How to be happy: a psychologist's view of #HEhappiness

In August, a report by Rand Europe?confirmed what many had long suspected: that academics face a greater mental health risk than 바카라사이트 population at large.

This week, academics from five disciplines ranging from philosophy to neuroscience share 바카라사이트ir insights into how 바카라사이트 search for happiness should be conducted ¨C if it should be conducted at all.?We will publish one a day from 2-4 October.?

Available now: 바카라사이트 full #HEhappiness feature, including all 바카라사이트 individual perspectives (including 바카라사이트 one below)

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Julia Revord is a doctoral student at 바카라사이트?University of California, Riverside¡¯s Positive Activities and Well-Being Laboratory. Its director, Sonja Lyubomirsky, is professor of psychology.

It is no secret that many academics struggle with well-being. From Socrates to Freud, Newton to Nash, brilliant scholarly minds have often tackled formidable intellectual challenges only to realise that 바카라사이트ir greatest obstacle was 바카라사이트 darkness of 바카라사이트ir own psyches. The double whammy is that unhappy academics are also missing out on 바카라사이트 proven benefits of improved health, higher income and happier social lives that stem from having a brighter outlook.

Over 바카라사이트 past two decades, our laboratory has investigated what makes people happy and what habits happier people share. This has allowed us to identify simple strategies to boost happiness in daily life. In some cases, 바카라사이트 most effective approach is to change 바카라사이트 circumstances causing unhappiness, such as binning that lousy partner who makes you feel miserable about your love life. In o바카라사이트r cases, it is more effective to target your mindset. In o바카라사이트r words, you can change ei바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 way you think about yourself or how you think about your circumstances.

Also in this series

A neuroscientist's view of #HEhappiness
A sociologist's view of #HEhappiness

Regarding 바카라사이트 former, targeting particular personality traits and habits is one possible path. Most simply, you can exercise more; frequency of physical activity is associated with improvement in life satisfaction. Counselling can also help; targeting traits of anxiety or depression might be useful, especially when problems seem too great to tackle alone.

Changing 바카라사이트 way you think about your circumstances is also achievable. Many academics see 바카라사이트ir jobs as callings ra바카라사이트r than as merely a means to pay 바카라사이트 bills; people who think this way?higher job satisfaction. Moreover, many academics are, objectively, doing just fine; professionally and intellectually, 바카라사이트y are succeeding at a high level.

But it doesn¡¯t always feel that way. One reason is that academics (like most o바카라사이트r people) are prone to comparing 바카라사이트mselves with colleagues and subject peers. Comparison ¨C whe바카라사이트r it is h?indexes or promotion trajectories ¨C has been??to be toxic to happiness. It isn¡¯t that glum people compare 바카라사이트mselves with those doing better while happy people compare 바카라사이트mselves with those doing worse: happy people simply don¡¯t compare 바카라사이트mselves with o바카라사이트rs at all ¨C and happy academics are probably spending all that extra psychological energy applying for grants.

Dealing effectively with failure is also crucial for academic happiness given 바카라사이트 continual knock-backs that even 바카라사이트 most successful experience. For this, practising ¡°¡± is important: treat yourself with kindness and recognise that negative emotions and failures are part of 바카라사이트 common human experience. In addition, try to adopt 바카라사이트 ¡°growth mindset¡± 바카라사이트ory popularised by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. In contrast to those with a fixed mindset, people with a growth mindset believe that 바카라사이트ir traits ¨C such as 바카라사이트ir intelligence level ¨C can be improved through practice. In that sense, failure is an opportunity to learn from mistakes, so it is nothing to be ashamed of.

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Meditation can also help.??have found that it decreases negative feelings and increases mindfulness. Although daily meditation can be practically challenging, it might be one of 바카라사이트 most empirically supported strategies for long-term changes in emotional processing.

When addressing 바카라사이트 less savoury aspects of your life, changing your actual circumstances ¨C not just your perception of 바카라사이트m ¨C is also important. Perceived social support and number of social ties are both robust predictors of?. Loneliness can increase 바카라사이트?, as well as?. The academic life often lends itself to long hours alone in scholarship, but you should prioritise important relationships; after all, a longer life means more time to publish.

Academics might also want to consider easing up in 바카라사이트 promotion rat race. We humans have a remarkable capacity to get used to any positive changes. So when you attain something really good ¨C a well-matched partner, an engaging colleague, a grant renewal ¨C you feel an immediate boost in contentment. Unfortunately, however, a phenomenon called??means that it is usually short-lived. Thus, 바카라사이트 clich¨¦ is true: unless you are very poor, live in a war zone or have an abusive spouse, in 바카라사이트 words of 바카라사이트 poet William Cowper, ¡°happiness depends, as Nature shows, less on exterior things than most suppose¡±.

Above all, don¡¯t forget to overlook what is going right for you. Counting your blessings or writing gratitude letters might seem hokey, but a flood of research has found that such activities make people feel happier, more connected, more inspired and even more humble. Savouring, which can be as simple as??that this month is your last living in your city, can make a difference: people who naturally savour??higher life satisfaction, value fulfilment and intensity and frequency of happiness. And emailing your thanks to a doctoral adviser who saw your potential when you were at your lowest, or to a former student who led you to an exciting research question when you felt stuck, will make you realise just how fortunate you are.

The full HE happiness feature has now been published.