Marci Shimoff is the author of Happy for No Reason, co-author of six Chicken Soup for the Soul Books, and featured teacher on the movie The Secret.

I’ve mentioned before thatMarci Shimoff introduced me to my husband, Jay, 29 years ago. Even though he and Marci were friends, she didn’t know he was moving across the country to California. As fate would have it, he was moving to Santa Monica for a year. Jay and I became good friends, eventually started dating, and a year later we were married. So, even though Marci has inspired thousands of audiences around the world, I tell her that introducing us is her greatest success.

Anyway, wheneverMarci Shimoff and I get together, we talk about happiness, relationships, love, life and how it all fits together. This summer I interviewed her about her latest book that is chock full of happiness tips.

Please click here to listen to my interview with Marci Shimoff.

Please take the time to listen to the interview but here are a few main points we cover on the subject of HAPPINESS:

1. Research has shown that we’re bad at assessing what will make us happy. It’s a myth that once we get something, we’ll be happy. We get acclimated to that thing and then get UNHAPPY again.

2. Practice changing your habits. There’s a whole section in her book on the power of our mind and our beliefs. (You can find me in that section of the book). Many people even have the limiting belief that they can’t change their habits.

3. The number one question people ask Marci is, “What do I do about the negative people around me–people who blame, gossip, look at the half empty glass?” Research shows we catch the emotions of the people around us. Spend more time with uplifting people and build your own emotional immune system so you don’t take on the negativity of those around you.

4. The most interesting piece of research is about the happiness setpoint we each have, which is like our weight setpoint where we hover around the same weight. Similarly, no matter what happens, we return to our happiness setpoint UNLESS we do something about it. Many people say, “If I could win the lottery, I’d be really happy!” In reality those who’ve won return to their original level of happiness within 6 months. 50% of our happiness setpoint is hereditary, BUT 50% we CAN CHANGE. Raise your happiness thermostat like raising the thermostat on your furnace.

We can even change our DNA when we raise our happiness level.

What is your happiness set point? Do you have the tendency of being upbeat like Mary Poppins or glum like Eyore? Would love to hear from you. Just remember, we can change that setpoint!

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