This is a short podcast mini-chapter (from Brian Johnson's A Philosopher's Notes) describing two practical happiness practices: (1) 'acting like a happy person'—changing posture, breathing, and behavior to shift feelings—and (2) keeping a weekly gratitude journal. The episode argues behavior leads feelings and cites research that gratitude journaling boosts happiness. It closes with a call to subscribe for more content.
You're listening to Optimize with Bryan Johnson More Wisdom in Less Time this is a mini chapter from Brian's book A Philosopher's Notes. You can find it on Amazon.
Acting Like a Happy Person. You might have noticed the 12th how of happiness included acting like a happy person. Really? That's a scientifically proven way to increase our happiness? Yep, simply acting like a happy person is enough to boost your well being. As David Reynolds puts it, behavior wags the tail of feelings. We do. Then we feel. In other words, feelings follow behavior. Too often when we feel like crapola, we just want to curl up in bed and ignore the world, hygiene, habits, and everything else. Tragically, that's the worst thing we can do in those moments. The reality is that if we simply acted like a happy person would act, we're likely to feel like a happy person would feel. So if you find yourself feeling funky, quit slouching over, breathing shallowly and repeating to yourself how much your life sucks. Although it might sound cheesy, there's science and common sense that tells us that those moments are exactly when we need to stand up straight, shake ourselves out, put our shoulders back, breathe deeply, and walk with a confident smile as we remind ourselves we got it going on. P.S. you might have also noticed the number one happiness practice expressing gratitude, which is the easiest way to boost our mood. Research has shown that simply keeping a weekly gratitude journal where you capture stuff you're grateful for, from the mundane to the sublime, significantly boosts your happiness levels compared to those people who don't. So what are you grateful for today?
We hope you enjoyed this mini chapter from Brian's book A Philosopher's Notes. Want more wisdom in Less time? Delivered in your inbox. Sign up for Brian's free daily newsletter, the Optimizer, and get the full ebook and audiobook at brianjohnson Me APN.
