Ariana Huffington of Huffington Post fame has written her latest book, Thrive, about long-held beliefs and practices that science now supports. She orients these practices around four pillars: well being, wisdom, wonder, and giving & compassion.
The beliefs and their scientific foundations are as follows:
And there we have it: science has caught up to the ancient wisdom of our ancestors.
Source: The Third Metric
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Sometimes it can feel like life is tough. One quality that is really powerful in changing our attitudes from negative to positive, and reframing what happens day-to-day, is gratitude. Gratitude is a practice of appreciation for what life brings us. Research suggests that expressing gratitude can strengthen relationships, improve psychological wellbeing, promote altruism and pay-it-forward style giving, and make you happier.
Cultivating certain practices or habits can promote gratitude. For example:
Expressing gratitude is important to maintain a positive mindset even in times of stress; some ways to express gratitude include writing thank you notes, keeping a gratitude journal, praying, and meditating. The benefits of are myriad and can improve our personal, social, professional, emotional, and physical lives. Gratitude is a priceless habit to build; time to give it a go if you haven’t already!
Image credit: Laura Manning via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution