Dr. Dave Neubauer on Happiness Plus One

This blog post accompanies the Evolve Wellness Experience Podcast Episode #5

Many people wonder what they can do to be happier, especially now, when the pandemic has caused so much extra stress.

There are many factors that affect happiness, but in today’s blog, we’ll talk about a quick exercise you can do to improve your happiness by plus one. What does that mean? Let’s find out:

In this episode of The Wellness Experience podcast, Dr. Bill and his guest, Dr. Dave Neubauer, take a deep dive into the daily practice of happiness. Dr. Neubauer is a chiropractic physician and the founder of Minnesota Metabolic Weight Loss.

A System for Happiness — In Three Short, Simple Steps

Dr. Neubauer suggests you start with this short exercise in three steps.

Step 1: Rate your current happiness with your life on a scale of 0-10. 0 would be extremely unhappy, and 10 ecstatic. Of course people have different levels of happiness at different times, but on average, what number would you give yourself for your overall happiness? Write that down.

You’ve just finished step one! Now, let’s do Step 2. Just doing this step can improve your ability to increase your happiness. Why did you give yourself that level? What things in your life contribute to that number?

Here’s Step 3: Write down what would have to happen in your life to change that number by a plus one. What would have to happen to improve your happiness by one point?

I think we deserve more. What do you think would have to happen in order to raise your happiness plus one?

Dr. Dave Neubauer

This exercise was used as a national survey, and the average number people initially reported was 6.9. Can we do better than that? Do you deserve better than that? Dr. Neubauer believes so.

Many people say that relieving stress would help them go up by one. They’re right—it’s hard to be happy when you’re stressed! If you’re struggling with stress, we have a solution for you in our office: check out NuCalm treatments, a patented stress relief technology we offer in our office. Get your first session free!

Need a little help rating your happiness? Here are the three subcategories of happiness for you to consider:

1 – A pleasant life. The goal is to have as many pleasurable experiences as you can. The drawback here is when you aren’t meeting your needs in this area, you feel stuck.

2 – The good life. This is a life of engagement. Some people’s number one focus is work, or parenting, or sport, or art. This is where the term “flow” comes from, or “being in the zone.” Time stops because you are focused on what you’re doing. The challenge is that if you spend too much time in this zone, other areas important to your life may struggle if you achieve a high level of flow.

3 – The meaningful life. This means knowing what your best strengths in life are and using them in service to something bigger than you.

Ask yourself if you are good in these areas, or if you want more from one or more of them, when considering your number. If there’s an area you aspire to do more in, you may need to work on this area to improve your happiness. This may take hard work and sacrifice, but figuring out what would make you happier and working toward it can help improve your life satisfaction.

Stay safe out there, everyone, and don’t forget – we are always offering valuable introduction packages and specials at one of our two locations in Port St. Lucie. Whether you are seeking chiropractic care for an injury or ongoing wellness, post-op physical therapy, relaxing massages, or innovative mind-body wellness services and products, you can get started with us for low introductory specials and rates. Click here to learn more!