How can we train our brain to make ourselves happier?

How can we train our brain to make ourselves happier? I have just watched this wonderful TED talk by Dr. Rick Hanson. He describes how in order to improve our happiness and confidence we need to first overcome the brain’s natural negativity bias. The brain is very good at learning from bad experiences. It is not very good at learning from good experiences. This, of course comes back to the original need to avoid threats like sabre toothed tigers, and the development of the fight or flight response.

This is a beautiful presentation, which teaches us a simple way to use the memory of a positive experience, turn it into a feeling, and then use this to change our neural pathways. By focusing on these good feelings and memories we can control our negativity bias, and overcome our anxiety and tendency to over-worry. This sounds like bliss to me, and is definitely something I want to explore.

He suggests that we can use this technique throughout our day, or at specific times like mealtimes, after meditating or exercise, or just before we go to bed. I think this is something I can use to help me with my own mindfulness practice.

I absolutely love his ending remarks, and I think I will come back to this talk many times in the future, as I found it so powerful. He talks about “the law of little things – it’s usually lots of little bad things that take us to a bad place, and it’s lots of little good things that take us to a better one.”

As Dr Hanson says, “What’s the most important minute in your life? It’s the next one. What will we do with the most important minute in our life? And especially, what will we do with the good that’s authentically available to us in it? Will we waste it? Or will we, a few times a day or even more, actually take it into ourselves?”

Rarely have I ever read or watched something that I found as meaningful and useful to me as this talk. I am smiling now because it made me feel so peaceful, relaxed and happy. The video is 14 minutes long. Take a look when you have some time free. I promise you it is well worth it.

Project 365

I set up this website after deciding that I want to build a more creative life for myself, so I can give up my job and be in control of my own destiny.

I have set myself a goal of publishing an article on my website every day this year, to document my journey from employment to self-employment.

The name I chose was Project 365 because I see this as a year that I have dedicated to learning and self-development, as I countdown to freedom. It started on 1st January 2021, so I have 325 days to go!

Why not check in on a regular basis to see how I am progressing, and what I have discovered?