“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Howard Thurman

What are your happiness boosters?

It’s a question I’ve been asking myself after picking up the book ‘Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment’ by Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D.

Toward the end of the book (page 137, to be specific), he shares research that found a person’s happiness is determined by three factors:

Your genetic happiness set point

The circumstances of your life– including the ones out of your control

Happiness-relevant activities and practices

Basically, Ben-Shahar makes that point that while you have no control over your genes and sometimes little control of your circumstances, you do have control over the kinds of activities you engage in. That’s where happiness boosters come in.

CHALLENGE: Identify your happiness boosters

Are you finding ways to incorporate happiness boosters into your daily life? Do you even know what your boosters are?

This week, I’m making it my mission to brainstorm a list of my happiness boosters. I hope you’ll join me!

(If you need some help getting started, Ben-Shahar says the boosters can be things like spending time with your family or reading for fun. He says they can also be things that push you outside of your routine like volunteering somewhere once a week. For those with the book, this exercise is on page 133.)

P.S. Practicing gratitude is an important piece of this!