Expert Tips for Happiness

Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen share their tips for finding a happier you.

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Use Spirituality as a Tool
The real test of spirituality is how effectively you could apply it to solve real-life issues. Can you think before you act? Can you use deep breathing, meditation or prayer to help yourself be humble or compassionate when you're under stress or in crisis? This skill is at the heart of what transcendence is all about.

What do you do? This may mean counting to ten before reacting, or slowing your thought process while solving problems. Maybe you ask yourself what your spiritual leader of choice would do in this scenario.

Using spirituality for conflicts means going one step further beyond an issue's surface-level solution. Your child's getting bad grades in school? Find out what else is going on in his or her life.

QUIZ: How Happy Are You?

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Be a Better Believer
Here are five ways to help you become more open and aware:

• Be curious, ask questions and try to distinguish fact from opinion.
• Try to integrate your beliefs with the world around you.
• Learn from others and ask about their beliefs.
• Manage stress to avoid damage to the hippocampus (which helps regulate emotion, memory and other systems). Say only positive thoughts aloud.
• Fill your glass up if it's "half empty." Optimism is simply healthier. Those nuns who used more positive emotions in their diary writing ended up living eight years longer than their counterparts who used more negative language.
• Don't judge others too harshly. They may be deriving joy from their beliefs, which is a beautiful thing!

If for No Other Reason, Do It to Build a Better Brain
It’s a myth that we only use 10 percent of our brains. The truth is, we’re actively using our whole brain, even if not all the time. Every cell is alive and potentially stimulating parts of the brain we’re using. Spiritual thought can make your brain more interactive and stimulate brain activity. Thinking of meditating for a few minutes a day as a gift to yourself. Silent contemplation will build your brain to take on bigger and better things.

Think, But Not Too Much!
Emotions are generally hard-wired. This means they’re fairly predictable, even though they get a bad wrap for being irrational! Emotions are meant to cause action. Thinking is not about taking action, unless it helps you override an emotional decision to act.

Here’s the catch. Wisdom must be transformed into insights that are fired up by your emotions for it to become subconscious and part of your innate behavior. Your love and wisdom must be combined into an action (such as doing a good deed) for all your thinking to matter. And unless you get emotional about the task, it won’t become part of your instinct.

Stay Simple
Excessive thoughts and actions can diminish happiness. The excess clouds basic values. One reason is that motivation is about removing extraneous stimuli, so you can focus emotionally on the important task at hand. Happiness comes from filling one’s heart with love, while practicing charity and dispensing kindness. Simple, right?

It’s All About You
No matter what anyone tells you that might upset you, your essence is beautiful. We’re trying to help you shine like the gem you are.