In a TED talk Nick Marks, statistician, well-being researcher, and author of The Happiness Manifesto: How Nations and People Can Nurture Well Being” wants to know why we measure a nation’s success by its productivity rather than by the well-being of its citizens, and urges us to support policy that makes the well-being of people and the planet a priority. He asserts that, “we need to enter a period of Great Transition towards creating a sustainable and socially just society that has high levels of well-being for all.”
Acccording to Marks there are five things that we should each do every day to increase our well-being. They are: “the first of these is to connect,…your social relationships are the most important cornerstones of your life. Do you invest the time with your loved ones that you could do, and energy? Keep building them. The second one is be active. The fastest way out of a bad mood: step outside, go for a walk, turn the radio on and dance. Being active is great for our positive mood. The third one is take notice. How aware are you of things going on around the world, the seasons changing, people around you? Do you notice what’s bubbling up for you and trying to emerge? Based on a lot of evidence for mindfulness, cognitive behavioral therapy, [very] strong for our well being. The fourth is keep learning and keep is important — learning throughout the whole life course. Older people who keep learning and are curious, they have much better health outcomes than those who start to close down. But it doesn’t have to be formal learning; it’s not knowledge based. It’s more curiosity. It can be learning to cook a new dish, picking up an instrument you forgot as a child. Keep learning. And the final one is that most anti-economic of activities, but give. Our generosity, our altruism, our compassion, are all hardwired to the reward mechanism in our brain. We feel good if we give.”
You can watch the video at: http://on.ted.com/96VZ
Spirituality, Therapy, and the Good Life 
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