BOSTON — Mobile devices have tackled an ever-expanding list of functions in recent years, but one new application for the iPhone is promising users a unique service.
Developers at Happier.com launched a companion application for the Apple iPhone and iTouch this week that allows users to keep track of how happy they are from day to day using a mobile “gratitude journal.” The software, which developers said is based on scientific research on happiness, requires users to log three events each day that made them feel happy, and fill out a 24-question survey gauging their emotional state.
“It’s so easy to focus on what goes wrong in our lives, but studies show when you focus on what’s going right you live a happier, more fulfilling life,” said Andrew J. Rosenthal, vice president at Happier.com. Rosenthal said that the application analyzes patterns in individual users records and provides feedback on which circumstances are most likely to produce positive emotions.
The company launched a Web site in November which has 10,000 registered users, according to Rosenthal. The site is currently free to use and offers a variety of tools similar to the gratitude journal that help users to understand which events in their lives generate the greatest meaning and positive engagement, according to the company.
In addition to logging daily entries in the iPhone journal, users are asked to regularly fill out a survey that measures several happiness metrics. Questions ask users to pick between choices like “I feel like a failure,” “I don’t feel like a winner,” and “I feel like I have succeeded more than most people,” and the software uses the answers to generate a happiness score. This number provides a basis for users to chart their progress and change in day-to-day fulfillment, according to the company.
“Unlike a diet where you give up an ice cream soda, these tools are addictive,” said Rosenthal. “They make you feel good.”
Developers at Happier.com also benefit from the tools they construct, according to Rosenthal, who said that the site has been helpful in managing the stresses of a first-year business.
“Colleagues and I use this every day,” he said. “We’re a start-up company, and things are tough for a small company right now. We use these tools to help stay focused and balanced, and we know that our users do.
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Mobile ‘gratitude journal’ helps measure and improve happiness daily
March 2, 2009 – Philadelphia, PA-Representatives from happier.com, a website created to help users measure, track and improve theirlevel of happiness, announced they have released a mobile application that can be downloaded directly to an iPhone or purchased through iTunes.Users of happier.com’s gratitude journal are directed to make a daily entry of three positive events that happen each day.A simple 24 question assessment then informs the user of their happiness score. Users can track milestones and increase their happiness over time using the gratitude journal.
“It’s so easy to focus on what goes wrong in our lives, but studies show when you focus on what’s going right you live a happier, more fulfilling life,” said Andrew J. Rosenthal, Vice President at happier.com. “With the new iPhone application a person can measure, build and sustain happiness in just a few minutes a day.All of the exercises and assessments at happier.com, including the gratitude journal, are created from more than 20 years of research on happiness and its sources. Research has proven that daily awareness and tracking of emotions is one of the first steps toward lasting, sustainable happiness.”
The new mobile application includes an introduction by internationally-renowned happiness expert and University of Pennsylvania professor, Dr. Martin Seligman. “The way humans are wired, when things go well, we tend to forget them. When things go badly we remember them,” says Dr. Seligman. “The more you pay attention to things going well, by writing them down as in the gratitude journal, the more positive emotions you’ll experience.”
The gratitude journal guides each user through features that measure current happiness, display the six most recent happiness scores and create a journal including a summary of happiness milestones and achievements.The application can be downloaded from the iTunes AppStore onto either an iPhone or iTouch device.
About happier.com: Happier.com goes beyond the books and uses research based tools to inspire people to feel happier and more resilient. Through assessments and exercises to measure, track and improve happiness, thousands of users have experienced a meaningful improvement. Easy-to-use applications, both online and for the iPhone, provide users with the tools they need to be happier.Focusing on what goes well, and why, helps you build your life around authentic sources of happiness.
For more information about happier.com and the gratitude journal iPhoneapplication, visit www.happier.com
happier.com builds tools to help you measure and improve your happiness. One of our most popular tools is Three Good Things. Research shows that recording went goes well in life, and why it goes well, improves happiness, with effects lasting for months. The team at happier.com built Three Good Things to help users recognize and record, every day, what goes well in life.
We listened to your suggestions, and we are building an iPhone application to let you measure your happiness and record three good things .
