59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot Read Online Free PDF

played a key role in their decisions.
    Exactly the same idea applies to happiness. People smile when they are happy, but they also feel happier because they are smiling. The effect even works when people are not aware that they are smiling. In the 1980s, Fritz Strack and his colleagues asked two groups of people to judge how funny theyfound Gary Larson’s The Far Side cartoons and then rate how happy they felt, in one of two rather bizarre circumstances. 29 One group was asked to hold a pencil between their teeth, but to ensure that it did not touch their lips. The other group supported the end of the pencil with just their lips, but not their teeth. Without realizing it, those in the “teeth only” condition had forced the lower part of their faces into a smile, while those in the “lips only” condition had made themselves frown. The results revealed that the participants tended to experience the emotion associated with their expressions. Those who had their faces forced into a smile felt happier and found the Far Side cartoons much funnier than those who were forced to frown. Other work has demonstrated that this increase in happiness does not immediately drain away when people cease smiling. 30 It lingers, affecting many aspects of their behavior, including interacting with others in a more positive way and being more likely to remember happy life events.
    The message from this type of work is simple: if you want to cheer yourself up, behave like a happy person.
    IN 59 SECONDS
    Smile.
    There are a number of happiness-inducing behaviors that can be quickly incorporated into your everyday life. Most important of all, smile more. This shouldn’t be a brief, unfelt smile that ends in the blink of an eye. Instead, research suggests that you should try to maintain the expression for between fifteen and thirty seconds. To make the grin as convincing as possible, try to imagine a situation that would elicit a genuine smile. Perhaps you have just met a goodfriend, heard a hilarious joke, or found out that your mother-in-law isn’t coming to visit after all. Also, consider creating a signal to remind you to smile regularly. Set your watch, computer, or PDA to beep on the hour, or use a more random cue, such as your telephone ringing.
    Sit Up.
    Your posture is equally important. In a study conducted by Tomi-Ann Roberts at Colorado College, participants were randomly split into two groups and asked to spend three minutes either sitting up straight or slumping in their chairs. 31 Everyone was then given a math test and asked to assess their mood. Those who had sat upright were much happier than those who had slouched, and they even made higher scores on the math test. Interestingly, the result didn’t hold for many of the female participants, causing Roberts to speculate that the act of sitting upright and pushing their chests forward may have made them feel self-conscious.
    Act Happy.
    Research by Peter Borkenau from Bielefeld University and others has revealed that happy people move in a very different way than unhappy people do. 32 You can use this information to increase your sense of happiness by acting like a happy person. Try walking in a more relaxed way, swinging your arms slightly more and putting more of a spring in your step. Also, try making more expressive hand gestures during conversations, nod your head more when others are speaking, wear more colorful clothing, use positively charged emotional words more (especially “love,” “like,” and “fond”), use fewer self-references (“me,” “myself,” and “I”), have a larger variation in the pitch of your voice, speak slightly faster, and have a significantly firmer handshake. Incorporating these behaviors into your everyday actions will enhance your happiness.
    PUTTING IN THE EFFORT
According to researchers Kenneth Sheldon and Sonja Lyubomirsky, happiness does not come easily. 33
In several experiments, the duo recruited participants who had