HALTS on the road to fulfillment

I had written earlier about six ‘hacks’ for sustainable happiness based on neuroscience. I have been toying with the idea of making it easy to put these concepts into practice, by baking them into daily routines. This led to the dinnertime ‘gratitude ritual’ at our home, where we share what we are each grateful for. I have since, based on additional research, added some other elements to my daily introspection and to the dinnertime ritual (eliciting a less than enthusiastic response from my kids). I thought this may be of use to some of you.

I now include the following five themes in my daily introspection:

• Help: Whom did I help today?
• Awe: Did I experience a moment of awe today?
• Learn: Did I learn something new today?
• Thank: What am I thankful for today?
• Strengths: How did I use my signature strengths today?

I describe each of these themes below, with some recent personal examples to clarify.

1. Help: Whom did I help today?

As my earlier article pointed out, even small acts of kindness can create happiness for both giver and recipient.

Some personal examples from the last few weeks – praising a colleague for her contribution, attending a non-profit fundraiser, and referring a friend for a job. Notice that these are ordinary things many of us regularly do – stepping back to consider how we may have helped others in the process adds significant meaning to our actions though.

2. Awe: Did I experience a moment of awe today?

There has been a lot of research lately on how a sense of awe contributes to our mood and well-being (check this HBR article for details). Awe enables us to transcend our mundane challenges and connects us with a larger universal canvas. I have realized that you don’t have to visit the Grand Canyon or the Taj Mahal (both of which I highly recommend btw) to experience awe. Often, all it takes is a mindful walk or even just looking out of the window.

I experienced some moments of awe right outside my house in the last week – a spectacular sunset, an intricate spider web on a rose bush, and a fascinating pattern of clouds.

It may seem challenging to find something awe-inspiring every day; but I have realized that just being more intentional makes you more likely to discover awe hiding in plain sight.

3. Learn: Did I learn something new today?

Learning new things adds to happiness by making us experience a state of ‘flow’ when we challenge ourselves, and by giving us a sense of accomplishment when we make progress. Learning also contributes to well-being by helping build our self-confidence. Learning does not have to be structured and formal – it can happen through a casual conversation.

The highlights in my learning bucket in the last week were a TED talk on NFTs and a smattering of Spanish picked up from my daughter.

4. Thank: What am I thankful for today?

As I have said in earlier articles, I believe that an attitude of gratitude is critical for sustainable happiness. Regularly acknowledging things that we are thankful for, however small, disarms the brain’s natural negativity bias and improves well-being.

My gratitude list for the last week included speaking to a college buddy after ages, managing to find free parking in DC, and watching a Seinfeld re-run (the Suede jacket episode if you are interested).

5. Strengths: How did I use my signature strengths today?

Each of us is blessed with some unique strengths, and exercising these on a regular basis leads to a state of ‘flow’ and enhanced happiness. (If you haven’t already done so, I strongly recommend that you discover your signature strengths using the free survey at https://www.viacharacter.org/character-strengths).

‘Curiosity’ and ‘Love of learning’ are a couple of my signature strengths. I used both to good measure earlier this week when I read a special report in The Economist on Hydrogen as an energy source (did you know that Hydrogen comes in different shades based on carbon intensity in production – green, blue, black, gray, turquoise, and pink?!)

I encourage you to create your own regular HALTS on the road to fulfillment.