Angelina Jolie (Credit Photo: IMDb)

Actress and mother, Angelina Jolie underwent a preventative double mastectomy (removal of both her breasts) in April because of a mutated BRCA1 gene known to raise the risk of breast cancer by 87 percent and ovarian cancer by up to a 54 percent.

In her tell-all “My Medical Choice”, Jolie shares that although it was a difficult choice it was necessary. Jolie reports her mother had breast cancer and died of ovarian cancer, and her grandmother also had ovarian cancer.

This for Jolie (and health professionals) was adequate evidence to remove both her healthy breasts to avoid the same outcome. It is often advised that women who have this gene would benefit from ovarian removal as well, yet it is unclear whether Jolie will make that decision in the future.

Also during the surgery, doctors placed a tissue expander under her skin; a device which slowly stretches the skin making room for a breast implant to optimize the final cosmetic appearance.

After surgery, Jolie was said to be ‘energetic and positive.’ For Jolie, the best outcome to the double mastectomy is that she has increased her chance to have a healthy and happy life with her loving family.

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Jessica Lauren, the founder of  The Happiness Movement powered by 1, 2, 3 Happy, and author of 1,095 Reasons to be Happy: Your Gratitude Journal, has a decade of experience in print journalism and motivational speaking. Her work has appeared in numerous daily and weekly web outlets, local magazines and newspapers.

She has appeared on local news channels and has spent the last five years engaging with people of all ages, economic strata, and backgrounds to research individuals who lead lives full of accomplishment and inspiration.

She travels to give monthly talks about happiness from her home in Los Angeles and has started the widely popular Happiness Movement to help people find and define their happiness and spread it to others. Her interests include researching human potential, art and outdoor pursuits. Currently, she is involved in what she believes to be her life’s work: helping others find and define what makes them happy.

What if you could increase your happiness by 6-10% with a few simple risks? Would you take them?

We have been taught that risks are a bad thing. Why? Perhaps because risks can lead to failure and loss.

In fact, our brains are wired to avoid risky situations. Dr. Tali Sharot a Neuroscientist and author of The Optimisms Bias found that the frontal lobes, used primarily in decision making and perceived future risk assessment, play a huge role in our happiness and risk-taking behavior. Stating in an interview, “Taking [risks] can result in negative events since too-positive assumptions can lead to disastrous miscalculations.”

However, gaining lasting happiness comes from taking the right risks (seriously, no one wants to deal with the repercussions of a bad risk.)

This creates a paradox that’s like a teeter-totter, on one side our brain wants to stop us from taking risks, while on the other side risk-taking behavior can make us happier. As stated in Psychology Today the article “Flourish” by Angie LeVan, “Thus it seems quite paradoxical to include risk-taking as one of the primary behaviors that leads to the ‘good life.’”

Happiness is then ‘risky business’—to be happier we have to take better risks. So come join The Happiness Movement every second Wednesday @ 7:30PM for fun conversations on building more happiness today, tomorrow, and in the future.

For one more resource see The Optimism Bias by Tali Sharot or read her blog The Guardian: The Observer. Hope to see you all there!

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We know that being happy can make us healthier, but what if our health and happiness was less about what we did and more about our hearts?

Researchers believed the brain was the center of the body and dictated what we thought and felt. In reality, though, new research illustrates how our hearts—once thought to be just pumps caring blood throughout our bodies—transmit information to the brain.

In Scientific American journal the article “Psychology Beyond the Brain” by Adam Waytz reported that our heart rate variability (HRV) “plays a key role in social behaviors” like decision making.

Scientists are puzzled as to the heart’s ability to inform our happiness, social experiences, and thought patterns. Yet there is no confusion about how an unhappy heart can cause serious problems.

Imagine two jumbo commercial airliners full of passengers crashing every day with no survivors—that’s the number of people who die from heart disease every day in the United States. (The Heart’s Code, 36.)

We know the main causes of heart disease (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity for instance) but more than half who suffer from their first heart attack do not have these signs. There seems to be another factor: possibly an unhappy heart.

Often our hearts tell our brain what to think and feel. It is the center of our happiness and health and we should treat our hearts well by exercising and eating right, plus listening to it. Finding a quiet place to mediate will make not only you, but also your heart happier.

So take care of your heart by joining us to continue this conversation every second Wednesday of every month at 7PM/ 1 Witherspoon Irvine, Ca for The Happiness Movement.   

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Ever wonder who the happiest celebrities are? Our top 4 picks for the happiest celebrities.

John Cleese- Comedian

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Humor makes us happier and no man has made us laugh harder or for a longer period of time than John Cleese. Staring in one of his most memorable films The Monty Python and The Holly Grail, John Cleese continues to make us laugh and is among the funniest and happiest people in Hollywood.

Andy Murry- Professional Tennis Player

Sweet Mandarin

Andy Murray encourages people to get involved with their community and global issues through his social media showing that good things can come out of Facebook. Plus with his most recent victory against Florian Mayer to reach last 16 of Madrid Open has not only put him on top of his game, but also his own happiness.

Beyonce- Singer

Album Cover I Am

Beyonce: singer, actress and mom is happier than ever with her perfect life and family. Recent philanthropist, Beyonce has donated much of her  ticket sales to support charitable causes. Currently, Beyonce is in the middle of the European leg of her world tour.

Jami Gertz- Actress

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Jami Gertz and her husband Anthony Ressler donated over 10 million dollars last year. Giving back can make everyone happier and we can all find some time, money and/or support to donate to someone in need.

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This is a unique opportunity to find and define your individual happiness. Through your session, of $150, you will learn the keys and tools to become happier.

And because we all have particular issues keeping us from accessing our true satisfaction, your one-on-one session will also include a Happiness Assessment, which will demonstrate simple steps you can take to become happier Today!

Happiness Coaching is designed to help individuals discover their happiness and true satisfaction in life.

We’re happy to announce our interview with the leading Neuroscientist on optimism bias and author of The Optimism Bias, also featured in 123 Happy, Dr. Tali Sharot.

Q: In your opinion, is optimism level solely related to our brains, personality, or experiences? Or a combination? Please explain.

Dr. Sharot:

“It is a combination. Our experiences shape our personality and our brain, and our brain shapes our personality and our experiences.

All thought and feelings are generated by the brain. Optimism is related to our brains’ tendency to engage more in positive thoughts of the future than negative. It is not that we do not think of bad things that might occur, it is simply that we spend more time thinking how those can be successfully avoided. This is the result of an interaction between deep structures in our brain that process emotion and motivation and parts of our frontal lobes that modulate them. Furthermore, when people learn what the future may hold, our neurons efficiently encode unexpectedly good information, but fail to incorporate information that is unexpectedly bad – rendering us more optimistic. But our experiences in life will alter how likely our neurons are to function in this way.”

Q: Your research found that some people who are more optimistic have less activity in the frontal region of the brain when told the likely hood of future life events–optimism bias. How do some people become more optimistic, with their brains being wired in this way, and others who are more realistic? Nature vs. nurture? Both? Please Explain.

Dr. Sharot:

“There is evidence suggesting that specific genes are related to optimism. If you have one type of such genes you are more likely to be optimistic, if you have another type of the same gene you are more likely to be depression. However, life experience matters. People who have the type of gene that is associated with depression are more likely to suffer depression if they experienced stressful life events. Nature and nurture interact.”

Q: In your opinion, can your research help people find a happiness that is equally optimistic and realistic? And if so, what would be a way to achieve such a sense of happiness?

Dr. Sharot:

“In general, optimistic people tend to be happier. Part of the reason for this is that the optimism protects us from viewing future heartaches and hurdles too clearly. It makes us feel better in the present and more likely to act productively. Underestimating obstacles that life has in store lowers stress and anxiety, leading to better health and well being – this is one reason why optimists recover faster from illnesses and live longer. Optimism also pushes us to take chances which can result in positive events (for example attempting a new job, a new relationship). However taking chances can also result in negative events since too-positive assumptions can lead to disastrous miscalculations.”

A special thank you to Dr. Sharot!

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Picture: Neuroscientist Tali Sharot, author of The Optimism Bias, December 2011. Photograph: Andy Hall/Observer New Review

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