If everything goes right

The next proven way to be happy that is described in The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want involves picturing the best possible future for yourself in all the main parts of your life.  The technique works best if done in writing.  One researcher, Laura King, a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, had some subjects write about "their best possible selves" for 20 minutes per day for 4 days.  She had the control group write for 20 minutes as well, but they just wrote about other topics.  The people who described their best possible future were happier than the control group not only during the 4 day period but also for several weeks after the experiment was over.

One thing I like about the technique as described in the book:  you're supposed to imagine realistic, plausible best case scenarios.  You don't imagine yourself winning a Nobel Prize or conquering world hunger if these things aren't within reach.  Instead, you think, "Here's something that COULD easily happen that I would really like."  This is key for me because then I don't feel like I'm kidding myself.  The whole thing wouldn't work for me if I didn't really believe these dreams were within reach.

Just like the gratitude journal writing, I like the return on investment for this.  Spend just a few minutes once per week and gain a more optimistic outlook that stays with me the rest of the week?  Count me in!  This is another item that I'd like to incorporate into our weekly family meetings with the kids.  I can't ask them to write in journals every day, but I can ask them just once per week to describe what they are grateful for and then to tell the rest of the family something that they'd like to see happen for them in the next few years.