April/May 2016 65 SHUTTERSTOCK 10 H APPIN ESS HABITS 1 Build Personal Relationships During her many years of tracking the emotional lives of clients, Carter has observed that personal relationships play a crucial role in contentment. Happy people, she’s convinced, bond successfully with others; they find rewards in social relationships, in connections that bypass unhappy people. Perhaps as a result they’re less likely to experience sadness, loneliness and low self-esteem brought on by the same circumstances that often derail men and women who can’t call on friends or family for support. At the opposite end of the spectrum, being able to share positive feelings with loved ones and friends increases our happiness. Building relationships does take an investment of time and effort, Carter adds, but it pays off. Research shows people with strong relationships tend to live a longer, as well as happier, life. One of the best features of living in the Bay Area, says Warshaw, is that anyone can initiate new friendships by connecting with people who share similar interests. “Whatever facet of human endeavor you’re engaged in, you can satisfy it in a tremendous way in this area, and you can do it with very interesting people. You can start groups and have very exciting and dynamic people join you.” Digital connectivity facilitates that. San Jose web designer Alisa Kumiko Roesler turned to social media to start a group on Meetup.com called Ai Explore (loosely translated from Japanese as “I love to explore”), as a way to meet like-minded people who enjoy service work as well as exploring local sites. There are currently more than 450 “Optimistic Explorers” connected to the group. But, warns Warshaw, an obsession with social media can be perilous, too. “Don’t measure yourself by your web footprint, don’t measure yourself by your number of contacts, number of friends, how many tweets you’ve got. That’s the key to unhappiness, because social media is a very fickle companion.” APPRECIATING THE PRESENT MOMENT, OR MINDFULNESS, IS ANOTHER WAY TO EXPERIENCE HAPPINESS. EXP ERT T IP S
South Bay Accent - Apr/May 2016
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