The Caring Catalyst

Who Cares - What Matters

LOVE = BENEFITS

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V A L E N T I N E S
D A Y
isn’t really ever to be postponed
or put off. . .
(even if it also is ASH WEDNESDAY)
S U R E
you could
ON PURPOSE
wait to celebrate it a week later
and scrap up on the
75% off aisles at the stores. . .
uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
that may be the bad news. . .

B U T

if you can get past all of the heart-shaped candy
and the
ROSES ARE RED, VIOLETS ARE BLUE
Greeting Cards. . .

I F

.      .      .i  f
you’re in a relationship,
Valentine’s Day
F O R W A R D
may be some of the healthiest days of the year 
despite the champagne and chocolate.     .    .

That’s because love come with some solid health benefits, according to a growing body of scientific research. Dr. Helen Riess, director of the Empathy and Relational Science Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and author of the forthcoming book The Empathy Effect, told TIME MAGAZINE how falling head over heels can help your health, both mentally and physically.

Love makes you happy. . .

When you first fall in love, dopamine, the feel-good brain chemical associated with reward, is especially active. “That is a mood intensifier, so people feel extremely positive and very appreciated,” Riess says — hence that “on cloud nine” feeling you get in the throes of a new relationship.

But new lovebirds also experience a spike in the stress hormone cortisol and a concurrent drop in the mood-regulating neurotransmitter serotonin, according to a letter from the Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute. That may account for some of the erratic behavior — passion mixed with anxiety, obsession and nervousness — that often goes along with blossoming love.

Dopamine levels may stay elevated even as your love matures, studies suggest, but you’ll likely see cortisol and serotonin levels return to normal, helping you calm down and settle into the relationship without losing the mood-brightening perks.

Love busts stress. . .

After the honeymoon phase subsides, all of that dopamine starts to share real estate with another brain chemical: oxytocin, or the bonding hormone. That not only gives you “warm and fuzzy” feelings for your partner, but it can also be good for your health, Riess says.

“When people feel securely attached, their stress levels go down,” she says. “Just being in the presence of someone who greets us with positive regard and caring can actually lower those levels of cortisol and adrenaline and create greater homeostasis, which means that your neurochemicals are back in balance.”

If you’re away from your significant other, thinking about them, talking to them on the phone or even texting with them can help conjure these feelings, Riess says.

Love eases anxiety. . .

Quite a few studies have pointed to ways that loneliness can hurt your health, from increasing inflammation to activating pain centers. “The feeling of loneliness stimulates anxiety, which is mediated by different neurotransmitters, like norepinephrine,” Riess says. “Also, cortisol and adrenaline levels rise when people feel insecure and threatened,” which triggers your body’s stress response. Being in love and feeling close to another person can mitigate anxiety.

Love makes you take better care of yourself. . .

The benefits of love aren’t all in your head. “Couples encourage each other to go to the doctor when they don’t want to,” Riess says. “There’s a lot of denial around medical illness, and individuals are more likely to shrug off something and say, ‘This can’t be serious.’”

The data bears this out. People who are paired off may be able to detect melanoma earlier than singletons, since their partner can spot suspicious moles right away. The same goes for abnormal bruising, which can be a sign of serious conditions such as leukemia, kidney disease and Cushing’s disease, Riess says. Sometimes, partners will even notice signs of allergies or other persistent health problems before the sufferer does.

Love helps you live longer. . .

Research has shown that married couples enjoy greater longevity than singles — making “’til death do us part” even more of a commitment. Studies suggest those long-life benefits are largely explained by consistent social and emotional support, better adherence to medical care and having a partner who can hold you accountable to healthy lifestyle behaviors and steer you away from bad ones. Married couples have been found to have lower rates of substance abuse, lower blood pressure and less depression than single peers.

But there’s also good news for the unattached. In 2010, a review of 148 studies found that longevity benefits were linked to all close social relationships, not just romantic ones — meaning your friends and family are good for your health, too. . .

L O V E = B E N E F I T S

More than a Calculator can add
More than a Dictionary can define
More than wetness in an ocean
More than heartbeats in a young heart
More
MORE

M O R E

Uhhhhhhhhhhhh
WHY WAIT. . .
why postpone.          .          . 
LOVE NOW
LOVE THEN
LOVE ALWAYS
The Life you save
JUST MIGHT BE YOUR OWN
(it won’t be bad for an other, either)

 

THE HAPPINESS GRAB

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IT’S THE ONE THING 
THAT EVERYONE STOPS AND REACHES
whether it’s family
whether it’s work
whether it’s downtime
whether it’s personal as personal can be
H            A            P            P            I            N            E            S            S

happiness chemicals
So to keep us all at our Caring Catalyst best I started doing some digging and found the best kind of digging there is needs no shovel because it lies deeply hidden and buried but better awareness and RECOGNIZABILITY for what’s usually right in front of us and the cost isn’t in C-E-N-T-S
but mere S-E-N-S-E.          .          .
Here’s a complete list of 100+ hacks we can use to boost important “happiness chemicals” such as dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. These are the building blocks to living a happier and healthier life. Which are your favorites?

 

 

Dopamine (reward)

Dopamine is often associated with reward-seeking and goal-oriented behavior.

    • Complete a small and easy task (making your bed, washing the dishes, send an email).

 

    • Celebrate a small win (something you accomplished recently).

 

    • Eat a healthy but enjoyable snack (in moderation).

 

    • Complete a small puzzle or game.

 

 

    • Finish reading a chapter of a book.

 

 

    • Practice a power-pose to boost your physical and mental confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

    • Buy yourself something nice, but recognize retail therapy is only a temporary fix.

 

    • Take a break from social media, which can often lead to a “dopamine burnout” from easy likes and attention. Pay attention to your digital environment.

 

 

 

 

    • Make sure your diet includes important vitamins and minerals associated with dopamine production (especially iron, niacin, folate and vitamin B6).

 

 

    • Find activities that put you into a state of “flow,” where you lose sense of time and become fully engaged.

 

 

    • Complete a personal project or “passion project” that isn’t related to work or family.

 

    • Identify a strength or “superpower” of yours.

 

 

    • Share an accomplishment of yours with someone who’d be proud of you.

 

    • Play a video game you enjoy and you’re good at (in moderation).

 

  • Cultivate a diverse range of interests and hobbies, so nothing ever gets stale.

Oxytocin (love/bonding)

Oxytocin is often associated with feelings of love, affection, and bonding.

 

 

    • Play with kids.

 

    • Cradle a baby.

 

    • Give someone a genuine compliment.

 

    • Wrap yourself in a comfy and warm blanket.

 

    • Cuddle with a loved one (while in bed or watching TV).

 

 

    • Volunteer for a cause that means something to you.

 

 

    • Give or receive a massage or back rub.

 

    • Spend romantic alone time with your partner.

 

    • Embrace human touch, even in small ways such as a handshake or pat on the back.

 

    • Prepare a meal together with someone you love.

 

    • Collaborate on an art project with someone.

 

 

    • Give a random gift or present to someone you care about.

 

    • Tell someone you love them.

 

    • Take a nice hot bath.

 

    • Practice eye-gazing with a loved one.

 

    • Empathize with someone who is less fortunate than you.

 

    • Write a letter of appreciation for someone.

 

    • Practice synchronized breathing or mirroring.

 

    • Participate in a group music activity, such as a drum circle or choir.

 

 

    • Reach out to a person you trust when you need support or someone to listen.

 

    • Permit yourself to fall in love with someone and have a long-term relationship.

 

Serotonin (happiness/mood)

Serotonin is often associated with mood regulation and happiness.

 

    • Go for a long walk.

 

 

 

    • Pursue a creative hobby, such as painting, music, photography, or filmmaking.

 

    • Listen to your favorite music, one of the most common ways we regulate our mood and emotions.

 

    • Do more aerobic exercises like swimming, running, or cycling.

 

 

 

    • Go to a live event, festival, or concert.

 

 

    • Identify one thing you are grateful for every day – make gratitude a daily mental habit.

 

 

    • Maintain a consistent and healthy sleep schedule between 6-10 hours every night.

 

 

    • Drink green tea.

 

    • Consume high protein foods that contain tryptophan such as salmon, turkey, eggs, and nuts (or take a supplement).

 

    • Improve your body awareness through mindful stretching, Yoga, or Tai Chi.

 

    • Consume healthy probiotics in your diet (yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, and fermented foods).

 

 

 

  • Participate in a religious or spiritual ceremony.

Endorphins (energy/pain-killer)

Endorphins are often associated with stimulation, energy, and feelings of relief (pain-killers).

    • Laugh a lot with friends.

 

    • Watch a comedy movie or funny TV show.

 

    • Go for a long run (also known as “runner’s high”).

 

    • Have an intense workout at the gym.

 

    • Engage in a competitive activity.

 

    • Pursue extreme sports (surfing, biking, skateboarding).

 

    • Eat dark chocolate.

 

 

    • Dance to fast and upbeat music.

 

    • Take a cold shower to shock your body and boost your adrenaline.

 

 

 

    • Eat really spicy foods.

 

    • Engage in a healthy but lively debate about a topic you care a lot about.

 

 

    • Go to a fun and wild party or night club.

 

    • Do a quick high-intensity workout (cycle through jumping jacks, push-ups and crunches).

 

    • Have passionate sex with your partner.

 

    • Learn how to play a musical instrument at a high level.

 

    • Perform something in front of an audience (such as a song, poem, or speech). Face your performance anxiety.

 

    • Enjoy a glass or two of red wine at night.

 

    • Get a chiropractic massage, deep-tissue massage, or try acupuncture.

 

    • Challenge yourself and put yourself in a situation you know you will fail. Setting yourself up to fail on purpose can be a great way to test your limits.

 

    • Sit in a hot sauna or jacuzzi.

 

    • Smell euphoric essential oils such as lavender, rosemary, or citrus fragrances.

 

    • Practice fast and powerful breathing to boost your energy levels.

 

  • Watch a really intense drama or thriller movie.

Are you getting a healthy dose of all these “happiness chemicals?”

GUARANTEE?

ABSOLUTELY:
NONE OF THESE 100+ HAPPINESS HACKS
Will ever happen
unless you
try’s on for size.          .          .
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what do you have to lose??
H       A       P       P       I       N       E       S       S

 

The PROOF is in the GIVING

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Our Brains Are Wired To Give…

“Suppose you could be hooked up to a hypothetical “experience machine” that, for the rest of your life, would stimulate your brain and give you any positive feelings you desire. Most people to whom I offer this imaginary choice refuse the machine. It is not just positive feelings we want: we want to be entitled to our positive feelings.” — Dr. Martin Seligman

In 2014, a study led by neuroscientist Molly J. Crocket shed light on how much humans care about others relative to themselves. The results were surprising. They showed that, on average, people were willing to pay twice as much money to prevent someone else receiving an electric shock than the amount of money they would pay to prevent receiving the same amount of shock themselves.

At first, the conclusions seem puzzling. How does this fit with our survival bias, our innate sense of self-protection in the face of danger? A little experiment may help us understand this apparent contradiction.

In the next few days, do the following two things:

  1. Something fun.
  2. Something altruistic.

Plan both events and write about how you think doing those two different acts will make you feel. Then, immediately after completing the two activities, write down how you actually feel. At the end of the day, write down how you feel again, long after both events happened.

More likely than not, the high of doing something fun will last for a little bit and then fade away. It is a satisfaction that consumes itself shortly after the activity ends. If you go to the cinema and you enjoyed the movie, you will feel good after leaving the premises, but you won’t carry that feeling much longer after that.

However, if you perform a random act of kindness the feeling-good effect will endure for hours after the event happened. Try helping someone who can’t help you back; do it anonymously, or listening to someone in need. Or donating to a cause you truly believe in. The positive feelings stemming from the altruistic act will last for a long time after the event happened.

… And Positive Psychology Knows Why

Positive psychology is the field behind the scientific theory of happiness. Not so long ago, psychology focused only on helping troubled minds go back to a healthy state; Patients suffering from depression and other mental disorders. It sought to bring these patients back from “-10 to 0” on the well-being scale.

Positive psychology, on the other hand, looks to answer the question “what can make a healthy mind thrive?”. It looks scientifically into how we can go from “0 to +10” on the well-being scale. The father of positive psychology is Dr. Martin Seligman, author of books like “Authentic Happiness” and “Learned Optimism” and the founder of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

After years of research, he came up with 5 core pillars that act as the infrastructure to our psychological well-being and happiness. It is called the PERMA model:

  • P for Positive Emotion: feeling good, optimism, pleasure and enjoyment.
  • E for Engagement: doing fulfilling work, having exciting hobbies, immersing oneself in a sense of “flow”.
  • R for Relationships: deep social connections, love, intimacy, emotional and physical interaction with others.
  • M for Meaning: having a purpose in life.
  • A for Accomplishment: setting and pursuing goals, realizing your ambition, living with a sense of achievement.

You can experience all of these in a single act of giving, whether it’s sharing a meal with a friend or donating a large sum to a good cause.

Why   Giving   Fulfills   Us

Giving adds to our lives in many different ways, but is also exactly in line with the PERMA model.

  • When we give, we generate positive emotions. This, among other things, triggers a physical reaction: the release of dopamine. This hormone is secreted by the brain and regulates pleasure. It also helps us create habits by stimulating the repetition of the activity that brought us pleasure in the first place, over and over again.
  • Giving also helps us make our relationships more engaging. It enhances the quality of our interactions with others. To receive the appreciation of someone we have just helped is not only rewarding at an individual level, but also a powerful way to cement our social bond with that person.

However, giving goes well beyond facilitating positive emotions or better interactions with others. It can become a profound driver of our success in life, by contributing directly to the meaning and accomplishment components of the PERMA model.

Giving   As   Purpose

In “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Penn’s psychologist Angela Duckworth, I learned about Kat Cole. Cole started her career waitressing at Hooters while finishing her high school. She later rose up to become vice president of the company at age 26. Today, Kat Cole is Group President of Focus Brands, an investor, humanitarian and advisor.

Here’s her attitude on giving:

“By doing good for just one person, in just one moment, you can affect the trajectory of many things, of many lives, all over the world. Even if in some situations it’s not easy to be kind, gracious or positive, keep in mind it’s not just that moment that you are affecting, it’s many moments into the future.”

She differentiates between productive achievers and destructive achievers. As per her own description in a recent interview:

“There are a lot of people who have been incredibly successful by the typical person’s definition, financially or in terms of career acceleration, but have done it destructively, by not lifting others up and bringing them along. Then there are those who have been productive achievers, who have also brought others along with them and made a difference.”

For Cole, her giving attitude implied raising others and bringing them along in her path towards growth. A deep sense of purpose, rooted on an abundance mentality, had a significant impact on her professional success.

Happiness has to be earned. It cannot be chased. It cannot be manufactured. Happiness is about the consistency of our daily actions with our principles. The way we respond to the daily demands of life. In that context, a virtuous circle of gratitude and giving — as proven by positive psychology, the science of happiness — becomes a critical element of a fulfilling life.

And now.      .       . THE  BIG  Sooooooooooo:

Psssssssssssssssssssssssssst:

LIFE is not a zero-sum game. An abundance mindset is both possible and practical. Science has shown our brains are wired to give because they prolong positive emotions from such interactions. Positive Psychology confirms this and gives us a model we can use to become productive achievers: PERMA.

It always comes back to one simple question:
Do you have a Caring Catalyst Heart.        .        .
There’s only one way to truly answer:
G     I     V     E            I     T

A Helper’s High(er)

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IMG_0213

Have you ever suffered from

A  L  T  I  T  U  D  E           S  I  C  K  N  E  S  S ?

I’m not asking what’s the highest mountain you’ve ever climbed

or if you’ve ever hiked a Pike’s Peak-like trail;

I’m   asking   did   you   ever   feel   the   highest   of   high’s:

A      H  E  L  P  E  R ‘ S       H  I  G  H ?

No, it’s not a myth or even a goal to have or aspire.      .      .

it’s very real and like most real things,

it not only evokes a lot of opinions and theories,

but also a lot of studies that actually present  facts.

Take  any   N    D    A    D.     .     .

That’s right, a Non-Directed Anonymous Donor. . .these are people who literally walk in off the street and say that they are healthy and would like to donate a kidney; not to a family member or a distant relative or a very close childhood friend. . .NO, to an actual person they have never met and quite possible never will; a true; NON-DIRECTED ANONYMOUS DONOR.

Dr. David Lansburg, director of kidney transplants for British Columbia, Vancouver says that such a donation sets off a chain reaction of giving as well as a saving multiple lives.

You think?

Dr. Abraham Maslow called such acts, witnessed and shared,

P  E  A  K        E  X  P  E  R  I  E  N  C  E  S.         .          .

Dr. Jonathan Haidt is a psychologist calls this peak experience ELATION and describes it as a warm feeling in the chest, a sensation of expansion in the heart, an increased desire to help, and increased sense of  connection with others.

Well.           .           .

are you buying THIS a cup of coffee

or treating it like some discarded moldy grounds?

BE    YOUR    OWN    STUDY

You don’t have to go too far back into your own personal photo album to remember,

do you?

If someone yells at you for no good reason, first thing in the morning.     .     .

it’s sets off a chemical reaction inside of you that would make the most sophisticated Chemistry Sets pale in comparison.

Pssssssssssssssst:

The same is true if you

DO GOOD.      .      .or even witness good being done!

FACT:  When you do even the simplest of kind things, you literally feel happier–because you do; it’s the brain’s natural versions of morphine and heroin–they call it dopamine.

FACT:  Kindness gives you a healthier heart.  Oxytocin causes the release of nitric oxide which expands the blood vessels, hence, lowering blood pressure.

FACT:  Kindess slows down the aging process.  The study of Tibetan Buddhist’s Loving Kindness Compassion meditation found that kindness and compassion did, in fact, reduce inflammation in the body.

FACT:  Kindness makes for better relationships.  Seriously, do you hate seeing an act of kindness or actually having one done to you?

FACT:  Kindness is contagious.  Let’s go back to our 28 year old Non-Directed Anonymous Donor (NDAD) who walked into a clinic and donated a kidney.  It set off a “pay it forward ” type of ripple effect where the spouses or other family members of recipients of a kidney donated one of theirs to someone in need.  The “domino effect,”  as it is called in the New England Journal of Medicine report, spanned the length and breadth of the United States, where 10 people received a new kidney as a result of a that single anonymous donor.

So.        .        .

you want to get   H  I  G  H  ?

Get  your  kindness  on.     .     .

It’s the one Rock you can throw

that’ll start three ripples with the first skip:

The  ripple  for the recipient

The  ripple  for you

The  ripple  for the one who might see the kindness.       .       .

One simple act of kindness will get you a one way ticket to a

H  e  l  p  e  r  ‘s       H  i  g  h

W      A      R      N      I      N      G:

B   E   W   A   R   E.         .         .

T  H  I  S       I  S       H  I  G  H  L  Y       A  D  D  I  C  T  I  V E

Professional Speaker, Author, Assurance Man