You've heard of the 12 days of Christmas.  Well, now it's our turn to introduce you to the 10 days of New Year's.  In this series, we will cover 10 great resolutions to improve family life.  So sit back, settle in and join us for a look at some great ways to move your family forward in the coming year.

We start off with the simple idea of becoming happier.  Happiness is within the reach of all of us, if we choose it.  We all have happiness setpoints, just like we have supposed weight setpoints.  But, we can increase those setpoints by intentionally and purposely finding reasons to be happy, even in the face of adversity.  It's possible, even if it isn't easy. 

Here are the two top reasons to increase happiness in your life:

1.  Moods can be "catchy".  We tend to act like those we spend the most time with.  Therefore, it has been posited...and research has fleshed this out...that children of happier parents tend to be happier, too.  So, optimism and happiness are contagious.  If you have it, you can pass it on to your kids.  This is a good kind of contagion, for sure!

2. Happier people tend to live longer. In fact, extended happiness can increase life span by 10 years.

To increase your happiness "muscle", we recommend the following books for starters:

"Happy for No Reason" by Marci Shimoff

"How Full is Your Bucket" by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D.

"Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilbert

"Happiness: The Science behind Your Smile" by Daniel Nettle

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