The Science of Happiness

Latest Episodes:

Why We Should Look Up at the Sky Jan 19, 2023

Show notes

When did you last take a moment to really look up at the sky? Shifting our gaze upward is linked to more creativity, capacity to focus—and it's a gateway to awe.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3dbvxvyb

Episode summary:

Natalie didn’t spend much time finding shapes in the clouds as a small kid. And when she got older, looking up was even worse for her. Natalie spent time in jail, where she spent most of her days indoors under harsh lights. Today, she’s a student at a prestigious university. She tried a practice in looking up for our show. When we look up, our brain gets better at being playful, creative, and thinking critically. We also tend to see vast and beautiful things above our heads, like a canopy of leaves, branches and singing birds, or a starry night sky. Often, looking up is all we need to do to find moments of awe in our day-to-day lives. And that’s a wonderful thing, because feeling awe changes how our brains work in a way that’s really good for us.

This is the second episode of The Science of Happiness in a three-part series called The Science of Awe. If you’d like to learn more about awe, our host, Dacher Keltner, has a new book out about it. It’s called Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/3uzk8m5r

This episode is made possible through the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation.

Practice: Look Up

Over the course of a week or so, make it a point to look up in several different locations and at different times of the day and night. Be sure everywhere you choose is a safe place to do so, and of course, never look into the sun.
Each time before you look up, take a moment first to notice how you feel, and then take a few deep, intentional breaths to help you get grounded into the present moment.
Look up and let your eyes wander, noticing what inspires awe. If nothing does, that’s ok! This practice might help you cultivate awe more often, but it’s best to go into it each time with no expectations. Spend at least a few minutes looking up if it’s comfortable to do so, or as long as you like.
When you’re done, take another moment to notice how you feel now.

Today’s guests:

Natalie is a student at UC Berkeley and also works with the UC Berkeley's Underground Scholars Program, which creates pathways for formerly incarcerated people to study at universities. We're not sharing Natalie's last name to protect her privacy.

Michiel van Elk is a professor at Leiden University in The Netherlands.

Learn more about van Elk and his work: https://tinyurl.com/4kc5tycc

Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

How Nature Can Make You Kinder, Happier, and More Creative: https://tinyurl.com/yepuxd27

Six Ways to Incorporate Awe Into Your Daily Life: https://tinyurl.com/3emucdez

Tell us about your experiences of awe. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Happiness Break: Awe for Others, with Dacher Keltner Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

The communities we create are one of the most awe-inspiring parts of our lives. Host Dacher Keltner guides us in a meditation on awe and togetherness in this week’s Happiness Break.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/3783rkmj

How to Do This Practice:

Find a comfortable, safe, place where you can close your eyes and relax. Notice your breathing and begin to take deep, intentional breaths.
Think about a community you are a part of – work, recreation, spiritual, any group you’re a part of. Cultivate a sense in your mind of being with that community.
Reflect for a few minutes on the faces of the people in this community; bring them into your mind’s eye and notice the details of their eyes, smiles, perhaps even their tones of voice or the sounds of their laughter.
Think about this remarkable quality of communities: That all of these separate individuals create one hole.
Think about how each person contributes to this community to create that whole.
Contemplate how everyone in this community is connected, and how they’re mutually influencing each other.
Think about what value unites all these people share, what they have in common.
Imagine yourself within this network of connected individuals. Cultivate a sense of what connects you with them, think of them as threads of mutual influence. It doesn’t all have to be good; tension is a part of being a community, too.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Dacher Keltner is the host of the Greater Good Science Center’s award-winning podcast, The Science of Happiness and is a co-instructor of the GGSC’s popular online course of the same name. He's also the founding director of the Greater Good Science Center and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

His new book is Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life.

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Why Do We Feel Awe? https://tinyurl.com/3xms3dm2

How Awe Brings People Together: https://tinyurl.com/2p8m2tyk

Eight Reasons Why Awe Makes Your Life Better: https://tinyurl.com/2p8ccav2

Six Ways to Incorporate Awe Into Your Daily Life: https://tinyurl.com/3emucdez

How Music Bonds Us Together: https://tinyurl.com/329scmf6

Can a Sense of Awe Improve Our Arguments? https://tinyurl.com/pb2eh8c6

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience contemplating your communities. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

How Awe Brings Us Together Jan 05, 2023

Show notes

Feeling awe changes your brain. In our first episode in a series about the science awe, we explore how awe can make you a better friend, partner, and community member.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/ytph8dnc

Episode summary:

When Mirna Valerio tried out hiking for the first time as a young kid, she discovered something she didn’t expect: Being outdoors seemed to bring strangers closer to one another. It was like it somehow fastracked forming meaningful relationships. Today we know that the feeling of awe nature often inspires has something to do with this. Awe is the feeling you get when in the presence of something vast and incomprehensible. When we feel it, our sense of self shrinks – in a good way – and we get better at connecting with others. Today on The Science of Happiness, we explore what it’s like when awe helps us create communities, and the science behind how it works.

This episode is part of special series we’re doing on Awe. In the weeks ahead, we’ll share Happiness Breaks to help you contemplate what’s awe-inspiring in your life and explore more dimensions of awe in the stories and science we share on this podcast.

Our host, Dacher Keltner, has a new book out about awe. It’s called Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life. Learn more here: https://tinyurl.com/3uzk8m5r

Practice: Awe Narrative

Think back to a time when you felt a sense of awe; when you were around something vast and incomprehensible. It could be something physically vast, like a mountain range or beautiful valley, or psychological, like a brilliant idea or inspiring person.
Describe the experience in writing in as much detail as possible. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar, just get down as much about the experience as you can.

Learn more about this practice at Greater Good In Action:

https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/awe_narrative

Today’s guests:

Mirna Valerio is an ultra-marathon athlete and author known for her body-positive presence on social media.

Follow Mirna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themirnavator/?hl=en

Follow Mirna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheMirnavator

Follow Mirna on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMirnavator/

Yang Bai is a professor at Peking University in China.

Learn more about Bai and her work: https://en.gsm.pku.edu.cn/faculty/ybai/

Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Six Ways to Incorporate Awe Into Your Daily Life: https://tinyurl.com/3emucdez

How the Science of Awe Shaped Pixar’s “Soul:” https://tinyurl.com/37z43vrz

How a Sense of Awe Can Inspire Us to Confront Threats to Humanity: https://tinyurl.com/3k6xprau

More Resources About Awe

The Atlantic - The Quiet Profundity of Everyday Awe: https://tinyurl.com/yz623mff

NYT - How a Bit of Awe Can Improve Your Health: https://tinyurl.com/4zdzcusk

Sierra Club - The Science of Awe: https://tinyurl.com/3pfn23t7

Tell us about your experiences of awe. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Happiness Break: An Affirmation Practice for the New Year, with Chris Murchison Dec 29, 2022

Show notes

This New Year, affirm the wonderful qualities you already possess with this meditative writing practice called "I Am."

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/mswzp9jz

How to Do This Practice:

Take a moment to sit still and take a few deep breaths, and notice how you’re feeling right now.
Open your eyes, and on a sheet of paper, write “I am ____,” and then fill in that blank.
Set a timer for 1 minute, and repeat step 2 until the time is up.
Take a moment to observe what you’ve written. Where did you begin? Where did you end? What can you glean about how you’re showing up today, from what you’ve written? Look for patterns.
Take a few more mindful breaths. Consider how what you’ve just written might influence what you’ve just written and the rest of your day.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Chris Murchison is an artist and meditation teacher.

Check out Chris’s website: https://chrismurchison.com/

Follow Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrismarcellmurchison/

Follow Chris on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.m.murchison

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

How to Be a Remarkable Boss During Lockdown (by Chris Murchison): https://tinyurl.com/yypps3aw

Can Self-Awareness Help You Be More Empathic? https://tinyurl.com/eefds36s

Do You Have a True Self? https://tinyurl.com/3xasurwp

Ten Habits of Highly Creative People https://tinyurl.com/yt83udz6

Make Self-Compassion One of Your New Year’s Resolutions https://tinyurl.com/ymn6m5pp

The Dark Side of Self-Help: https://tinyurl.com/4jajdfum

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experiences with self-insight or self-affirmations. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

How to Make Life More Meaningful Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

Chris Sharma is one of the greatest rock climbers of all time, and he's taking on some of the biggest challenges in life: becoming a parent and starting his own business. Chris tries a practice shown to help us craft our own path and purpose in life.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/pdtkffuv

Episode summary:

Chris Sharma spent his youth traveling the globe and becoming one of the greatest rock climbers of all time. His passion for climbing has filled his life with purpose, but now in middle age, he wants to also focus on other sources of meaning in life that are just as important to him. Chris joins us after trying a practice in life crafting — where you get clear on your values, imagine what your ideal life would look like, and make a plan to get closer to that vision. Later in the show, we hear from Michael Steger, a psychologist and director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose at Colorado State University, about the surprising places in our lives we can find meaning, and the different roads we can take towards living a more meaningful life.

Try the Life Crafting Practice:

Identify your deepest values and passions — what’s most important to you.
Reflect on your ideal future: Write a paragraph envisioning how you’d like your social life or your career path to turn out if you had no constraints.
Write down how you’ll attain those goals. Prioritize them, and write “if, then” plans for how you’ll overcome obstacles you’re likely to encounter.
Make a public commitment. Tell your community about your goals.

Learn more about this practice at Greater Good In Action:

https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/life_crafting

Today’s guests:

Chris Sharma is an elite rock climber known for traveling the world to find the most beautiful and challenging places to rock climb.

His new show The Climb premieres on HBO on January 12. Check out the trailer here: https://tinyurl.com/suz35w8y

Follow Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris_sharma/

Check out his website: http://www.chrissharma.com/

Michael Steger is a professor of psychology at Colorado State University, where he is the director of the Center for Meaning and Purpose.

Learn more about Steger’s work: http://www.michaelfsteger.com/

Follow Steger on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/yc79d6mb

Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Michael Steger: Why We Search for Meaning: https://tinyurl.com/2s469242

Here’s How to Find Meaning in Your Midlife Crisis: https://tinyurl.com/4kpcnr9c

What Our Photos Say About Us (Podcast): https://tinyurl.com/y56wvj42

Purpose in Life Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yz4ztenp

Living with a Purpose Changes Everything: https://tinyurl.com/d3ea7afa

More On Meaning and Purpose:

The Atlantic - The Meaning of Life Is Surprisingly Simple: https://tinyurl.com/2yfucadj

Pew - Where Americans Find Meaning in Life: https://tinyurl.com/nek5j6tk

Scientific American - To Feel Meaningful Is To Feel Immortal: https://tinyurl.com/yuhe99m9

NPR - What's Your Purpose? https://tinyurl.com/465aknec

Harvard Business Review: What Is the Purpose of Your Purpose? https://tinyurl.com/43pjrc6j

Tell us about how you find meaning in your life. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Happiness Break: Finding Presence Through Your Senses, with Dacher Keltner Dec 15, 2022

Show notes

Sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste: all of our five senses provide unique pathways to presence and happiness. We spend a few minutes being mindful of each one.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/be39r98y

How to Do This Practice:

Find a comfortable place where you feel safe. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. Take a few deep breths, noticing the sensation of the air as it moves through your nose, into your lungs, and back out again.

Sound: For a few breaths, pay attention to the sounds around you. Notice where they are in space.
Touch: Put one hand on top of the other. Notice the sensations you feel in your hand as your fingers’ knuckles touch the other, like temperature and texture.. Shift your attention to your cheeks, noticing temperature and the feel of the air.
Taste: Now, pay attention to the taste you are experiencing on your tongue. There may be no taste or the taste of saliva.
Smell: Move your focus to the smell around you as you take a breath. See how many odors you can identify.
**Sight: Finally, focus your gaze on a point eight inches in front of you for a few seconds and see what colors, forms, light, and shadow you notice there.
Take a few more deep breaths here and notice if any of your senses feel heightened.

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Listen to our Happiness Break on body scan meditation: https://tinyurl.com/bd6x8ba5
How to Focus Under Pressure (podcast) https://tinyurl.com/mxpd6mtd
Coming to Our Senses: https://tinyurl.com/3d4jkprr
Hands-On Research: The Science of Touch: https://tinyurl.com/y79vpbre
10 Steps to Savoring the Good Things in Life: https://tinyurl.com/2zwb5y8v

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience with the five senses meditation. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break!

Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

The Science of Synchronized Movement Dec 08, 2022

Show notes

Moving in sync with someone else — even a total stranger — can change how you feel about them, and how you act, without you realizing it.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2baf5v3u

Episode summary:

When was the last time you moved in sync with someone else? Dancing, exercising, even just walking in step — for some, it comes easily, for others, it’s a challenge. But can moving to the same beat make all of us kinder to one another? This week, our guest Chris Duffy steps out of his comfort zone to try a practice in Body Music, rhythmically making sounds just by tapping your body, with body percussionist Keith Terry. Later, we learn how tapping in sync with someone else tricks you into thinking you have more in common with them, and can make you more inclined to help them.

Practice:

To start, stand up. Clap your hands together in front of your chest, then tap your left palm to your right chest, then right hand to your left chest. Repeat at a steady cadence.
Next, cap your hands together in front of your chest, then tap your left hand to your right chest, then right hand to your left chest, the right hand to top of your right thigh, then left hand to left thigh. Repeat at a steady cadence.
You can add on by tapping your right hand to your right buttocks and left hand to left buttocks after you finish tapping both thighs in step 2. Repeat (including all of step 2) at a steady cadence.
To add even more complexity, stomp each foot one at a time after completing all of step 3. Repeat at a steady cadence.

Check out a video of body percussionist Keith Terry performing this practice (and try it with a friend!):

https://tinyurl.com/mwffv447

Today’s guests:

Chris Duffy is a comedian, writer, and host of the TED podcast How to Be A Better Human.

Listen to Chris’s podcast, How to Be a Better Human: https://tinyurl.com/bdey9pm5

Follow Chris on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisiduffy/

Follow Chris on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christopheriduffy

Check out Chris’s comedy: https://chrisduffycomedy.com/videos

Keith Terry is a body percussionist and creator of the Body Music practice Chris tried today.

Learn more about Keith’s work: https://crosspulse.com/keith-terry/

Check out one of Keith’s original compositions: https://tinyurl.com/ybhweyux

Piercarlo Valdesolo is a psychologist and Chair of Psychological Science at Claremont McKenna College in California.

Learn more about Piercarolo’s work: http://www.valdesolo.com/

Check out the Moral Emotions and Trust Lab: http://www.valdesolo.com/meat-lab

Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

How Music Bonds Us Together https://tinyurl.com/329scmf6

To Resolve Conflicts, Get Up and Move https://tinyurl.com/bdf6zswn

Five Ways Music Can Make You a Better Person https://tinyurl.com/mwa22r8m

How to Train the Compassionate Brain https://tinyurl.com/32nbuh94

More Resources on Synchronized Movement

PRX - Body Music with Keith Terry https://tinyurl.com/2p8tz5j3

Scientific American - Moving in Sync Creates Surprising Social Bonds among People https://tinyurl.com/3y3ahfa3

Oxford University - Let’s dance: synchronised movement helps us tolerate pain and foster friendship https://tinyurl.com/c8tvrmdx

Science Daily - Social Synchronicity https://tinyurl.com/4mzvahe

Tell us about your experiences and struggles with body music or moving in sync. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Happiness Break: Tune Into Your Body, with Radha Agrawal Dec 01, 2022

Show notes

Happiness isn't only in your head — your body is important, too. This week, Radha Agrawal leads us in a short Japanese calisthenics practice called Radio Taiso.

Check out Radha Agrawal’s video guide to this practice: https://dose.daybreaker.com/videos/microdose-oxytocin-healthy-spine

Today’s Happiness Break guide:

Radha Agrawal is Japanese-Indian author and a founder of Daybreaker, a company that throws sober dance parties at sunrise all around the world.
Learn more about Daybreaker: https://www.daybreaker.com/

The Science of Happiness listeners get 100% off their first month of Daybreaker’s Dose, using code GGSC at check out: http://dose.daybreaker.com?code=ggsc

Follow Radha on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/love.radha/

Follow Radha on Twitter: https://twitter.com/radhatwin

Learn more about Radha and her book, Belong: https://belongbook.com/

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Moving Your Body Is Like a Tune-Up for Your Mind: https://tinyurl.com/2f64na8b
Five Surprising Ways Exercise Changes Your Brain: https://tinyurl.com/4pbx3rua
How Tuning In to Your Body Can Make You More Resilient: https://tinyurl.com/328scfjj
Four Ways Dancing Makes You Happier: https://tinyurl.com/yxp6mxdw

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of trying radio calisthenics. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/5f5rzc85

How to Practice Gratitude When You're Not Feeling Thankful Nov 24, 2022

Show notes

One way to feel more thankful for things is to imagine life without them. Our guest tries a practice for seeing the bright side, even when you feel down.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/5n783z4e

Episode summary:

We know that gratitude is good for us. But what can we do when we’re struggling to actually feel thankful? Our guest this week is author and podcast producer Stephanie Foo. Foo built a network of close friends around her in California, where she grew up. As a survivor of child abuse and Complex PTSD, her friends in California became her chosen family. And since she’s moved to New York City, she finds herself often pining for the Golden State and the people she loves there. This week, Foo tries a practice in mental subtraction, which gratitude researcher Ernst Bohlmeijer describes as an antidote to taking things for granted. Imagining her life if she didn’t live in New York helps Foo tap into gratitude even in the depths of winter – when she misses California the most. She even discovers her particular skill in getting the benefits of this practice by leaning into one of her PTSD symptoms. Later in the show, Ernst Bohlmeijer breaks down how keeping a gratitude practice can alter the emotions you’re likely to experience in a given day, and maybe even change you as a person.

Practice:

Take a moment to think about a positive event in your life. It could be a career or educational achievement or a special trip you took.
Imagine yourself back in the time of this event. Think about the circumstances that made it possible. Ponder on the ways in which this event may never have happened and write them down. For example, if you hadn’t learned about a certain job opening at the right moment.
Imagine what your life would be like now if you had not experienced this positive event and all the fruits that came from it.
Remind yourself that this positive event did happen and reflect upon the benefits it has brought you. Allow yourself to feel grateful that things happened as they did.

Find the full Mental Subtraction of Positive Events practice at our Greater Good in Action website: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/mental_subtraction_positive_events

Today’s guests:

Stephanie Foo is a radio producer and author of the book What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma.

Learn more about Stephanie and her book: https://www.stephaniefoo.me/

Follow Stephanie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/imontheradio

Follow Stephanie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foofoofoo/

Follow Stephanie on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/yx6pwdnf

Ernst Bohlmeijer is a psychology professor who studies gratitude at the University of Twente in The Netherlands.

Learn more about Ernst and his work: https://tinyurl.com/2p92p6vn

Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Four Great Gratitude Strategies: https://tinyurl.com/2p9buvkd
Tips for Keeping a Gratitude Journal: https://tinyurl.com/3jdbe52u
How to Increase the Love in Your Life: https://tinyurl.com/3k4ayj4n
Why Cynicism Can Hold You Back: https://tinyurl.com/bd4ussjt

More Resources for Mental Subtraction of Positive Events:

New York Times - Five Ways to Exercise Your Thankfulness Muscles: https://tinyurl.com/t29ukucc
NPR - A.J. Jacobs: How Can We Thank Those We Take for Granted?: https://tinyurl.com/56x48u99
TED - Your 5-day gratitude challenge: 5 exercises to increase your gratefulness: https://tinyurl.com/mt8j3x65

Tell us your thoughts about this episode. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Happiness Break: 5 Minutes of Gratitude, with Dacher Keltner Nov 17, 2022

Show notes

Not sure how to start practicing gratitude? Psychologist Dacher Keltner guides you through a practice that can help you see the good things in your life that you might otherwise overlook.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc7bvkpr

How to Do This Practice:

Sit or lay down somewhere comfortable. You may close your eyes if you wish, and take a slow, deep breath in to ground into the present moment. Then, scan your body from head to toe, noticing how you’re feeling in this moment. Let worries and plans clear from your mind.
Start by thinking about all the things that make your life comfortable: Clean water on tap, light at the flip of a switch, a roof over your head to protect you from the weather, warmth, and comfort when it gets windy, rainy, or cold.
Let your mind wander to all the millions of people who have worked hard to make your life more comfortable: Those who plant and harvest the food you eat, who bring it to markets, people who ensure the water we drink is clean, delivery drivers, teachers, all the people who create art and music and books and films and all the things that can bring us so much meaning, and so on.
Think about the acquaintances who bring richness to your life, like a colleague, neighbor, or someone you often see at the gym or a coffee shop.
Take a moment to think about what you’re really grateful for today, right now.
Notice how you’re feeling now, compared to when you started, and then start to bring movement back to your body, wiggling fingers and toes, maybe slowly standing up.
If you have the time, spend a few minutes journaling about what you thought about.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Dacher Keltner is the host of The Science of Happiness podcast and is a co-instructor of the Greater Good Science Center’s popular online course of the same name. He's also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

This practice was created by Dr. Kathy Kemper, who's the director of the Center for Integrative Health and Wellness at the Ohio State University. Learn more about some of her work here: https://mind-bodyhealth.osu.edu/

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Try GGSC’s online Gratitude Journal, Thnx4: https://tinyurl.com/2s4e4bx6

Take our Gratitude Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yhbz6cwv

Four Great Gratitude Strategies: https://tinyurl.com/2muyff64

Is Gratitude Good for You?: https://tinyurl.com/ycknm2ru

Three Surprising Ways Gratitude Works at Work: https://tinyurl.com/yc2c8y4n

How Gratitude Motivates Us to Become Better People: https://tinyurl.com/5n6ejpdy

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience with practicing gratitude. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

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