The amazing thing about humor is that it can take many different forms. Humor can include laughing at a joke or smiling while reading an amusing story. Humor can have numerous benefits. These include an overall increase in happiness, forgiveness, belongingness, social connectivity, and higher life satisfaction (Satici, 2020). While the exact reason that humor has such a positive impact on people's lives is not proven, researchers have speculated on why humor is so efficient. Humor can have such an impact on our lives. Through my studies and my own personal experiences, I have seen how beneficial humor can be especially when coping with difficult circumstances. As people learn more about humor and the positive and negative effects it can have, I hope that others will be able to implement it into their own lives and see the positive effects for themselves.
Savoring Through Tragedy
Despite these obstacles preventing me from savoring, the most recent diagnosis of my brother’s cancer was a chilling dose of reality. No matter how much I was hurting, I knew I had to implement savoring in my life. I decided to start simply by utilizing a couple of different methods that I will list below. These methods were taken from ideas established by Sonja Lyubomirsky (2008) in her book “The How of Happiness: a new approach to getting the life you want”. Although the changes were not immediate, and I still have a long way to go, I quickly noticed that the time I savored with my brother became some of the best moments that we have had together in years. Savoring did not take away the pain, but it made it bearable. Better yet, it made my experiences joyful, despite the pain that I felt at the same time. Not only did I feel happier, but my relationship with my brother improved. I know that no matter what happens, I will always be able to look back on these moments with fondness, despite their bittersweet nature. I know that if savoring helped me find joy in this difficult period of my life, it can help you, too.
Forgiveness—Because Holding a Grudge is a Terrible Workout
Forgiveness is a decision that you make. Different circumstances require different methods for healing, reparations, and letting go. You can’t always speak for or understand someone else’s motives. You can’t always know if they feel sorry for what they did. One thing you can know though, is that forgiving allows for personal peace and happiness. Personal liberation is a feeling many strive for. Life gets busy very quickly with work, friends, and family, and people are an essential part of societal interactions. It’s my hope that you can consider relationships in your life that could be repaired or strengthened. Timing is different for everyone, but the power of forgiveness is yours to wield.
Deep Gratitude
Throughout the years, we have all probably made several “gratitude” lists—you know, those ones inspirational speakers encourage you to make. You follow their instructions by finding a blank piece of paper and jotting down 8-10 different things that you’re grateful for. Maybe on your list are things like your job, your family, a next-door neighbor, or a favorite food.
In my experience, I feel a sense of warmth and happiness as I make lists like these. However, I must admit that somehow, these lists have never really stuck with me—they get shuffled among all my other papers, journals, and books, and if you were to ask me to show you a gratitude list I’ve made, I can’t say I would be able to find one.
As a society, we praise gratitude. As an individual, I also praise it. So, why do I find myself making list after list, never really remembering the things I put on them?
Bittersweet: Honoring Sadness and Sorrow Helps Us Find Joy and Beauty
Joy in the Journey-A Cliché Gimmick or Powerful Words to Live By?
I was on my way to the Dominican Republic—a journey that required time away from my family, friends, and the privileged American lifestyle I was accustomed to. Over the course of the next year plus, I was expected to learn a new language, adapt to an entirely foreign culture, and take on a new persona. To put it mildly, I was terrified. Totally and utterly petrified.
While I nervously sat in the JFK Airport in New York during a layover, a quote on the wall written in big bold letters captured my attention. It read, “A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” I read over it a few times, trying to digest its implication and apply it to my particular situation.
As cliché as it is, “finding joy in the journey” really is essential to your overall well-being. (Lyubomirsky, 2010). Huge life events don’t usually deliver the blast of joy we expect them to—and even if they do, it’s likely short-lived. (Harris, 2015). Additionally, these spurts of joy are so few and far between that we’d spend most of our lives in anticipation rather than enjoying the process.
The Vulnerability and Grit to Try New Things
When I was a sophomore in high school, I ran for the student council to be in the activities committee as a junior. A year before in middle school, I had been the student body president, and I was running against three other people for a three-person committee, so I felt pretty confident that I could earn a spot. I ran a hard campaign. I talked to lots of strangers, handed out all sorts of flyers, and I even lit myself on fire on accident while making my campaign video (I was ok). For me, it would all be worth it to earn an opportunity to do something I loved for the second time. I wanted to spend my time doing something I was confident and familiar with. I gave my best effort and felt incredibly confident when I went to hear the results of the election. But, as you may have guessed, I found out that I had lost.
Although I was really sad as a result of this and learned a lot about self-acceptance and moving on from disappointment, this isn’t a story about failure. It’s about trying new things.
Engaged Living: The Potential Solution to Your Lack of Motivation
Motivation is a fundamental driving force that pushes people towards achieving their goals and fulfilling their aspirations. However, staying motivated can be challenging, especially when faced with life's everyday struggles and distractions.Today I wanted to talk about how to become motivated, flourish, and live with engagement by utilizing the resources found in MyBestSelf101, 10 Overlooked Truths About Taking Action, and Atomic Habits by James Clear.
Intuitive Eating—Giving You the Time, Money, and Happiness That Diet Culture Stole
“Wow, I can’t believe I just ate that much?!” “I hate the way I look.” “I’m too big.” “I’m too small.” “I wish I looked like that person.” “If only I could lose 15 more pounds, then I’d look great.” Have you ever had any thoughts like these? I know I have. The human body is an incredible miracle that most people aren’t satisfied with. Everyone has things that they don’t like about themselves; usually, physical qualities find themselves in this category. So, what do you do about it? Contemporary Western culture (and most cultures around the world) would say that dieting is the perfect solution. However, what does this “perfect solution” really look like?
Many people go on all sorts of diets (or more popularly stated, wholesome, clean, simple, wellness, or healthy lifestyles) to try and get the “perfect body.” Whether you self-diagnose as gluten-free, do a juice fast, have no sugar, do the keto diet, or any other restrictive eating plan, the goal is most likely to lose weight and feel better. Now, before I go on, I want to make it clear that if you have a real, diagnosed medical condition, then by all means follow whatever diet is beneficial for your health. However, in most cases, people decide for themselves to go on a diet with no official medical need. If you are one of those people, then listen up.
The Beauty of Meditation
If you asked me a number of years ago what I knew about meditation, I would not have much to tell you. I may have responded by saying it was something other people, not me, did to find inner harmony or peace. I did not know then how drastically my perspective on meditation would change. When I started college, I became fascinated with the concept of mindfulness, or “present-moment awareness with acceptance” (Warren & Farley, n.d., para. 2). I felt that when I tried to be mindful, the world seemed a little more beautiful to me. A few years later, I learned that meditation was simply a formal practice of mindfulness (Warren & Farley, n.d.), and, since then, meditation has ceased to be a completely foreign concept to me.
Today, I will share some forms of meditation and the benefits behind them.