The Happiness Formula: How to Trick Your Mind into Being Happier

The science behind happiness (and how to create more of it)

Remember when we were younger? Life was brighter, happier, and more carefree. 

But over the years we’ve been slowly conditioned into cynics. Our spiritual positivity has gradually diminished, resulting in a more sour version of ourselves. 

• We complain about the state of the world

• We assume the worst in people

• We worry about the future

• We frown too much 

This should scare you — that’s not the real you. That’s not the old you. 

So what if you could reclaim the happiness you used to have? The happiness that’s dormant within you, waiting to come back out. 

Using science and human nature — you can. 

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The principle of entropy is the reason our happiness has withered away over the years. 

en·tropy [ˈɛntrəpi]

The gradual decline into disorder. 

• If you leave a tomato on the counter, it’ll slowly degrade and rot until it’s an unrecognisable, yucky pile of black mould.

• If you never look after your car, it’ll become a rusty, creaky piece of shit 

• If you don’t care for, and feed, your body, it’ll slowly start to break down

And the same goes for your joy. 

If you don’t put specific, considered and purposeful effort toward joy, you’ll decline into a jaded, bored and cynical person — just like the tomato becomes mouldy and gross. 

And that’s what has happened to you, to me and millions, if not billions, of people around the world. 

We’ve failed to uphold the pleasant and joyful nature that feels so good. 

We’ve failed to care for, and nurture, the joyful spirit within us. 

This is a tragedy that needs fixing now. 

As a top priority, we must nurture that joyful side and bring it back to life. 

To look at the world with a smile, not a frown. 

So let’s explore the science behind feeling happy again. 

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When You Look for Joy, You Find It: The Science Behind Happiness and Attention

Most people don’t accept that happiness and joy actually IS a choice. 

This statement should not be taboo just because depression and sadness exist. 

Ignoring that statement blocks you from enjoyment. 

• Making excuses for feeling sad and upset 

• Refusing to take steps to increase your happiness 

• Blaming external circumstances for why you feel sad 

It’s not that you choose to be happy and all the sadness goes away. 

It’s that you choose to be happier. You choose to stay strong and to look at the bright side — even if the bright side is teeny-tiny. 

There is little to be happy about at a funeral. But the strong families choose to view it as a celebration of life. That is looking at the bright side. 

This leads us to the formula to happiness — the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. 

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The Happiness Formula — Using Cognitive Bias to Create Joy

“You’ll see it when you believe it.” 

— Wayne Dyer

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon is the secret to nurturing our joyful spirit and regaining the happiness that is our birthright: 

If you’re thinking of buying a certain pair of shoes, you might start to those shoes way more often than usual. It’s obvious that more people didn’t suddenly purchase these shoes, but it’s your brain that’s more attuned to seeing them. 

It’s our focus that shapes our perception of reality, or in simpler terms: 

What you’re looking for begins to appear more often.

This is cognitive bias — and you can use it to physically create a happier life. This is a very important point. 

You can literally create a happier life by tricking your brain into seeing more good than bad. That’s how much control you have within your mind. 

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It’s easier said than done though: 

• It’s hard to be happy when shit goes wrong 

• It’s hard to be happy when we’re working jobs we hate 

• It’s hard to be happy when your loved ones are sick and dying 

But I can tell you from experience that it’s a lot harder to get through those things if you’re not actively pursuing positivity and joy. 

Because someone who always sees the silver lining is simply a pleasure to be around. And when you see the silver lining, your life is simply a pleasure to live. 

No matter how teeny-tiny the good in the situation, you must focus on it.

And sometimes, you’ll have to fabricate the silver lining. 

I missed the bus — lucky me! I get 10 minutes to stop and take a break.

This is how you become a joyful person — how you stop the tomato from becoming a rotten mess. 

You PUT ENERGY INTO the act of being happy. 

Because without refuelling the car, it’ll run out of gas. 

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2 Simple Strategies to Regain Your Joy 

You’ve lost the joy you once had because you’ve conditioned yourself to focus on problems.

You need to change that.

Here are two strategies I use in my life to snap me out of a bad mood — and catapult me back into happiness.  

1. Find the good in everything

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.”
 
— Alphonse Karr

No matter how small, choose to focus on the good. 

And if it doesn’t exist, make it up. 

Instead of: 

“Unfortunately, I have to pay this $2000 bill” — you say — “Fortunately, I can afford to pay this $2000 bill — I’m blessed to be in this position.”

2. Make a gratitude list 

“Happiness begins when your gratitude list is longer than your worry list.”

— John Geiger

I know it’s corny and played out, but it works. 

Whenever you feel upset, make a list of what you’re grateful for that’s longer than the list of complaints. 

Instead of: I hate my job and the corporate world — you say — I’m lucky to have a stable job that puts a roof over my head, and food on the table for my loved ones. I’m blessed to have people I love and that love me. I’m lucky that I even got to live this day, and all the days before it. 

These work like magic — and next time you’re in a pickle, use them. Your shoulders and face will relax, and you’ll lift your mood and spirit back up to where it should be.

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Feed the Good Enough, and It’ll Overcome the Bad

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”

 — Oprah Winfrey

Your main focus should be on restoring that joy, wonder and magic that you had when you were a child. 

And all you have to do is increase the cognitive bias for happiness. 

Choose to focus on happiness, miracles and magic, and they’ll begin to appear everywhere. 

To summarise the two strategies we talked about: 

1. Focus on the good in every situation — no matter how small (and make it up if it truly doesn’t exist) 

2. Create a gratitude list longer than the complaint list to trick your mind into being pleased — switch your thinking when you’re in a sad mood

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Don’t wait for happiness to come to you. 

Become so unreasonably aware of all the good in your life that you trick yourself into thinking things are better than they are. 

This is how you create happiness. 

Thank you for reading. 

Sincerely, 

eren