Happiness is a pencil

epgc3fyqirnbsx

I bought a book after reading about it on the Literature forum here. It's called 59 seconds and I suppose it's a self help book, but one without all the BS that comes with 99% of them.

The reason I bought it is that it was recommended by Derren Brown, whom I would consider to be healthily cynical.
The book consists of little excercies that are perr reviewed and researched as to being effective.

A very interesting part from the first chapter

People behave in highly predictable ways when they experience certain emotions and thoughts. When they are sad, they cry. When they are happy, they smile. When they agree, they nod their heads. So far, no surprises, but according to an area of research known as “proprioceptive psychology,” the process also works in reverse. Get people to behave in a certain way and you cause them to feel certain emotions and have certain thoughts. The idea was initially controversial, but fortunately it was suported by a series of compelling experiments.

In a now classic study, people in one group were asked to furrow their brows (or, as the researchers put it, “contract their corrugator muscle”), while those in another group were asked to adopt a slight grin (“extend their zygomaticus muscle”). This simple act of facial contortion had a surprisingly large effect on participants’ moods, with the grinning group feeling far happier than those who were frowning.

Participants in a different study were asked to fixate on various products moving across a large computer screen and then indicate whether the items appealed to them. Some of the items moved vertically (causing the participants to nod their heads while watching), and others moved horizondally (resulting in a side-to-side head movement). Participants preferred vertically moving products without being aware that their “yes” and”no” head movements had played a key role in their decisions.

Exactly the same idea applies to happiness. People smile when they are happy, but they also feel happier because they are smiling. The effect even works when people are not aware that they are smiling. In the 1980s, Fritz Strack and his colleagues asked two groups of people to judge how funny they found Gary Larson’s Far Side cartoons and then rate how happy they felt, in one of two rather bizarre circumstances. One group was asked to hold a pencil between their teeth, but to ensure that it did not touch their lips. The other group supported the end of the pencil with just their lips, but not their teeth. Without realizing it, those in the “teeth only” condition had forced the lower part of their faces into a smile, while those in the “lips only” condition had made themselves frown. The results revealed that the participants tended to experience the emotion associated with their expressions. Those who had their faces forced into a smile felt happier and found the Far Side cartoons much funnier than those who were forced to frown. Other work has demonstrated that this increase in happiness does not immediately drain away when people cease smiling. It lingers, affecting many aspects of their behavior, including interacting with others in a more positive way and being more likey to remember happy life events.

It's kind of obvious that acting happy can make one be hapy but this is just an example of something easy you can do. Everytime you get off the phone hold a pencil in your teeth and it will actually make you happy.

It's a nice little tip in fairness so I'm just wondering has anyone else and practicable little tips that just make things that little easier. Or anything that you may feel fits this thread.

By the way, a recent study has shown that saying tl;dr makes you dreadfully unhappy

orourkeda

Bollocks to acting happy

epgc3fyqirnbsx

orourkeda wrote: »

Bollocks to acting happy

hold a pencil in your teeth and you wont even be able to say that. like jim carey in liar liar you'll find it impossible to say something negative.
it's like being a family member in seventh heaven.
we all want that

DrHLecter

stimulating your prostate as you yank one out

eh apparently

orourkeda

Bennett Shrilling Pension wrote: »

hold a pencil in your teeth and you wont even be able to say that. like jim carey in liar liar you'll find it impossible to say something negative.
it's like being a family member in seventh heaven.
we all want that

Then I'll think to myself why the f*ck did I just put a pencil in my mouth.

hondasam

Bennett Shrilling Pension wrote: »

By the way, a recent study has shown that saying tl;dr makes you dreadfully unhappy

did you make that up ?

I read it btw

Kojak

I thought this thread was going to be about how to use a pencil for inappropriatness....

Professey Chin

Piss off pencil

epgc3fyqirnbsx

hondasam wrote: »

did you make that up ?

I read it btw

Nope, it's peer reviewed and studies have shown it to be fact. That's why it's a fascinating little book. I'm not one for self help, I'm happy enough tbh, but this is just full of little excercises that can be completed in under 59 seconds that have been proven to have dramatic results. Not just happiness but persuasion, decision making, parenting etc etc

Edit : just after reading the quote there, which I copied and pasted, I noticed it didn't mention one of the more intersting parts. They did a study whereby they asked people to complete numerical problems and those holding the pencil in their teeth, as opposed to holding the end of it with their lips, tested significanlty better.
I realise I may be coming across all hippyish here but it's just interesting is all.
And you f*ckers need help. All of you. Especially you.

dsmythy

This thread is just an attempt to make you look foolish with a pencil in your mouth. Don't fall for it.

RachaelVO

Beer makes me happy...




That is all!

epgc3fyqirnbsx

dsmythy wrote: »

This thread is just an attempt to make you look foolish with a pencil in your mouth. Don't fall for it.

Forget the pencil so. Just convince people of something by mentioning your pet frog.
You can google that one :P

Red Hand

Pencil? Nowadays?

Does it work if you manage to clamp your teeth over an iPad 2?

mikom

Happiness is a warm gun.

starbelgrade

If you wear a gimp mask with a ball on it - the kind that goes in your mouth - does it have the same effect?

Iang87

Happiness is coke and hookers. look how happy charlie sheen is

Snakeblood

orourkeda wrote: »

Then I'll think to myself why the f*ck did I just put a pencil in my mouth.

No penises nearby?:cool:

starbelgrade

Iang87 wrote: »

Happiness is coke and hookers. look how happy charlie sheen is

Charlie Sheen looks to me like a very unhappy man, avoiding all his demons by burying them under a blanket of coke & sex.

Maybe Slasher's on to something - Sheen, at least would probably be a lot happier if he put a pencil between his teeth than he would by putting a rolled up twenty up his nose.

Yakult

My pencil broke, what do now?

Kojak

Yakult wrote: »

My pencil broke, what do now?

Invest in an ink and quill?