Set ambitious goals, says a study As if you needed another reason to aim high: Ambition makes you happier, says new research.
 
People who set themselves ambitious goals tend to be more satisfied than those with lower expectations, says a study published online in the Journal of Consumer Research. (It will appear in the December print edition.) University of California-Riverside professor Cecile K. Cho conducted two experiments, one involving stock-picking and…

Happiness is separated between conditioned and unconditioned happiness, between a relative and an absolute kind. Relative happiness has to do with experiences, absolute happiness has to do with experiencer itself. When one watches the outer world, the factories, streets, houses and cars, it is evident that they were made because beings wanted to experience something pleasant. Hospitals and prisons, on the other hand, were built in order to avoid certain…

PERHAPS YOU RECALL A TIME when you took in more of the world. You were new and the world was new. As a boy, I would go out in the woods and sit under a tree, then lick my thumb and wet each nostril. I had read somewhere that people—perhaps pioneers or American Indians, I don’t remember—did this in order to keen their sense of smell for approaching game or…

BOOST YOUR PERFORMANCES! The idea was simple: Spend one month doing everything possible to perfect my posture. Granted, it wasn’t as sexy a goal as getting washboard abs or bigger biceps, but poor posture is often the overlooked cause of chronic pain, nagging injury, and lackluster performance. Plus, it fits the theme of this blog: One small change that could make a big difference. So for the last 30 days…

BOOST YOUR PERFORMANCE! LIVE BETTER: Stay Happy and Live longer Different types of happiness have different levels of importance, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal. Eudaimonic well-being, caused by engaging in meaningful activity, is more important to physical health than short-term pleasure or positive feelings. In other words, people who live with a sense of purpose will likely live longer and enjoy better mental health than…