pressure. As the Jewish proverb says, "As soap is to the body, so laughter is to the soul."

10. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness practices can help you stay grounded and focused. Whether through meditation, yoga, or simply being present in the moment, mindfulness can improve your mental clarity and emotional stability.

Takeaways

Your happiness is in your hands. By taking care of your body, spreading joy, choosing positive responses, creating good habits, consuming media mindfully, being present, practicing gratitude, nurturing friendships, laughing daily, and incorporating mindfulness into your life, you can significantly enhance your well-being. Remember, you are in charge of your own happiness.