The science of happiness and how to find it in the second half of life with Dr Suzy Green
The science of happiness and how to find it in the second half of life with Dr Suzy Green
In our prime time, we face many changes, so it's important to understand happiness better and know where to find both short term joys and long term fulfilment.
What is happiness? What does it mean to be happy, and how do we know if we are genuinely happy or satisfied with our lives, particularly as we transition through midlife and approach the stages of pre-retirement and retirement? This period often marks significant changes, prompting a need for a deeper understanding of happiness and where to find it. So this week we went looking for that deeper understanding of happiness and fulfilment.
In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Suzy Green, the founder and CEO of The Positivity Institute. Dr. Green, an expert in happiness, is a university researcher, psychologist, author, and speaker.
We talked all about the different types of happiness, exploring practical ways you can seek out more happiness and joy. And we discussed the challenges of transitions, and a powerful framework for getting through the tough times.
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Some of the highlights:
The concepts of hedonic happiness and eudaimonic happiness and how they come together
Hedonism: how can people get joy, incremental happiness into their lives? The conscious cultivation of positive emotions - and how we do it.
The concept of savouring, the mindful focus on sensory pleasure. How we find joy in the everyday.
Practical tips on how we can bring a greater use of our senses into our day. How we can ‘drop into ourselves’.
The best time to have our morning coffee to maximise our cortisol levels.
The role of a positivity journal and guided visualisation. Music and how it can be used to lift the mood, and how to consider person/activity fit.
Reflect on the things you used to do that brought you joy, and how this can bring more joy in life. Becoming more aware of the things that really do bring you joy.
Eudaimonic happiness: living in accordance with your authentic self, and rediscovering yourself again in midlife and beyond - the opportunity to reflect again on who we are.
Crystallising our values and really giving some thought to it. What matters most in your life?
Becoming clearer about our real sense of identity and self in these longer lives that we’re all living now.
Making the mindset shift to make plans for much longer lives. Defining goals and giving ourselves permission to dream about what life might look like in our 80s, 90s and building that life in our 50s and 60s.
How to combine hedonism, and eudaimonic happiness and why it’s important to seek out both. Living in line with your values and evaluating your strengths and what gives you a sense of ‘energy’.
Learning to talk about our strengths, and not being afraid of tall poppy syndrome.
Going through transitions in life, and how to navigate the tough times. The Bridges model of transition is helpful to guide people through.
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