Tools & Tips
Happiness Tips Based in Science

Meet and Greet
Forget the fear of strangers; it turns out, chatting up someone new can be good for you. Striving to make a favorable first impression stirs up pleasurable feelings, lifting your mood more than you expect, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reports. One more reason to take out those iPod earbuds and strike up a conversation.

Wise buy
People looking for an upgrade (e.g. the latest digital camera) may undervalue what they already own, the Journal of Consumer Research reveals. Before you buy, write down the pros and cons of your oldie and the newbie and compare - you may not need to make the change after all.

A gift that keeps on giving
If you like to volunteer, now your kind deeds can reap double benefit: Post your generous act on SpreadTheSharing.com and the food company Shedd's Country Crock will donate one meal to a hungry family through the charity America's Second Harvest.

Workplace woe
We've all missed work because of the flu, but being emotionally unwell can interfere with productivity too: Eighty-three percent of women battling depression sat it's a major hurdle to their professional success, a Mental Health American poll discovered. Happily, 94 percent who get help notice improvements at work. If you're always sad, go to NMHA.com to find an expert.

Self Magazine
November 2007