Of course there can be days when we feel like chocolate is the only thing that will help us boost our mood - we’ve all been there. 

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and if you take the approach that very few things can boost your mood, then you will speak that into existence.  What we focus on grows, right?  But the thing is, that’s not you.  That’s not my audience.  I know this because you come back, you listen in, you chew on these concepts throughout the day.  And sometimes you even mention something from this show to a friend.  

So, can there be days when we feel like chocolate is the only thing that will help us boost our mood - of course.  That’s the power of being human and having a wide range of emotions.  

What we’re after here is lasting happiness.  Intentional happiness.  Fulfilled happiness.  This is when you can look back at your day and see the joy, the happiness but also know every single minute was not in a constant state of bliss.  In fact, you can look back and see that yesterday was a hard and unhappy day, but that doesn’t mean that my life is now unhappy.  You see?  Isn’t that the most amazing thing?  This happiness research reaffirms that we get to have bad, hard, challenging, down-right terrible days or weeks or months and still have a happy life.  

We know that we can achieve that job and that will make us happy for a while, but the corner office will barely make a dent in our fulfilled happiness, and it certainly won’t last.  The same with negative emotions.  They will sting and the quick sand that you feel you are walking through may be hard at times, it will re-appear, it may take some time to go though, but we will go through it.  

If happiness is based on how our brain processes the world, we get to help our brain out, by being intentional about what we put in front of our eyes, what we listen to with our ears and who we surround ourselves with as much as we can. 

So today, I invite you to sit in your feelings, if that is where you are. And then, I invite you to remind yourself that negative thoughts and feelings do not make up the whole picture and fulfilled happiness is a range, over time, and we get to have both.  

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Two minutes of a daily happiness habit can scientifically boost your happiness.  And, you get to decide what that happiness habit is for you. 

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and when I started this podcast, I didn’t have a reason for two minutes.  I knew I wanted it short and digestible, something we could do every day together. I knew the likelihood that I would listen to something longer than five minutes without being intentional about it would be hard. Two minutes seemed like it was the exact right time when I could press play, brush my teeth, wait for the coffee pot to fill, even a quick drive to the store, I could do two minutes, it was easy to add into my day.  

I’d love to know how you incorporate this podcast into your day.  

I started this podcast with a curiosity to learn more and share it as soon as I digested what I had just researched.  This is a timeline of me going down the rabbit hole on different happiness threads and pulling at them, kind of like peeling back the onion and asking, how do we achieve more of that? 

In peeling back that onion, I wanted to share some unexpected research with you. 

Almost 332 episodes into the podcast, I came across some research that said that when we can make happiness habitual, like brushing our teeth, by creating some happiness hygiene habits, for even two-minutes a day, that work for us, we can boost our levels of long term happiness.  

Two minutes to think about happiness in this podcast - if nothing else, a reminder to look for the good, even if it feels hard.  And then, two minutes to act on your happiness recipe, whether that’s saying three new things we are truly grateful for each day, whether that’s saying something nice to someone else in gratitude, whether that’s sending a note in the mail, you get to choose your recipe for what feels aligned for you in those two-minutes a day.   

Look, if you ask me to start a program that requires 30 or more minutes a day, I may not be able to stick to it, but two minutes I can do.  And I hope you can too.   

Moreover, we would be very grateful if you would consider taking the next two minutes and share this podcast with someone that you think would love the happiness we offer.  Our podcast grows only organically by listeners like you spreading it into the world.  Like a hug of happiness.  So go out there into the world and remember kindness is contagious.  

Until next time, do us a favor and follow our Instagram feed @everydayhappinesswithkatie because we are sharing some exciting news and we don’t want you to miss it. 

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Can You Say Epicureanism? This philosophy of happiness may have a big name, but the concept is simple and effective. Learn more about how you can adopt this idea in your life to improve your happiness in this post.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and today we are taking it back a couple of thousand years by talking about Epicureanism. Epicureanism is the theory of Epicurus, a Greek philosopher who lived between 341 BC and 270 BC. He believed that happiness was and should be the ultimate pursuit in life. 

Now, you may be thinking, "Oh, that's where the word Epicure came from?" For those of us, myself included, who don't know that word off the top of our heads, it means to take excessive pleasure in actions like eating and drinking. Actually, this word was mistranslated and is far from Epicurus's theory.  

Essentially, Epicureanism is the belief that the factors of happiness are derived from tranquility, freedom from fear, and the absence of bodily pain and that true happiness could be obtained through knowledge, friendship, the limitation of excessive desires, and living a virtuous life. 

So, what does this translate to in modern life? While we can't avoid all pain, and it's likely we will indulge in eating that second brownie every now and then, we can take it to heart and shape it into our lives to increase our happiness. 

A few examples would be:

• Gaining knowledge to prevent the anxiety of the unknown. 

Does this sound familiar? It is because I have talked about it before in previous episodes, just without the fancy theory title. If the concepts of happiness haven't changed much in the past couple of thousands of years, there is obviously a core truth here for us to take in, and I hope you will. 

Plus, if you are interested in learning more about this ancient philosopher, I dropped a resource in the show notes for you. He was a fascinating dude with some big ideas! 

Learn more here: 

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/ 

Inspired by these articles: 

https://www.verywellmind.com/epicurean-philosophy-and-happiness-4177914

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/

https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_epicureanism.html

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

I’ll be happy when…  But, what if these are the good ‘ol days?  That’s what I’m pondering in today’s episode.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and so many of us, myself included, get caught up in the “I’ll be happy when” and we’ve talked about this.  The science that we never get to the “when” because of the way our brain chemistry is made up.  But what if we switched the word “happy” for a different word “less stressed”, “calm”, “more focused”, “less busy”, “less distracted”... you get the idea.  I wonder, do we ever feel that way?  I know I’ve said, next week, it will be less busy and I can focus on that project.  But you know what, next week comes and I rarely feel less busy.  

I think about this in the context of an old phrase that really hit home during the pandemic and that I have been playing on repeat in my mind since March 2020.  It is: what if these are the good ‘ol days.  

What if it’s not about where we are going, but about wondering if we’ll look back and think, wow, those were the good ‘ol days.  Perhaps I wasn’t as busy as I thought.  I was happier than I gave myself credit for.  I felt so stressed and didn’t give myself enough credit for what I was doing - and oh my gosh, it was a lot.    

Today I invite you to follow science with me and try to be more present in the moment.  Because, research indicates that chasing the goal to achieve happiness on the other side is futile.  We’ll never get there.  But what we can do is take that Intentional Margin®, sneak a moment to breathe and focus on all the happiness and abundance in the present moment.  

And if you want the honors course, after that moment, send a note to someone and tell them you are grateful for them.  It goes a long way to boost your happiness and create that ripple effect of kindness.  

Remember, kindness is contagious, so go out and do something kind in the world today.  

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Have you heard the saying “this too shall pass”? There is this school of thought that if we surrender control it enlightens happiness and well-being. But does it really?  Let’s chat about it today. 

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I’ve been chewing on this phrase “this too shall pass” as I contemplate fulfilled happiness.  There is this school of thought that if we surrender control it enlightens happiness and well-being.  We need to “go with the flow” and It’s this idea that peace comes with knowing we give up control to a higher power and let it be. If we do this, we would worry less and thus, if we are not dwelling in the negative, we would be open to more positivity.  

This is also surrendering things like perfectionism.  Conceptually, I can see how relinquishing this stress over the things we cannot control to a higher power or just to “letting it be” sounds like a good idea.  But I am not convinced this brings you happiness. In contrast, I think it may bring you peace.  But that’s not happiness.  You can be peaceful and not be happy.  

The opposite of happiness is not sadness.  Happiness is not the absence of negative feelings, nor should it be.  I think, in a way, well-rounded happiness is the ability to rebound from hard things, negative emotions.  Happiness is not the same as joy or elatement.  Happiness includes but is not only peace and contentment and well-being.  I think happiness is the flexibility to experience all of the emotions.  Have a bad day and you can still be overall a happy person. The emotion of regret or sadness or disappointment does not amplify and take over your essence of happiness, it’s just an emotion.  And happiness is more than emotions. 

My biggest takeaway is that happiness is not constant and more importantly, it shouldn’t be.  

Until next time, do us a favor and follow our Instagram feed @everydayhappinesswithkatie because we are about to share some exciting news and we don’t want you to miss it. 

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Gratitude.  Appreciation.  Semantics.  What is it that we are really talking about?  Today, we get closer to a scientific definition.   

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and according to Dr. Robert Emmons the world’s leading scientific expert and thought-leader on gratitude, says the feeling of gratitude involves two stages (2003):

“First comes the acknowledgment of goodness in one’s life. In a state of gratitude, we say yes to life. We affirm that all in all, life is good, and has elements that make [life] worth living, and rich in texture. The acknowledgment that we have received something gratifies us, both by its presence and by the effort the giver put into choosing it.

Second, gratitude is recognizing that some of the sources of this goodness lie outside the self. One can be grateful to other people, to animals, and to the world, but not to oneself. At this stage, we recognize the goodness in our lives and who to thank for it, [for example] who made sacrifices so that we could be happy?

The two stages of gratitude comprise the recognition of the goodness in our lives, and then how this goodness came to us externally lies. By this process, we recognize the luck of everything that makes our lives—and ourselves—better.”

A study done by Emmons in 2011 showed that “[g]rateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism and lower levels of depression and stress. The disposition toward gratitude appears to enhance pleasant feeling states more than it diminishes unpleasant emotions. Grateful people do not deny or ignore the negative aspects of life.” 

This goes to show just how important gratitude is, when we feel the gratitude, we can create new neuro-pathways in our brains to see the good, while not diminishing the negative.  It kind of goes back to the idea of rational optimism from episode 326. 

Until next time, remember, kindness is contagious and we would be so grateful if you subscribe to this podcast wherever you like to listen, and do us a favor and follow our Instagram feed @everydayhappinesswithkatie because we are about to share some exciting news and we don’t want you to miss it. 

Inspired by: https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-appreciation/

https://emmons.faculty.ucdavis.edu/measuring-gratitude/

https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-appreciation/

Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: an experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of personality and social psychology, 84(2), 377.

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Let’s face it -- gratitude can be hard work. And if not done correctly, is it worth it?  Is there really a “correct” way?  It all seems like a lot.  And practicing gratitude can sometimes be a to-do list checkbox.  Is that enough?  

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and we talk about gratitude a lot on this show.  But I wanted to dig a little deeper.  

First, gratitude is not writing a list for the sake of having a list without any emotional attachment to the words. That’s not the practice of gratitude, that is just the practice of writing.  Which can have its own benefits, especially if you revisit that gratitude list, but in this scenario, it’s just writing. 

Gratitude is not just an action.  Gratitude is a positive emotion that serves a biological purpose.

The goal of a gratitude exercise is to remember a good event, experience, person, or thing in your life—then enjoy the good emotions that come with it as you are writing your gratitude.  You want to feel the emotion to trigger those feelings and neurons in your brain. 

For gratitude to be effective to move the needle, it has to be authentic and move us somewhere emotionally.  You want that grateful energy to spur us forward and even more, to make someone else's life better. Gratitude can be the starting point for doing more. 

When we scan the world for gratitude and look for positivity each morning, our brains develop new neuro-connections and patterns that rewire our brains. So we are building our mental muscle to look for the positive and this is especially important when we are under stress, which is inevitable.  Your brain knows you have this exercise to scan for gratitude, so it knows it needs to collect data to complete the exercise.  So our brain is working in our favor.  That’s why it’s so important to do this now when you do not feel tremendous stress or negativity.   

What the science is finding is that happiness and gratitude is easier for some people, given their genes and their environment, but given the habit of seeking out new gratitude every single day, you can move yourself from a pessimist to a low level optimist. 

I’m curious how easy it is for you to find daily gratitude.  Let us know over on social, we’re in our DMs every day and we always respond.  

Until next time, do us a favor and follow our Instagram feed @everydayhappinesswithkatie because we are about to share some exciting news and we don’t want you to miss it. 

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Ok, not gonna lie, I am OBSESSED with this phrase “rational optimism”. Finally it feels like this definition is getting to the heart of what us optimists feel.  We dive into the definition and what this means today. 

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I read a quote recently that I just have to share.  

Shawn Achor says “Rational optimism does not start with rose colored glasses, it starts with the realistic assessment of the present.”  Oh wow, that’s good right.  So many times we think optimists are not rooted in reality. Achor says we can be “realistic about where we are but maintain the belief that our behavior matters''.  Oh yes! Mic drop.    

We can be “realistic about where we are but maintain the belief that our behavior matters''.  If we don’t think our behavior matters, what are we doing this all for? Right?  Of course our behavior matters.  Our happiness habits matter.  The way we are realistically and rationally optimistic matters.  It’s rooted in realism.  

Bad things can and may happen.  Either to us personally or we just see so much negativity around us.  Being optimistic does not negate that there is negativity in the world.  Heck, we could be in a dark place, we could be fighting a disease that is trying to kill us, we could be stuck in a situation that is so terrible it’s hard to see a way out - and yet, still be optimistic.   Optimistic that there is more.  Optimistic that there is a better way.  Optimistic that our behavior, our fight, will be worth it.  

Rational optimism is where I’m landing today and I like where this is going because it is rooted in our current reality - whatever that may be right now.  

Until next time, do us a favor and follow our Instagram feed @everydayhappinesswithkatie because we are about to share some exciting news and we don’t want you to miss it. 

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Were you as sceptical as I was yesterday? It’s hard to get your head around how this actually works, which is why I was fascinated by a study done at a hospital in Louisiana.  Today, we explore that study and it’s findings. 

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and did you know that when you walk into a Ritz Carlton hotel, the employees are trained to make eye contact when you get within 10 feet of them and to say hello when you are within 5 feet of them.  Wow, that’s some great hospitality, right?  

Well, back in episode 320 we talked about the science of a smile and the mirror neurons that can’t help themselves but smile back. So what would happen if this 10/5 strategy was prescribed in an unconventional setting, like a hospital. Somewhere people don’t typically want to be and where it’s not usually the happiest place on earth. 

Well that’s exactly what happened when social scientists showed up to Ochsner Hospital in Louisiana.  They wanted to see if the “10/5 Way” would increase social support among employees and patients.  They educated 11,000 employees, leaders, and physicians about the impact of social support on the patient experience, and asked them to modify their behavior. 

Some doctors were not on board. They view their job as very serious and smiles were not part of the program.  But still, even without every single person on board, the scientists persisted.

They asked all employees that walk within 10 feet of another person in the hospital, to make eye contact and smile. When they walk within 5 feet, they must say hello. 

They did this study for six months and found that using the 10/5 Way, Ochsner has experienced an increase in unique patient visits, a 5% increase in patients’ likelihood to recommend the organization, and a significant improvement in medical-practice provider scores. 

This means, by sharing a smile, being kind to another person as you pass them in the hallway, by a simple hello pleasantry, you can quantifiably increase the happiness and well-being of the people around you.  

This type of social support appears to cultivate not only happier employees but also more-satisfied customers.   

What would happen if this was your way?  If you followed the 5/10 way? When you are out and about, you smile at a person instead of avoiding eye contact and searching for your phone.  

These results are because of these mirror neurons in our brains.  The way neurons function in our body, lighting up at the receipt of a friendly gesture, telling our brains to smile when someone smiles at us and spreading joy all around. 

I can’t wait to see how we use this to change our habits and create a ripple effect.  Speaking of ripple effects, would you do us a favor and follow our Instagram feed @everydayhappinesswithkatie because we are about to share some exciting news and we don’t want you to miss it. 

Inspired by: 

Oprah Super Soul Sunday, Shawn Achor 

https://hbr.org/2012/01/positive-intelligence

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

Is it really possible to create behavior change in others? Well the research indicates it’s absolutely possible and today I share how that happens. Tune in.  

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and I’ve been wondering if it’s really possible to create behavior change in others.  To live in the idea that the ripple effect matters. That the actions of one person create a domino effect that becomes unstoppable.   

There is this fascinating research in workplace teams that “shows that when just one person on a team appeals to emotion and highlights meaning in specific, positive ways, it can raise the team’s revenue by as much as 700 percent. One of the best ways to plant a positive reality is to construct a narrative around some shared emotional experience, positive or negative.” 

But this one person, guess what, it works best when it’s not the leader trying to influence this.  It’s when someone else on the team creates this positive inception and he or she appeals to the team’s and the co-workers value and meaning.  What are we doing this all for? 

This happens because our brains are connected to one another.  Yup.  We are all connected through these things in our brains called mirror-neurons.  This is why happiness expert and New York Times bestselling author of Big Potential, Shawn Achor, says we co-process the world with other people.   

Achor’s research says that the small changes you make in your life can actually activate others' ability to let out that inner optimist and allow an entire society (or even your workplace team) to move to a place where we can feel like it’s okay to be positive. 

And we know that when we are positive, as opposed to negative, stressed or neutral, we have better performance and health.  

Tomorrow, I’m going to share a study about the Ritz Carlton and a hospital and how this all ties together.  

Until next time, do us a favor and follow our Instagram feed @everydayhappinesswithkatie because we are about to share some exciting news and we don’t want you to miss it. 

Inspired by: 

https://www.success.com/3-ways-to-spread-positivity/

https://www.zenefits.com/workest/shawn-achors-advice-happiness-shifting-perspective/

Get Everyday Happiness delivered to your inbox by subscribing at: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/happiness

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie  and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/