Research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology* tested the hypothesis that thinking about the absence of a positive event from one's life would improve feelings of happiness more than thinking about the presence of a positive event.
What they found was that respondents who wrote about how they might never have met their romantic partner were more satisfied with their relationship than were those who wrote about how they did meet their partner.
So whenever you want a quick fix then just think how you'd feel if you didn't have the things you do have. See? Simple.
Gratitude - always a powerful happy pill - turned up side down and it still works. For more information and ways to develop the Habit of gratitude, read Step 12, "Smell the Roses" of The Real Secret
* "It's a Wonderful Life: Mentally subtracting positive events improves people's affective states, contrary to their affective forecasts" Minkyung Kooet et al (2008) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 95(5)
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