“The relentless pursuit of the traditional measures of success—money and power—has led to an epidemic of burnout and stress related illnesses, an erosion in the quality of our relationships, family life, and ironically our careers. Money and power are only part of the equation. What’s missing is “The Third Metric,“—a combination of well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving.”
- Arianna Huffington, Thrive
The Greeks had a word for happy life, a life lived with a sense of fulfillment. They called it eudaimonia — meaning a life of connection, meaning, equanimity, and compassion.
What the Greeks knew, science now proves. A slew of respected research shows us that this kind of life - a life of eudaimonia -creates healthy changes in the very ways in which our genes are expressed to help prevent inflammatory diseases (Barbara Fredrickson). It improvements the maintenance of our chromosomes and cell health (Epel Study), and how our immune functions to prevent and fight infection (Richie Davidson)
These research-proven findings reveal how being present for life is at the heart of thriving. When we are present we are Curious, Open, Accepting, and Loving—this COAL state of being that enables us to live a life of clarity, compassion, and connection. COAL is an acronym devised by Daniel Siegal, Phd in his wonderful book, the Mindful Brain.
The tools of mindful awareness help us develop such presence in our interpersonal and internal lives and support a new cultural shift in how we define success.
When are humans most happy? To gather data on this question, Matt Killingsworth built the app, Track Your Happiness, that let people report their feelings in real time. Among the surprising results: We're often happiest when we're lost in the moment. And the flip side: The more our mind wanders, the less happy we can be.
