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" Real happiness \u2014 the kind that leaves you feeling ridiculously giddy and radiant \u2014 isn&amp;#039;t just about those occasional big-ticket bliss experiences, like falling head over heels in love or landing your dream job. It&amp;#039;s also about the simpler moments of joy in life, the ones that come around a helluva lot more often. &amp;quot;You can create happiness by focusing on the small, everyday positives and minimizing the negatives\u2026not by waiting for that lottery jackpot hit to happen finally,&amp;quot; says researcher John Reich, PhD, professor of psychology at Arizona State University. Cosmo has unearthed piles of research on the power of positivity to show you just how easy it is to put yourself on cloud nine in an instant. Don&amp;#039;t believe everything you think. When your inner critical voice starts heckling you about how your abs are flabby or making you feel like crap &amp;#039;cause that guy so isn&amp;#039;t interested, assume the voice is wrong. Quit spying on yourself during sex. A lust-fueled romp is the ultimate all-natural upper, but &amp;quot;spectatoring&amp;quot; \u2014 detaching and analyzing yourself during the act \u2014 kills the mood faster than Mom calling midsession. &amp;quot;For sex to be great, you have to be fully engaged, spontaneous, and open, which is impossible when you&amp;#039;re disconnected,&amp;quot; says sex therapist Gloria G. Brame, PhD. Copy the catwalk. According to a Skidmore College study, people who take bigger strides, swing their arms, and walk with their heads up (think: runway goddesses) feel happier than those who take short, shuffling steps. The reason could be because upright posture and extra movement get blood flowing more freely, which boosts your heart rate and your attitude. Pad your time. Running late and rushing around like a total madwoman is like putting your nerves in a deep fryer. So instead of being terminally frazzled, give yourself a 10-minute buffer. Set your watch ahead or allow yourself more prep time when you have someplace you have to be. Get engaged. Sorry, we&amp;#039;re not talking about the kind that comes with a diamond ring. We mean those times when you&amp;#039;re so totally absorbed in what you&amp;#039;re doing that you forget about watching the clock. Whether you&amp;#039;re thumbing through your latest issue of Cosmo or even fine-tuning a work project, you&amp;#039;re completely in the moment and experiencing what&amp;#039;s called flow, says David G. Myers, PhD, author of The Pursuit of Happiness. &amp;quot;When you become so unself-consciously immersed in an activity, you boost your sense of competence and well-being.&amp;quot; Grin, even if you don&amp;#039;t feel like it. This is one time it&amp;#039;s okay to fake it. Just force yourself to smile when you need a lift. Research at Clark University found that students who were induced to smile actually felt happier. &amp;quot;Even just going through the motions can trigger feelings of joy,&amp;quot; says Myers.  Go out on a school night. The blahs tend to multiply when you&amp;#039;re holed up by yourself. A few hours of pure play and friend therapy \u2014 even if you do have a morning meeting \u2014 will get you into a sunnier state of mind. Shorten your &amp;quot;I wish I&amp;#039;d\u2026&amp;quot; list. Look, you can&amp;#039;t rewrite history, and harping on the past only makes the present seem bleak, so don&amp;#039;t dwell on what you could&amp;#039;ve or should&amp;#039;ve done differently (&amp;quot;I could&amp;#039;ve asked him for his number,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;I should&amp;#039;ve bought that damn sweater on sale&amp;quot;). Banish regret by refusing to second-guess yourself. RSVP &amp;quot;no&amp;quot; to invites that feel like obligations, like a coworker&amp;#039;s baby shower or a third cousin&amp;#039;s bar mitzvah. Paint a wall, rearrange your furniture, or take the curtains off of your windows to let in more light. &amp;quot;Exotic colors, a powerful piece of artwork, more sun\u2026any of these positive changes in your personal scenery will elevate your mood because they arouse your senses,&amp;quot; says Walt Lockley, author of The Psychology of Residential Space. Listen to elevator music. No, we haven&amp;#039;t completely lost our minds. In the strange-but-true department, chill tunes can have the same calming effect on anxious patients as 5 milligrams of Valium, according to Atlanta anesthesiologist Fred Schwartz. One quick word of advice though: Use headphones \u2014 you might want to keep your Muzak appreciation under wraps. Own your screwups. Say your car gets towed or you snap a heel while running to get to work on time. Instead of cursing the evil forces that are conspiring to mess with you, claim some responsibility: You should have read the street sign or left the house earlier. &amp;quot;Feeling out of control \u2014 like the world is doing these things to you \u2014 is stressful and saps happiness,&amp;quot; says Reich. &amp;quot;Acknowledge that you played a part and you&amp;#039;ll feel more in charge. That&amp;#039;s the healthiest way to deal with life&amp;#039;s pitfalls.&amp;quot; Dump your diet. Really, who&amp;#039;s ever happy on an empty stomach? Always have something to look forward to. Make dinner reservations three weeks in advance. Buy a pair of concert tickets for next month. When you preplan a fabulous future, you sweeten your outlook on life. Blow off a grudge. A chip on your shoulder isn&amp;#039;t worth the bad vibes.  Get dirty. We&amp;#039;re so hung up on being clean (what with all the antibacterial crap on the market, you almost feel sorry for germs) that we forget how much fun it can be to get mucked up. So play a game of touch football with your guy, plant a little herb or flower garden, and just delight in the primal pleasure of getting back to nature. Line your favorite and famously uncomfortable stilettos with moleskin (about $4, drugstore.com). Create a ritual. Start every morning with your signature skim no-foam latte or set up a weekly mani\u2013pedi. Life is totally random and unpredictable, but having something constant that you enjoy keeps you grounded and gives you a sense of well-being. Don&amp;#039;t flake out. It&amp;#039;s okay to occasionally bail on plans \u2014 emergencies do crop up \u2014 but being a chronic canceler is guaranteed to send you on a guilt trip\u2026and piss off your friends. Perform a bad-mood intervention on yourself. One nasty moment can spiral into a full-on freak-out because of your body&amp;#039;s involuntary response to the stress. Your computer crashes or you have a fight with your sister, so your heart beats faster and your muscles tense up. But even after the moment has passed, your body keeps sending those bad-mood signals, so your brain can&amp;#039;t shake the rotten feeling. To short-circuit ongoing crankiness, distract your body by putting your palms over your eyes to block out light and letting out a few deep sighs. These two moves send instant chill signals to your brain. Treat yourself to a massage. Skin-to- skin contact stimulates nerves that send happy signals to your brain by increasing levels of serotonin, your body&amp;#039;s natural antidepressant. &amp;quot;Touching is as vital to your well-being as good nutrition and exercise are,&amp;quot; says Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Visit O-Town today. Whether you go it alone or get your guy to take you on the magical tour, have yourself one rockin&amp;#039; orgasm \u2014 stat. The big O opens the floodgates on endorphins and oxytocin, those feel-fabulous chemicals that give you that postsex satisfaction.  Color Therapy These four shades provide major mood-boosting benefits. Red increases your heart rate and excites sexual glands, so you&amp;#039;ll get giddy\u2026and maybe a little horny. If a lack of motivation is dragging you down, orange will come to your aid. It&amp;#039;s the Energizer Bunny of brights. Let the sunshine in! Soaking up a sunny shade of yellow can relieve depression and improve your memory\u2026so you can reminisce about all the good times you&amp;#039;ve had. Mint green is seriously soothing. Read: You&amp;#039;ll be too relaxed to dwell on life&amp;#039;s downers. 5 Signs You Desperately Need a Hit of Happiness If you&amp;#039;re thinking Omigod, that&amp;#039;s so me after reading any of these statements, you may be issue-matic. 1. The sight of a kissy-feely couple makes you physically ill. 2. The only time you&amp;#039;re in touch with Mother Nature is when you&amp;#039;re walking to your car. 3. When a coworker asks &amp;quot;Is somebody having a bad day?&amp;quot; you actually growl. 4. Your boyfriend gave you a new sweatsuit for your birthday. 5. You blow off your girlfriends because you&amp;#039;re too busy\u2026 doing a whole lot of nothing. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/lifestyle/advice/a2409/shortcuts-to-a-happy-life/>