Happiness Podcast

Finding Happiness in a Complex World Navigating the complexities of life, particularly regarding moral and ethical choices, can be challenging.  In this talk, we explore the personal benefits of making healthy, kind, and "correct" choices because we benefit from positive, stress-reducing decisions. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Strip the Veil of Habit (The Deadening Effects of Habit) One of the main reasons that we don't experience joy and happiness in life is because, through our habit of seeing things, we stop seeing things.  As this happens, our hearts often become melancholy with life.  We can change this by removing the veil of habit. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Aging Gracefully (and Happily) Can we increase the odds that our lives will turn out in the later years with more peace, happiness, and tranquility? If we do four things, our ability to end our lives with more pleasure will significantly increase. Discover these four activities. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

When Life Feels Overwhelming Sometimes life can be overwhelming, with no end in sight for release from the situation.   But even in these most challenging situations, we have choices that we can make to improve our situation.  Even if we just create little reprieves from the problem, our lives will be better. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Why “More” Ultimately Never Works Wanting and getting ultimately never works. To fight off this insatiable urge, we can do five things. Don't compare ourselves to others. Don't compare ourselves to our previous selves. Do something for the joy of them. Be careful of hedonic adaptation. Live life with gratitude. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Memento Mori (Remember That You Must Die) Death is the one thing that we all, ultimately, have to face.  But what if instead of being something dreaded, we looked at death as our teacher of how to be thankful for every day we live?  Memento Mori, which means "remember that you must die," can teach us many things about living. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Life Diversity Leads to a Happier Life (New Research Study) Research has recently discovered a correlation between our happiness and the amount of diversity we create in our lives.  When we enhance our mental and physical routines, our happiness state increases.  Additionally, these diverse activities affect our brain (the hippocampus and the striatum), supporting diversification's positive results. Aaron S. Heller, Tracey C. Shi, C. E. Chiemeka Ezie, Travis R. Reneau, Lara M. Baez, Conor J. Gibbons, Catherine A. Hartley. Association between real-world experiential diversity and positive affect relates to hippocampal–striatal functional connectivity. Nature Neuroscience, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-0636-4 New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Putting Your Happiness First (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) Dr. Abraham Maslow postulated the "Hierarchy of Needs."  They include physiological needs, security and safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualized needs.  In this talk, we explore the benefits of making self-actualized needs our primary focus and see how this positively influences our lower needs. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

It’s All About Kindness There are many ways we achieve success in life, but the one form of achievement that has the most significant impact on our happiness is being kind.  Kindness is the crucial ingredient for a "good life," not only for others but for our well-being too. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Happiness Achieving Goals When people achieve goals, some prevalent traits are involved in these accomplishments.  Yet these accomplishments may have no or even a negative impact on our happiness. However, the methods to achieve challenging goals are the same for happiness.  The difference is that the results are always positive and beautiful. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

The Present Moment (Accept It As If You Had Asked For It) It is one thing to work on accepting what is. What if we took this one step further, and whatever the present moment contains, we accepted it as if we had asked for it?   Can you imagine the freedom from stress and worry that we would feel? This approach may be something we all can do. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Happiness is an Inside Job (A candle doesn’t lighten the noon sun) When we look externally for happiness, we must ride the rollercoaster of life.  But when we realize that happiness is found within, we will flow with the vicissitudes of life with equanimity and peace.  Our happiness will be like the sun, always shining, regardless of the circumstances of life. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Most Important Qualities In A Partner (and friendship) As we navigate our journey through life, we pair up with partners and friends who can either add to or subtract from our happiness.   The key ingredients you seek in others should reflect those attributes in yourself.  In other words, you will attract to your life based on how you choose to live your life.  So if you want to be in a fantastic relationship, be amazing. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Why Am I So Unhappy With My Life (Programmed to be Unhappy) Countless people struggle with debilitating depression.   What is the cause of this pervasive sadness, and is there a potential remedy for this malady?  If we understand the cause of our suffering, then a possible cure is accessible to all of us. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Being Happy Is An Inside Job Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.  Happiness and sadness follow you, and happiness is an inside job.  We work hard to change or control our external situations to find our happiness, where real happiness is within us. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

 Is Happiness Contagious (New Research Says Yes) What if our happiness influences the people around us?  Could you imagine the positive changes we could have on others?  A recent study suggested that not only does our jollity help others feel happiness, but this happiness also spreads to others.  Explore the power of our joyful state. Harvard Medical School. (2008, December 5). Happiness Is 'Infectious' In Network Of Friends: Collective -- Not Just Individual -- Phenomenon. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 23, 2023 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081205094506.htm James H Fowler, Nicholas A Christakis. Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network: longitudinal analysis over 20 years in the Framingham Heart Study. British Medical Journal, December 4, 2008 New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Self-Inflicted Suffering (The Power of Our Thoughts) We can suffer in so many different ways in life.  Sometimes we lose people we love; other times, we face health crises; and sometimes, we get fired from a job we love.  But we can also alleviate our struggles by understanding how our expectations feed our sufferings.   Self-awareness and kindness towards ourselves go a long way in improving our lives. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Happy Thoughts Happy Life The power of our thoughts regarding our level of happiness or despair is genuinely priceless. Our happiness directly correlates to our beliefs shaping our interpretation of life events. What if we developed more positive reviews? Might our lives become happier? Explore the possibilities in the new Happiness Podcast. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

How to Make Your Life Better and Happier (New Research Study Show What Works) Do our lifestyle choices have any impact on our levels of happiness?  A research study out of the University of Kent and the University of Reading found that exercise and eating fruits and vegetables can positively impact our experience of happiness.  When we make healthy lifestyle choices, our levels of happiness can improve. University of Kent. (2021, September 16). Consuming fruit and vegetables and exercising can make you happier. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 22, 2023 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210916142936.htm Adelina Gschwandtner, Sarah Jewell, Uma S. Kambhampati. Lifestyle and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Delayed Gratification. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2021; DOI: 10.1007/s10902-021-00440-y New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist

Unkind Behavior (An Effective Response) One of the most overwhelming experiences we can go through is when another person lashes out at us unkindly.  We are often like deer facing the headlights; what should we say or do?  In this episode, we explore an effective yet easy-to-do response to all unkindness from others. New Happiness Podcast episode with Dr. Robert Puff, Newport Beach Psychologist