“Raindrops on roses and
Whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and
Warm woolen mittens”
Julie Andrews sang about them. Oprah has them. And so I now want to do a fun column about “My Favorite Things,” too, to pay homage to some of the things that bring happiness and contentment to my life in the hopes that my findings might give some of you a fresh idea about how to make yourselves a little bit happier on a daily basis.
Of course, I have to tie this to the world of Positive Psychology and research, or this column wouldn’t belong here, so here are the rules for making my annual Favorite Things recommendations:
- It must pertain to one of the sixteen areas of life that have been shown to enhance life satisfaction.
The recommendation must have increased pleasure, engagement or meaning in my day-to-day life.
It must have some empirical evidence supporting — or relating to — its possible efficacy as a happiness-booster.
It must be available to others.
Here they are:
“Mind Aerobics” is a product that is based on the science of binaural beat technology, and I have become addicted to these CDs since I met their inventor on the “Ocean of Gratitude Cruise” exactly one year ago. By wearing stereo quality headphones and letting different tones enter my right and left brain hemispheres, I can create alpha, beta, delta and theta waves that speed up some of outcomes seen among long-time meditators. This affordable brain retraining program has several CDs that enhance concentration, reduce stress and cortisol levels, and promote creativity. I’ve never produced so much good writing on deadline as I have with these musical tones filling my brain. (If the above link doesn’t work, go directly to my “Recommended Products” page on my website.)
Oskar Schindler

Scrapbooking
Anyone can make a scrapbook, and now there are affordable ways to create them online! I don’t think I’ve ever seen or participated in a leisure hobby that had so many elements of Positive Psychology in one place.
I admit to being a research hound. I love reading research more than I enjoy reading anything else, and there is one piece of research that moves me whenever I look at it. It is called, “The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect,” and it was published in 2005. Co-authors Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ed Diener and Laura King methodically go through hundreds of pieces of research to show that happiness precedes success, and not the other way around. You can’t read this document without deciding to try to enhance your well-being in some of the myriad ways mentioned in this 53-page report.

Yoga

iPod Mini

Priceline
I’d love to hear what other people have on their favorite lists because I never know when or where I’ll hear about an affordable and unusual Positive Intervention that speaks to my needs and works well in my life or the lives of my clients, who are always looking for off-the-beaten track ideas. I look forward to learning more by seeing what everyone posts in the comments section!
References
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?. Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803–855.
Miller, C. A. & Frisch, M. B. (2009), Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide. New York: Sterling.
Miller, C. A. (2013). Positively Caroline: How I beat bulimia for good… and found real happiness. Cogent Publishing.
6 comments
This is cool! I love some of the suggestions you made about finding ways to exercise while working. I have, on occasion, gone days without moving from my desk and think that this “Airdesk” sounds like a great device for working mothers like myself. Thanks for the tips!
You’re welcome! I’m slowly adding more pictures and links to dress up this submission, but at least you get the idea about what has floated my boat lately!
Caroline
I really loved this posting. It’s a really creative way to get people to focus on the positive things in their lives, without getting stuck on the usual list of health / friends / family and so on. I wonder if it’s connected to gratitude?
Also, how strange that your first item is about brain waves, I was only reading some research yesterday; it’s a promising area for PP interventions I think…I’ll look into Mind Aerobics straight away. Thanks!
Bridget
Hi Bridget,
It is important to go outside of the familiar resources and areas we all think of quickly, so this was a fun list to make. Hope it spurred some fun ideas!
Caroline
Good on you Caroline. After going to Martin Seligman’s lecture in London last year, I refocused two of my blogs on broadening experiences.
The first series on http://scotchcart.wordpress.com (November 2007) is about the things I learned as a Zimbabwean in the diaspora. I’ve noticed quite a lot are about food (!)and the pleasurable life. I suppose that is not really surprising. When you are displaced, you are living more at the bottom of Maslow’s Need Hierarchy. I also avoided listing things that came about because the world has changed in the intervening time. I decided to list those after I finished my list of 20 things I’ve learned since 2000.
My other blog also started as a resource for diasporans arriving in a foreign country but also picked up my newfound interest in Web2.0. This blog has slowed down (I’m a little Gen X to be keeping up with a Gen Y lifestyle). It has been tremendously useful in settling in a new country and it is a broaden-and-build mechanism I am very glad to have.
I’d be happy to have any suggestions on these series and to talk with anyone interested in building Web2.0 applications for positive psychology!
Thanks again for the post!
And the name of the second blog IS: http://flourishing20.wordpress.com