happy

we watched the documentary, happy, on the weekend. i thought it was really cute. some things the film talked about were common sense, like material things don't really bring happiness. a few things that improve happiness, from the movie:

1. physical activity. running for 30 minutes a day makes me feel so much more calm.
2. social interaction. it doesn't have to be going to parties. sometimes even being with coworkers is enough.
3. flow. this is the thing that happens when you are doing something, and you are so focused that you lose track of time. i am super lucky that i get this feeling when i am working sometimes. j gets this when he is biking.

something one of the happiness experts in the movie said is that our brains only register differences in contentment. so constant happiness wouldn't even feel that good. you have to have happiness mixed with less happy times to actually feel it. so when you are on vacation, you shouldn't lay on the beach drinking mojitos the entire time. you need to maybe go for a run or do some shopping too. i'm into it.


also, just for the record, it snowed here on the weekend