happier.com blog | a personal trainer for your happiness » Product updates

Give the Gift that is Guaranteed to Get a Smile — happier.com gift certificates

happier.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:00:02 +0000

happier.com launches gift certificates!

November 11, 2009 – Philadelphia, PA – happier.com, a personal trainer for your happiness, now offers gift certificates. With the holidays fast-approaching, this gift could change even Scrooge’s mood! Gift certificates provide the recipient with unlimited use of the psychological tests and happiness-boosting tools available at happier.com. Gift certificates are available for $14.99 for three months; $24.99 for six months; and $99.99 for unlimited lifetime use, at www.happier.com/giftCertificate.htm.

Gift certificate recipients have access to more than a dozen research-backed tools customized to increase happiness, resilience, optimism, engagement, and meaning through the science of positive psychology. After responding to a simple online questionnaire, the customer begins a happiness-boosting plan with specific activities, each day, designed to scientifically boost happiness and reduce stress and anxiety.

Gift certificate recipients can also access the happier.com blog at http://blog.happier.com with innovative ideas and tips from the experts on how happiness applies to all aspects of life. A recent post included suggestions on how to increase happiness in the workplace: Make a place smell like lemons; the scent of lemon improves mental performance. Diffuse this odor into a space for creative thought, or serve lemonade, lemon drops, or lemon frosted sponge cake. happier.com also offers more than 100 exclusive videos from the world’s leading happiness researchers and practitioners.

Give the gift that can actually lift one’s spirits after just a few minutes of use. And decades of research show that happier people are less likely to get colds, are less likely to feel down as the days get shorter, and are likely to make those around them happy.

About happier.com

Doug Hensch and Andrew J. Rosenthal co-founded happier.com to inspire people to be happier and more resilient based on the field of positive psychology. They worked closely with Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D, an exclusive consultant for happier.com, who is the “father of positive psychology” and a noted professor from the University of Pennsylvania.

happier.com is the first set of easy-to-use and engaging online happiness-boosting tools backed by the science of positive psychology. To date, the online tools, videos, blog and iPhone application have been used by more than 40,000 beta-testers.

For media inquiries or for additional information please contact Christa Guidi, Cashman & Associates at 215.627.1060 or cguidi@cashmanandassociates.com.

happier.com is a personal trainer for your happiness. With more than a dozen tools and tests to help you measure, track and improve your happiness, you can trust the happier.com experts to help you reach your goals. Exclusive videos and a popular blog mean there’s something new to learn every day. Download the free iPhone application or find what you’re looking for with the Positive Psychology Practitioner Directory. happier.com is on Facebook, LinkedIn, and twitter and has meetup groups in Washington, Philadelphia, and Portland, with more planned. Click here for a social media press release from our launch.

Now Available for Free – happier.com IPhone Application With Happiness Test

happier.com — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:38:51 +0000

“As a neuroscientist, I really like the idea of the program….” – a user review
Measure your happiness. Track Your progress. And record what goes well each day.
Daily awareness and tracking of emotions is one of the first steps toward lasting, sustainable happiness
Two decades of research show that focusing on what goes well, and why, helps you build your life around authentic sources of happiness
Application includes an introductory video from Prof. Martin Seligman, of the University of Pennsylvania

Our Mission: We inspire people to be happier.

happier.com inspires people to be happier and more resilient every day. 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.

Everything we offer is based on leading research. We partner with psychologists including Dr. Martin Seligman, author of “Learned Optimism” and “Authentic Happiness” and the founder of the field of positive psychology.

Join the Fastest-Growing Directory of Positive Psychology Practitioners

happier.com — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:53:26 +0000

We just came back from the First World Congress on Positive Psychology in Philadelphia. At the Congress, many practitioners expressed frustration at the lack of ways to market their practice and attract new clients. Existing directories are not focused enough on positive psychology, and practitioners get lost among the legions of traditional therapists and life-coaches without an underlying scientific approach. And, let’s face it, the best practitioners often don’t have time to build up their own web presences, let-alone market themselves. That’s where the happier.com practitioner directory comes in.

Are you a Positive Psychology Practitioner?

Do you want more clients?

Do you want more online visibility?

The happier.com Practitioner Directory connects therapists, coaches and other practitioners with potential clients.

Personalized directory listing
Publicize your practice to the largest and most-current group of people interested in using positive psychology in their lives
Get paying clients
Let us take care of the technical
Hosted at directory.happier.com
Link to your blog or personal web page
Benefit from fast-growing traffic to happier.com
Rank high in Google and other directories
We will publicize your listing via Twitter, Facebook, LInkedIn, and in our own email newsletters and blog posts
Unlimited leads for one cost
Google ad words, search engine optimization, email campaigns and link building
Build an identity within the happier.com community

In the last week, the directory has doubled in size! More than 40 practitioners have already joined (many listings are still awaiting editing). Think you should join too? Check out our special pricing and site features.

Focus on optimism: new tools and test for building optimism

Doug Hensch — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:55:28 +0000

Building optimism and positivity just got easier. I am proud to announce that happier.com has added one new exercise (What Door Opened?) and another highly-validated test (Positivity Test) to its growing library of tools to inspire you to be happier and more resilient.

What Door Opened?

“The first step in learning optimism is to realize that in your own life, every time a door closed, another door opened,” says Dr. Martin Seligman, consultant to happier.com.

What Door Opened helps you:

make accurate, realistic descriptions of past adversities

find the silver lining in things that have gone wrong

learn lessons from bad events

build optimism when facing adversities in the future

discover lessons of resilience in the real-life stories of others

Positivity Test

Dr. Barbara Fredrickson has discovered that experiencing positive emotions in a 3-to-1 ratio with negative ones leads people to a tipping point beyond which they naturally become more resilient to adversity and effortlessly achieve what they once could only imagine.

With the permission of Dr. Fredrickson, happier.com can now offer the test that makes it possible to determine how much positivity exists in your life. The Positivity Test is only 20 questions long and is designed to be taken every day. You get instant results and you can track your progress over time.

Positivity Portfolio

To take advantage of our new test and all the other great tools on happier.com, we have developed a new feature to help you keep all of your positive activities in place – the Positivity Portfolio. Think of it as your own, personal recipe book for generating positivity. With the Positivity Portfolio, you can label your entries from various exercises which empowers you to take a broader view of the activities that give you the most positivity and engage them more frequently.

And, one last reminder…

To get the most out of your experience on happier.com and see real change in your life, we highly recommend that you set up some reminders to help you remember to use your favorite tests and exercises.

Over 20,000 users prefer using “three good things” to get happier in just five minutes a day

Doug Hensch — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:59:44 +0000

We think the happier.com exercises are pretty cool. And, the last thirty years of research show that making a commitment to doing these exercises as a part of your daily and weekly routines will increase your happiness, decrease your pessimism, and improve your resilience. But, don’t take my word for it – the happier.com user community has spoken. A group of users was asked to rate several exercises on a scale of one to five (1 – poor, 2 – not very good, 3 – good, 4 – very good, 5 – excellent) and the average was 4 – or, “very good.”

Not surprisingly, three good things was rated the highest of the first three exercises with a 4.5. This exercise is easy to use and has been proven to yield immediate results. I do this exercise every night on happier.com. No matter how bad my day is, this always make me feel better. And, I love the fact that I can look back over time to see what I am most grateful for in my life. (Just for the record, it’s family, exercise, work, and friends. So, now I make these priorities for me.)

The next highest rating was awarded to have a good a good day (3.9 out of 5). have a good day allows users to take a quick look at the activities of the day, rate the day on a scale of 1 to 10, and then determine which activity was the “best.” According to happier.com consultant Dr. Chris Peterson, do this exercise every day for about a month and you will learn what makes a “good day.” “In my own case, I discovered that a good day was one in which I finished something that had been nagging at me, either at work, for example, sending off letters of recommendation for a student applying to law schools, or at home, for example vacuuming my living room,” says Peterson. happier.com makes this incredibly easy by allowing you to look at your activities and days from multiple views.

Next on the list is the control negative thoughts exercise (3.9 out of 5). Working at a growing start-up company (even one that is focused on happiness) brings its stressful moments. This exercise has helped me stop the negative spiral on more than one occasion. What is really powerful about the happier.com version of this is that I can look at my negative thoughts over time and see patterns. By recognizing patterns, I have become more mindful which has allowed me to control the negativity before it really affects my mood and ability to function at a high level.

Which exercise is your favorite? Please feel free to leave a comment. (If you cannot see the comment section, click here then scroll down.)

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, we will ask members of the community to rate the remaining exercises. After that we will build a rating system right into happier.com (much like that of Amazon.com) where users can rate exercises at any time, provide full reviews, and even tell us if you found the review to be helpful.

Doug Hensch, part of the team at happier.com

happier.com is 100% powered by the sun: Earth Day 2009

Doug Hensch — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:30:15 +0000

Since April 22, 1970, people all over the world have been celebrating their commitment to building a safer, cleanier, healthier planet for all of us. And, while there is only one official day each year that we focus on our planet, the team at happier.com has committed to celebrating Earth Day every day.

To show our dedication to the environment, we have taken several steps to reduce our own carbon footprint. First, we hired a solar-powered web hosting service – www.aiso.net. That’s right, our servers are powered by the sun, so getting happier means no harmful pollutants are pushed into the atmosphere by the electricity needed to power the data center.

happier.com is 100% powered by the sun

Second, we have changed our own routines by shutting down our office and going virtual. Your happier.com team works remotely and uses the available technologies that allow us work from home and avoid commuting to a physical office.

Next, we use public transportation as often as is possible when it’s absolutely necessary for us to meet in person. Our staff is located on the East Coast of the United States and we do our best to take the train, ride a bus, or just hop on a bike if we’re all in the same city. (Yours truly drives a Prius since there isn’t much public transportation where I live…)

So, what does this approach have to do with inspiring people to be happier? Dr. Martin Seligman talks about true happiness having three major components: positive emotions, engagement, and meaning. Being more conscious of our own environmental impact and sharing this information with others makes us feel good – plain and simple. We all take joy in knowing that we’re taking some positive steps. When discussing this as a team, we all experience some level of meaning and engagement. We know that our actions (as small as they may be) are making an impact on something larger than ourselves.

So, from the team at happier.com to all of our visitors, friends, family, and colleagues all over the world, we wish you all the positive emotions, engagement, and meaning you can handle on Earth Day.

New features on happier.com and coming soon: positivity test and new happiness exercises

Doug Hensch — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:54:09 +0000

We know that your well being is our success. And, we want you to know that we have been listening to your requests for improvements to happier.com.We have been hard at work over the last several weeks implementing the changes listed below.

Some small improvements that go a long way…

A calendar feature in Have a Good Day and Three Good Things makes it easier for you to review old entries.

We replaced the drop-down boxes with radio buttons in the Authentic Happiness Index to make it quick to take this test.

The fields in various exercises now have much larger text limits, so writing about your experiences isn’t limited, anymore.

Buy the happier.com t-shirt, bag, or mug you always wanted from our online store.

An updated learn more page lists our features, benefits, praise from our users, media coverage, our new pricing, and a contact formfor businesses interested in inspiring their employees to be happier.

The new happiness starter plans are just what the new user needs – specific recommendations to boost your positivity, stop being negative, and use your strengths every day (by the way, they’re free!!)

We like hearing stories from our users, so we made it easy for you to read the praise we’re getting from the happier.com community – feel free to give to send us a little positivity when you’re there!

Everyone can use a little nudge, now and then. Now, you can sign up for automated reminders for your favorite tests and exercises.

We added several more Dr. Seligman videos.

There are more blog entries on the topics you told us you want to read about.

And, here’s a look at what’s coming soon…

What Door Opened? – Another exercise backed by research designed to help you develop your optimism.

Positivity Test – Developed by Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, this test is one of our favorites!

Positivity Portfolio – Part test, part exercise, the Positivity Portfolio will help boost your positivity ratio.

Letting Go of Grudges – Forgiving someone else will be easier than ever.

SSL – It stands for “Secure Sockets Layer” and its an added layer of security to your information.

happier.com Celebrates Good News With Active Constructive Response Tool

happier.com — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:53:26 +0000

America’s top happiness website introduces new communications exercise

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA ADVISORY

March 24, 2009 – Philadelphia, PA- happier.com announces a new tool to enrich relationships and deepen communication between friends, family and colleagues. The popular happiness website has introduced an exercise for members to learn a proven communications practice known as “Active Constructive Responding.” Active Constructive Responding helps individuals talk about positive events in ways that encourage closer, more supportive relationships. Studies show that how we respond to good things happening is just as important as how we handle negative news. Better communication leads to better relationships, an essential component of true happiness.

“Positive psychology has proven over and over the way you talk about positive events in a relationship, as well as how often you discuss those events, are clear indicators of how successful and long lasting that relationship will be,” said Andrew Rosenthal, Vice President of happier.com. “Active Constructive Responding is a proven tool backed by solid research originating at UCLA. Even more important, the technique really helps enrich the relationships in our lives by emphasizing the positive events we experience.”

happier.com’s Active Constructive Responding exercise includes an introduction that teaches members how to respond to the announcement of a positive event. The member is given a journal in which to record and keep a history of his or her responses to those messages. happier.com members can then determine patterns of passive and/or destructive responses and develop ways to create more active, responsive communication. Anyone can register at www.happier.com for free, to start using Active Constructive Responding and the other science-based tools and assessments available on the site.

“The data are that when you respond actively and constructively … It increases loyalty, commitment, and love. It’s something you can do every day,” says Martin E.P. Seligman, PhD, exclusive consultant to happier.com and the founder of positive psychology. Martin Seligman is the Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology and director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Seligman provides more information about Active Constructive Responding in this video

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 visit www.happier.com

happier.com user newsletter available online

happier.com — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:10:35 +0000

If you didn’t receive your copy of the recent newsletter, you can view an online version.

Positive Psychology Exercises added to happier.com: increase your happiness through daily use

Doug Hensch — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:07:09 +0000

An update from Doug Hensch, part of the team at happier.com

Have a Good Day

We’ve made it easier for you to determine what makes a good day with two enhancements. First, when you enter your activities for the day, we give you the ability to ‘tag’ each entry. (In the original exercise, the system automatically analyzed the entries, but we received a great deal of feedback requesting the ability for you to enter manual tags.) Tags are words that you choose to categorize these activities. Now, you will have a simple way to look at the categories and the activities within those categories that make you happy. Next, we now allow you to identify the ‘peak’ activity for the day. By simply going to the “Patterns” page, you can see a list of your top peak activities.

Three Good Things

Our most popular exercise is now better than ever! Just as with Have a Good Day, you can now manually tag your entries. This is a more accurate to categorize and analyze the good things in your life.

Mindfulness Journal

Yes, we changed our minds. The Emotions Journal has a new name – The Mindfulness Journal. We did this to better represent the benefits of writing in a daily journal. Research shows that writing about your feelings can help you overcome negative emotions and leave you feeling happier. In addition, we wanted to give you another way to express your feelings by allowing you to select from a short list of pictures to help you summarize the day.

Facebook Connect

happier.com now gives you the ability to update your Facebook friends just by completing the exercises and assessments. At the end of every exercise and assessment, just check the box next to the Facebook logo and happier.com will update your Facebook status. The messages vary depending on the exercise or assessment. happier.com respects and protects your right to privacy, so no personal information will be shared. The status updates simply tell users that you completed the exercise or assessment. In addition, happier.com will have no access to any of your Facebook information.

Blog Integration
The happier.com team is dedicated to providing you with new and interesting ways to apply the science of positive psychology in your daily life. Just click on the new “Blog” tab at the top of any page and see how we updated the format and improved the navigation. Now, you can read your favorite blogger, search on popular terms, or look through the archive. And, feel free to leave a comment on any article – we want to hear what you have to say!

Customer Feedback
As you can see we are working hard to improve the site. So, please let us know how we are doing by visiting our ‘contact us’ page and leaving a message. If you mark the message as public, others can rate it and respond to it, as well. If you mark it as private, we’ll make sure to get back to you within one business day. Your feedback is extremely important to us, so please do not hesitate to let us know what you think!