The PurposeGirl Podcast Episode 002: What is Happiness - And What is it Not?

There's an epidemic of unhappiness among women, many of whom seem like they've got everything going for them but are still deeply unhappy. Whether you're dealing with a mid-life, third-life, or quarter-life crisis (yes, those are real!), women at all ages are struggling to figure out how to be happier. We're less happy, on average, than our counterparts thirty years ago. We have more than we've ever had, and still we're not happy. What is going on?

This is where the field of positive psychology comes in, to provide answers to questions like, "What makes us truly happy? What makes life worth living? How can we flourish? How can we make intentional choices in our life to move from "OK" to "great?"

I offer a little background and context for the field of positive psychology, which underpins a lot of what I share with you. I discuss Barbara Fredrickson's theory of micromoments of positivity as well as the negativity bias that we all possess, and how these shed light on our own efforts to be happier. I talk about our biological set points for happiness and how much of our happiness is actually within our control: It's probably more than you think, and this provides us with a huge opportunity to take concrete actions steps to increase our own happiness!

I point out a wide range of ways in which you can take control of your own happiness, some small and some large, some easy to do and some much more challenging, but all within your grasp. There IS a lot we can do.

The research on people who are truly flourishing shows that there are six aspects of happiness: PERMA-V. I introduce these 6 components and will go into greater depth in upcoming episodes.

I end with Purpose Power Tips, which I offer at the end of every episode.

Thank you so much spending your time with me! And if you aren't following me already, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook, and click here to receive my newsletter.

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May you live purposefully, may you love yourself, and may you love life.

Bye for now!