Exploring Happiness: Recent Episodes
Anja Wendt
Exploring Happiness is connected to anjawendt.com which is my Exploring Happiness website. This podcast consists of short 5-10 minute episodes about my experiences with happiness tools and frameworks, discoveries and discussions about scientific research in the happiness and positive psychology field.
In the last episode of this season, I'm reflecting on wellbeing or happiness governments and what that could mean for society and the world.Subscribe to my newsletter, where I alert you of new podcast episodes and share happiness boosters. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook to be inspired, informed and entertained.
Identity is partly fluid - meaning that we can change it. That again opens opportunities to explore who you want to be. Some parts of your identity (being German in my case) are fixed. To improve happiness, those can be explored but eventually, you need to embrace them.Subscribe to my newsletter, where I alert you of new podcast episodes and share happiness boosters. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook to be inspired, informed and entertained.
Jealousy - that stingy feeling which can really cause havoc. If you feel a lot of jealousy (or envy), this episode might give you some ideas how to embrace that emotions.Subscribe to my newsletter, where I alert you of new podcast episodes and share happiness boosters. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook to be inspired, informed and entertained.
We feel guilt when we compromise our moral standards. Guilt can be a helpful indicator but it can also weigh us down, destroying relationships and lives. In this episode, I share some of my personal guilt which is very difficult (you'll hear me wiggling). I'll reflect upon how I think to deal with guilt so it becomes beneficial (and makes us happy).
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Parenthood - making us happy and driving us into madness. Being a parent can be wonderful. But it is also very stressful. Why? What could be improved to make parenthood a greater experience? A happy experience?Subscribe to my newsletter, where I alert you of new podcast episodes and share happiness boosters. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook to be inspired, informed and entertained.
What is the relationship between power and happiness? Power makes us most happy if it's balanced and shared. If we are overpowering someone or a group of people, we are unlikely to feel happy. We would have to keep that power up which is stressful. If others have power over us, we are also unlikely to be happy as we lack resources and can't make decisions freely for ourselves. So, what does a scenario with power and happiness look like?Subscribe to my newsletter, where I alert you of new podcast episodes and share happiness boosters. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook to be inspired, informed and entertained.
Suffering is often connected with happiness. Many think that nobody can be happy if they haven't experienced suffering. I'm not sure about it. Some suffering might be necessary to show the importance of whatever it is we are suffering from (health, love, acknowledgement). But I don't believe you have to suffer a lot to be happy.
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Self-care is essential for happiness because it means that we look after ourselves, our health, our relationships and our energy. It means that we tap into ourselves and our feelings to know what's best for us. It doesn't mean putting ourselves first although it's often hard to have time for good self-care when you are looking after everyone else. Listen to this episode where I reflect upon self-care.Subscribe to my newsletter, where I alert you of new podcast episodes and share happiness boosters. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook to be inspired, informed and entertained.
Rituals exist in all cultures and traditions. They are repeated steps in a particular order, performing symbol rich activities without being useful (so the steps themselves aren't useful but rather symbolic). Rituals help reducing anxiety and offer consistency and something to hold onto in the chaos life can be. In this episode, I reflect how rituals support happiness.Subscribe to my newsletter, where I alert you of new podcast episodes and share happiness boosters. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook to be inspired, informed and entertained.
Knowing about happy hormones (dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins and serotonin) and how to trigger them is very powerful. You can use happy hormones to get out of slumps and a tunnel of negative emotions. If you learn a little about triggering those hormones, you don't get into nasty habits dragging you into vicious cycles of addiction. There are other ways to use them without sugary fatty food, alcohol, drugs and lots of sex (although you can still have that). Healthy habits with lots of sleep, exercise and nutrient-rich food support the production of the hormones long-term. Just saying... ;-)Subscribe to my newsletter, where I alert you of new podcast episodes and share happiness boosters. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook to be inspired, informed and entertained.
Yes, I have talked several times about happiness definition. Last season, I didn't have a definition, though. I instead tried to approach a definition. Now, I have come up with my very own definition. I love it. This episode unpacks the elements of that definition.
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Finally, I'm talking today about the last pillar of the Exploring Happiness Framework, letting go. While the other pillars are about having a say in your happiness, accepting agency and taking action, this pillar is about the opposite. Letting go is where the magic happens, where the work pays out. It's about forgiving, fun & play, creativity and spirituality. It is about accepting that some things are in our control, but most are not. While this can be threatening, it can also be freeing and beautiful. Embrace the latter ;-)Subscribe to my newsletter, where I alert you of new podcast episodes and share happiness boosters. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook to be inspired, informed and entertained.
In this episode, I talk about the fifth pillar of the Exploring Happiness Framework, dreams. I recommend taking your dreams and visions serious and exploring those ones which seem important. You can do so by setting goals with action steps. If you follow your dreams, this will feed your purpose and life meaning.
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This episode deals with pillar number four of the Exploring Happiness Framework: Resources. Relevant resources are belonging or tools, time, money and energy. I explain in detail how to understand these resources and use them better for your purposes.
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This episode talks about the third pillar of my Exploring Happiness Framework: Connections. What is so important about connections? There are love and community connections - how can they be leveraged to experience more happiness? And how can you deal with roadblocks such as jealousy, conflicts, impostor syndrome and not to know how to connect in the first place? This episode offers answers and starting points.
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This episode talks about the second pillar of my Exploring Happiness Framework: Health. No, not about never touching alcohol or burgers. It's about understanding how to use eating, drinking, sleeping and moving to expand your capacity to feel happy.
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This episode talks about the first pillar of my Exploring Happiness Framework: Mindset. It's all about beliefs, negativity bias, happy hormones, positive thinking etc. Enjoy!
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Yes, I came up with a framework to increase happiness and here it is! In this episode, I'm introducing the framework. The following episodes are then dedicated to each of the six pillars.
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The last episode of this season. The first season of my very first podcast - what a success! Great time to talk about success and how it relates to happiness or even foster happiness.
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In this episode, I'm dabbling in the topic of gender equality. I'm focusing mostly on the individual and couple/family level, discussing how we can approach the topic better to be happier.
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In this episode, it's all about energy. Particularly, about how to get energy moving when it's stuck. I also talk about why I think it is important and how I came to understand the importance of energy flow better.
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This episode discusses productivity and what it has to do with happiness. I introduce a few ideas why productivity promotes happiness and a few challenges.
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This episode discusses free will and freedom, how they relate to happiness and why. I also look into what free will is and how to get there, past the thicket of hormones and beliefs.
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I just got into affirmations. I was aware of them for a long time but just recently discovered their power. Affirmations overwrite beliefs and thinking pattern in our brain, often formed in our childhood and often outdated. Start with 'I am willing to change' and 'I approve of myself'.
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In this episode, I discuss Play. I used this article to get me kickstarted.
Play improves happiness by relieving stress, boosting brain functions, stimulating the mind and creativity, improve relationships and connecting with others and helping us feel more energetic and young. In short, play is very valuable.
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And if you would like to share your story or discuss with me, email me: happy@anjawendt.com
In this episode, I talk about Global Warming and suggestions to overcome the anxiety around this topic. I share some of the action steps I am take and some ideas of a useful mindset to adopt.
Please share your thoughts with me on Facebook (@aw.exploring.happiness) or Instagram (@aw.exploringhappiness). You can also email me @ happy@anjawendt.com
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In episode 10, I talk about another book. This book is called The Midnight Library and it is written by Matt Haig. It is about regrets and how we cannot change past decisions. But we can change future decisions and live our best life.
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Episode 9 is dedicated to the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. This book inspired me in my journey and helped me to turn around and take happiness in my own hands.
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In episode 8, I look at the negativity bias, what it is and how to handle it. Just a heads up, positive thinking is key.
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In episode 7, I talk about the last part of my mini-series, intentional activities that make us happier. It's all about healthy habits. I look at eating, drinking, sleeping and moving with some general tips and thoughts.
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In episode 6, I continue my mini-series about intentional activities that make us happier. In this episode, I talk about prosocial behaviour - connecting and interacting with others. I found that there are 2 important connection types, love and community, which need our attention. If we can balance attention for both, we have a great foundation for happiness.
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This episode tags onto the previous episode introducing intentional activities to make us happier. This episode is a quickie about gratitude. I'm explaining my struggles with gratitude and how I have resolved them. I also share how I use gratitude to better connect with my loved ones. Man, sometimes that's so hard. Hope you enjoy!
After looking at what happiness is and who is responsible for our own happiness, it is time to look at some activities which make us happier. I have picked 4 activities which I will present in this and the next 3 podcasts. This first episode of this mini series looks at positive mindset and positive thinking. Have fun!
This week is about who is responsible about your happiness. I reveal who it is and why that is great. Then I talk about Sonya Lyubormirsky's pie chart which you can check out in this article and also about how happiness looks (or doesn't look) like. Enjoy!
The logical next episode after the introduction must be what is happiness in this podcast. And that's what I'm looking at today. It is an interdisciplinary approach, looking at a couple of different fields.
I'm referring to the free online course about Positive Psychology on Coursera and Loretta Graziano Breuning's book Habits of a Happy Brain.
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Have a happy day!
This is the very first Exploring Happiness episode. I'm going to introduce myself and the podcast. Since this is the very first episode I recorded... ever... bare with me as it is a little bumpy. But, progress over perfection.
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