Your Life Is Better Than You Think

The undeniable popularity of self-help books, wellness podcasts, and happiness workshops reflects the constant human desire to make life better. 【小题1】     

While we may have a loving family, a good place to live, and a decent job, we often fail to notice those things. It’s not because we are ungrateful or stupid, but it’s because of a basic feature of our brain, known as habituation.

Habituation is the tendency of neurons to fire less and less in response to things that are constant. You enter a room filled with roses and after a short while, you cannot detect their scent any longer; and just as you get used to the smell of fresh flowers, you also get used to a loving relationship, to a promotion, to a nice home, to a wonderful work of art. Like the front page of a daily newspaper, your brain cares about what recently changed, not about what remained the same. 【小题2】 You habituate to it—you fail to notice and respond to elements of your life which you previously found amazing.

【小题3】 That is, you can suddenly start perceiving and responding to things to which you have become desensitized.

The key is taking small breaks from your daily life. For example, when people return home from a long business trip, they often find their old life has “reshined.” Ordinary things suddenly seem amazing. If something is constant, we often assume (perhaps unconsciously) that it is there to stay, and as a result, we focus our attention and effort on the next thing on our list. 【小题4】 If it is good at its core, it may just reshine. This is why time away, however short, will enable you to perceive your life with fresh eyes—and to break up reality.

Challenges are regular visitors in our life, and nobody is immune (不受影响) to them. 【小题1】 However, we can use these challenges to make positive changes in our life. For instance:

Develop your passion. 【小题2】 When you are setting your goals, you always want to be passionate about those goals, because if you love what you do, you will be driven by the desire to achieve success.

【小题3】 When you have doubts about yourself, you are doing damage to your progress. Therefore, you are supposed to see yourself as a winner, and trust yourself. Feeding your mind with positives will reinforce your beliefs and sweep any doubts out of your system.

Track your progress. It is important that you take note of every improvement you make. 【小题4】 Every step forward will give you a boost, and accelerate your efforts to the achievement of your ultimate goal.

Learn how to control your emotions. It is important that you use your emotional intelligence when you encounter problems in your life. You are a product of your thoughts and feelings. Any negative emotions that show up can negate (否定) the positive forward movement you enjoyed earlier. So approach any challenge with a positive attitude. 【小题5】 Instead, strongly believe that you have all the tools you need in order to make positive changes in your life. It is in your hands to make the changes necessary and to take your life to new heights.

If you think your life is too boring to be funny, the joke’s on you: Humor is all around us. Creating more humor in your everyday life is “one of the fastest and most powerful ways to increase overall health and wellbeing,” says Steven M. Sultanoff, a clinical psychologist. 【小题1】.

Figure out what makes you laugh.

Think about what kind of humor appeals to you most, then seek it out as often as possible. Go to comedy shows, spend more time with people who make you laugh, and watch a funny movie. 【小题2】: Create a folder on Instagram where you can save the most amusing videos, and then return to them when you need to.

Identify at least one funny thing a day.

【小题3】, so set a daily intention to look for humor. When you wake up in the morning, say, “I’m going to find one thing today that I can at least smile about.” You’ll likely find the funny in unexpected places.

【小题4】

Next time you feel down, consider this instruction from Sultanoff. “Tell me about three times you laughed so hard you fell down.” Visualizing a favorite funny moment is like a form of meditation (冥想). You can do it anywhere, and it’s almost guaranteed to boost your mood.

Train yourself to be quick-witted (机灵的).

Sultanoff issued a challenge in his psychotherapy (心理疗法) practice: If a man could go back to his awkward moments, what might he say? The funnier, the better. Sultanoff was always delighted by what his clients came up with. It’s an easy exercise to repeat after uncomfortable experiences. 【小题5】.