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A few years ago, comedian Margaret Cho tried to practice

1:00

for us on the science of happiness. She

1:03

imagined her best possible future self. My

1:06

future self will be free

1:08

from worry, from concern, for

1:10

plotting. I have

1:13

everything, but everything's already here.

1:22

Today, we're going to take a short break

1:25

together and try and envision our best selves,

1:27

like a lunch break or a coffee break,

1:29

but a happiness break. I'm

1:31

Dacher Keltner. Welcome

1:34

to Happiness Break, a series by the Science

1:36

of Happiness. On

1:39

each episode, we guide you through research-backed practices

1:41

to bring more happiness into your life. And

1:44

then we learn about the science behind each exercise,

1:47

and we guide you through it, all in under

1:49

10 minutes. Today,

1:51

Justin Michael Williams, a dear colleague of

1:53

mine who's a mindfulness teacher and amazing

1:56

musician, is going to lead us in

1:58

a happiness break, to

2:00

visualize our best possible selves. The

2:03

literature shows that spending time thinking about and

2:05

writing about our best selves can motivate us

2:08

to work towards our goals and

2:10

make us happier in the present moment right

2:12

now. Ken Sheldon

2:14

at the University of Missouri and Sonia

2:17

Libramirski at UC Riverside and Madeline Peter

2:19

at Maastricht University have all done work

2:21

showing this simple break of imagining our

2:23

best possible selves in the future elevates

2:26

our well-being for some time, increases our social

2:29

connection and even can reduce levels of cortisol

2:31

in our bloodstream, which is the stress hormone.

2:34

This practice gives us a sense of agency

2:36

as we move forward in life. After

2:39

the practice, if you can, I'd really recommend that

2:42

you write down what you visualize. So

2:44

many studies show that when we write things

2:46

down, whether it's what we're thankful for, what

2:49

we want our future to look like, it

2:51

really helps us find more meaning in life.

2:56

Here's Justin Michael Williams with his meditation,

2:58

I Am Enough. I'd

3:07

like you to sit as still as you can

3:09

right now and focus on a point straight in

3:11

front of you with your eyes open and

3:14

fix your eyes directly on one point

3:17

without moving your eyes from this one

3:19

point at all and

3:22

then begin to notice everything you can

3:24

see in your periphery. So

3:26

without moving your eyes from this one point,

3:28

notice how far to the right of you

3:30

you can see and how far

3:32

to the left of you you can see and

3:35

above and below you all while still focusing

3:37

on this one point. And

3:41

notice that what we're doing with our eyes right

3:43

now is the same thing

3:45

that we're invited to do with our minds when

3:47

we meditate. We focus

3:49

our awareness on a point but

3:52

welcome in anything else

3:54

that comes into our field of awareness without pushing

3:56

it down But creating

3:58

more spaciousness. Now

4:02

invite you to take a deep breath and. And

4:05

on your exhale, I invite you to close your eyes

4:08

if you're comfortable doing so. And

4:11

then with your eyes. Gently

4:13

rested, And

4:16

like you to visualize a

4:18

future version of yourself who

4:20

is living the life of

4:22

your dreams. You

4:29

can project yourselves into any

4:32

point in the future and

4:34

bring forth your ideal future

4:36

south. Every circumstance in your

4:39

life that is a challenge

4:41

is overcome. You

4:43

are living the life of your

4:45

dreams. Like you

4:47

can rather magic lamp. Anything's possible.

4:49

What do you notice? And

4:56

if you have more than one idea

4:58

kind of shuffling through your mind, just

5:00

try to settle on one, Trusting that

5:02

exactly what's arising for you in this

5:04

practice today is exactly what you're meant

5:06

to see. As

5:10

you imagine his future version of

5:12

yourself: What color are you wearing?

5:17

Is there anybody there with you in the vision? or are

5:19

you alone? Are

5:22

you indoor Or are you outdoor as

5:24

you imagine this future selves. And

5:29

what are you doing? And

5:38

know Keeping this future

5:40

vision in mind, Answer

5:42

this question using one,

5:44

two, or three words.

5:47

As you look at this future version

5:49

of you who is living the life

5:51

of your drains. What

5:54

energy do you need to

5:56

cultivate more of in your

5:58

life now? They.

6:01

Can become closer to being

6:03

that person you see in

6:05

your vision. Now

6:16

just repeat. Your word,

6:18

Or those words a few times in your

6:20

mind. Welcoming

6:23

whatever arises, And

6:29

as you inhale. Start

6:31

to breathe a little more deeply. And

6:35

imagine as you inhale that you

6:37

are breathing in the energy of

6:39

these words. Literally

6:42

like you are inhaling the energy of

6:44

your words. And

6:49

as you exhale, imagine sending

6:51

that same energy out, spreading

6:53

it throughout your body and

6:55

your energy so. So

6:58

I didn't take another few deep breaths. Just like this.

7:09

Now stake when less depressing together.

7:13

Has a breath out. And

7:17

let's take one less depressing. And

7:20

or breath out. And

7:25

when you're ready, I invite you to open your eyes. And

7:33

noticed that I didn't ask you

7:35

what do you need to do

7:37

to become the person in your

7:39

vision. I ask you who do

7:41

you need to be and what

7:43

is the energy that you need

7:45

to cultivate. And

7:48

when you drop into this space

7:50

you already know what you need.

7:52

You have what you need to

7:55

be com that which you want

7:57

to become. You

7:59

are and. And

8:01

you are ready to start stepping into

8:03

your power and the life of your

8:06

dreams.