1 . There is a definite link between gratitude and happiness.     1     Let’s take a look at the positive benefits of gratitude and how you can learn to develop gratitude in your daily life.

What happens to our bodies when we’re grateful?

Much scientific evidence has shown that gratitude has far-reaching effects on our health. When people are thankful and are happy with things as they are, their physical health reflects that.     2     Researchers over the years point to lower stress, reduced pain and improved immune systems as a result of being thankful.     3     It increases self-confidence, enhances positive emotions and makes us more optimistic. when we feel deeply grateful, our bodies are producing all sorts of wonderful chemicals.

Activate gratitude regularly

The best way to make gratitude a habit is not to wait for special moments. Some people have been told by their specialists they can keep stress and anxiety at bay by keeping a gratitude journal, journaling every day is also correlated with an increase in happiness.

    4     Just pay attention. Start identifying things you might value too lightly. Then, take a moment to be thankful for then. Be sure to consider positive actions and events that might seem small. For example, be thankful for the warm cup of tea you are enjoying,

Do gratitude exercises

During busy workdays when we are pressed for time, there are doable ways to fit gratitude into your schedule.     5     Take a walk and be thankful for each item you see: trees, flowers, the sky, birds. Get a magazine or old photos and make a collection of everything you’re grateful for.

2 . While we enjoy the convenience the modern technology has brought to us, there has been a growing realization that while we may have innumerable followers and friends on social media, those in the real world are far more limited. Sharing feelings and problems in real conversations and confrontations is increasingly hard. Therefore, we feel lonely. The only way to break away from it is to reconnect with the self and the people who surround us.     1    . Here’s what we can do.

Connect with your own self

    2    . Developing a conscious and mindful approach is an essential element towards ensuring there is no disconnectedness from people who surround you and the life you build for yourself.

    3    

Learning to say ‘no’ to the people and activities that are beyond your ability. Doing this does not mean you are being unfriendly or irresponsible. It is a necessary reallocation of energies to provide emotional help to oneself and others.

Do the things you love

Invest in yourself by engaging with your interests and passions.     4    , but taking care of what you need is also essential.

Make time.

    5    . Learn to make full use of it and invest time in the people you love and care about. Career goals are often not enough to provide complete fulfilment. Building meaningful relationships is vital.

3 . In recent years, there has been a great deal of discussion about empathy(共情). It has been argued that a lack of empathy has led to several social problems.     1     It is a complex construct. According to psychologist Mark Davis, there are three important types of empathy. Let’s explore each type and the possible impact of each.

Perspective-Taking

This is a more cognitive(认知的) form of empathy, and it involves being able to see things from others’ perspectives.     2     Our research shows that perspective-taking is very important in social interactions and for leaders because they need to understand the people they lead and manage to motivate them effectively.

Empathic Concern

It is what we most commonly think of as being empathic. This is being able to “read” other people’s emotions and feelings and to feel appropriate concern for them. Counselors and therapists need it to deeply understand clients’ feelings but not actually experience the other’s emotions.     3    

Personal Distress

This is indirectly experiencing others’ emotions. If they are happy, we feel happy; if they’re sad, we cry with them.     4    

    5     In reality, we all have some level of each of the types of empathy. The key is to understand how we are empathic with others and realize the strengths and limitations of each type of empathy.

4 . What is empathy?

Empathy is the ability to share and understand the feelings or emotions of others.

Types of empathy

There are three different ways to think of empathy. First, there is affective empathy. This is the ability to share the emotions of others. For example, someone watching a scary movie may feel scared when a character is scared. Second, there is cognitive empathy. This is the ability to understand the feelings of others. A good example is a counselor. Counselors may understand that someone they are speaking to is sad, but that does not mean the counselor becomes sad. Finally, there is emotional regulation.     1    . For example, doctors need to control their emotions when doing surgery on a patient. They cannot be afraid of hurting them or sad for them because they are sick.

Depending on the situation

    2     . It may not always be positive. For example, strong positive empathy feelings for members of our own family might lead to negative emotions like hate toward those we see as a threat.     3    . For instance, people might feel more empathy for people who look or act like them. People who are good at reading others’ emotions might also trick other people for their own benefit.

Measuring stick

    4     . These typically ask people to tell how much they agree with certain statements. They might say they strongly agree or they disagree. One statement might be, “It affects me very much when one of my friends is upset.” This would measure how much affective empathy someone normally feels.

Our brain has evolved to be able to quickly change under different circumstances.     5     . It can help us to understand others so we can help them. Sometimes, though, we need to be able to switch off our empathetic feelings to protect our own lives and those of others.

5 . Boosting your emotional intelligence quotient, or EQ, involves identifying and managing your own emotions, as well as evaluating and controlling the way in which you react to those of others.     1     It can also improve your relationships with loved ones and your social interactions. Here are some tips you can use to start improving your EQ.

● Identify your emotions.

Identifying your emotions takes practice and is an important foundational step in building emotional intelligence. Regularly recognizing and naming your emotions throughout the day is a good way to develop your EQ.     2     You could even go a step further, and try to determine how the presence of certain emotions affects your behavior and productivity.

● Consider your response.

    3     Taking responsibility for the way you behave towards others and, possibly even more importantly, how you treat yourself, is a crucial aspect of emotional intelligence.

●     4    

Empathy is a cornerstone of EQ. It is defined as the ability to identify and share the thoughts, feelings or emotional state of another person. A little empathy goes a long way. It is important to demonstrate empathy towards people other than just those with whom you find it easy to get along.

● Listen actively.

Engage in the moment and acknowledge what other people are saying.     5     Active listening involves asking open-ended questions such as ‘When?’ ‘How?’ ‘Do you mean...?’ or ‘Could you tell me a bit more about that?’. Active listening also calls for avoiding questions that would get only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response.

Developing your emotional intelligence can not only help you reduce your stress, but also leave you with more time to connect with, and continuously improve your relationships with, those around you.

6 . Live a happy life to maintain youthful look

Life is always full of surprises! It has its ups and downs that could affect our feelings towards every situation we encounter every day. If you are experiencing stress at your job or anywhere in your life, it is essential that you deal with the concern right away.    1     The following tips can help you deal with it.

Practice deep breathing. A great tip that can help you keep your stress levels down is to start practicing deep breathing exercises. Deep breathing exercises are a form of meditation and they allow you to feel more relaxed and peaceful.     2    

Hold a stress ball. When you are stressed at work or in class, hold a stress ball.     3     It can help release the tension that you feel. Holding onto a stress ball for a good part of the day is a very healthy way to end stress.

    4     Start living your life the way you want to. There's nothing worse than settling in life and having regrets about it. What is important in life is to remain true to your original aspiration and keep your mission firmly in mind. By going after your goals you'll notice that your stress levels will be much lower.

If you have tried all sorts of ways to try to control and reduce your own levels of stress, and have not been successful, it is time for you to seek medical attention.    5     You can also attend course of stress management to get you back on track and feeling in control again.

7 . Feeling embarrassed is something that no one really likes.    1    If you’re worried about embarrassing situations and you have trouble dealing with feelings of embarrassment, take a look at the following tips to make things better.

●     2    

When learning to deal with embarrassment, the first big thing that will help you is to realize that embarrassing moments are in the past. These things have already occurred and there is nothing that you can do to change them. It might have been tough to get through those moments, but you’re here now and everything is okay.

●Talk to someone about how you’re feeling.

If you’re struggling with feelings of embarrassment, then you should try to talk to people that you trust.    3    You’ll likely find that these people will put things into perspective and you’ll feel much better.

●     4    

Embarrassment might feel tough to get over. However, normal embarrassing moments might become things that you can just shrug off and laugh at eventually. When you think about things from the right perspective, you might be able to laugh at yourself for making a silly mistake or falling down.

●Get out there and try again.

The fear of embarrassment should not hold you back from getting out there to try again. If you want to move past embarrassment for good, then the best way to do that is not to let it stop you from living your life. This could mean doing the same thing that embarrassed you in the past. You might be worried about reliving embarrassing moments from the past, but it doesn’t have to be this way.     5