Once you start using the principles of positive psychology, the positive changes quickly stack up. Being happier in your own life can be an effective tool for spreading positivity — even helping each person around us be positive too. This ripple effect can have positive benefits for friends and family members who are also living with the challenges MS can bring.
Positive emotions are infectious. Make them a powerful tool in your interpersonal relations. The happier everyone is around you, the happier you will become — and vice versa.
Start your own ripple effect and reach out. Write a two-minute positive email or note, or leave a voicemail, praising or thanking a family member or someone in your social circle.
Authentic Happiness Online Self-Assessments- suggested questionnaires:
- Brief Strengths Test – Measures 24 character strengths
- Authentic Happiness Inventory – Measures overall happiness
- Compassionate Love Scale – Measures your tendency to support, help and understand other people
- Approaches to Happiness – Measures three paths to happiness
- General Happiness – Assesses enduring happiness
The Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania
Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment by Martin Seligman, PhD (2004), Available on
Amazon.
Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change by Shawn Achor (2013), Available on
Amazon.
The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor (2010), Available on
Amazon.