WHAT'S YOUR REAL AGE?

You've probably already heard of the Real Age guys, Dr. Mehmet Oz, a frequent Oprah Show contributor, and his partner Dr. Michael Roizen. I love them both! They offer practical strategies to help you feel and look your youngest, and their tips are easy to implement into your life.

Here's a statistic from their book that really grabbed me. According to these super docs, when you learn to manage your emotions, you can slow or reverse your physical aging up to 16 years! Once again, the connection between our emotions and our health is clear.

In addition to their many books and TV and radio shows, they have an amazing website that allows you to calculate your actual age and your body's "real age" based on your health habits and emotional tendencies. Check it out. Follow their advice and you may just be younger by your next birthday!

I LOVE TED!

No, TED isn't a guy. TED is a conference that happens once a year to give some of the greatest thinkers of our time 18-minutes each to share their innovative ideas with the world.

One speaker in particular really moved me. In part because her story is so amazing, but also because her vision speaks to everything I believe. She is neuroanatomist Dr. Jill Taylor. Watch as she explains how tapping into the power of our right brain can transform our lives. 

 WATCH THE VIDEO

SAVORING THE MOMENT

Saturday was my daughter Sophia's 10th birthday. Living in Los Angeles, of course we had a Hollywood Movie Party, complete with red carpet and plastic Academy Award, courtesy of The Party Store.

The next day, we celebrated my own birthday. How's that for timing! For my special day, we drove to the mountains. Although it was 85 degrees and sunny, the snow was just an hour away. I guess no one was thinking about snow on such a warm day, because we had the mountain completely to ourselves. Imagine the three of us -- my husband Bryan, Sophia and me -- having a private snowball fight at 7,000 feet.

When it came time to leave, my daughter said, "Wait one minute; I want to savor this moment."

As a parent, I sometimes wonder if the lessons I hope to teach my child will really get absorbed. In that one moment, I saw she got it. I deeply believe that appreciating what we have, no matter how small, is an important part of creating happiness, and she saw that too.

We stayed a little longer, then headed down the mountain to dine on birthday hamburgers. It was a perfect celebration. I'm savoring it.

BE HAPPY, DAMMIT!

Karen Salmansohn is SIRIUS/Lime radio's lively host of  Be Happy, Dammit! and best selling author of 29 books including, How to Be Happy, Dammit. I like Karen because she does something I love. She takes scientifically tested ideas and makes them user-friendly. 

Everything she writes and talks about on happiness is backed up by data, but she makes it all sound so fun, so easy, and so doable that you don't even realize how scholarly she is. She has a wonderful 1-2 punch. Tell people what works, then teach them how to do it in a simple way. It's real stuff for real people.

That's why I'm honored Karen's chosen to feature my work on her blog. Check out her March 16, 2008 article, "7 Booster Shots for Happiness."

WHAT IS HAPPINESS, ANYWAY?

Happiness. If we don't have it, we want it. If we've already got some, we'd like more. Not only have philosophers and spiritual leaders weighed in on the subject of happiness, now scientists and psychologists have jumped into the conversation too.

What's Wrong With You?

It used to be that psychology focused intently on what's wrong with us, and how to fix it. But a new breed of thinkers is studying what's right with us, and how to capitalize on it. I like that.

These thinkers have learned that there are lots of practical things we can do to increase our optimism and joy. But we need to understand what happiness is all about in the first place. When we're happy, we don't feel deliriously joyful every minute. Even if we're blessed with health, love and comfort, we still have to do the laundry and pay our taxes, which is less than thrilling, to be sure.

You see, happiness isn't always about what's happening in our lives today. If it were, we'd be happy that we found a parking spot, then sad that the meter is broken, then happy we found a new spot, then sad that it's a further walk, and on and on forever. Get the idea?

Becoming Happier

We can learn to become happier when we view the world in new ways, connect with others, find deeper meaning in the ordinary, practice mindfulness, take care of our health, and many other strategies.

Still, that doesn't mean we'll never be sad or upset. That's because our emotions have a primitive purpose -- to tell us important information about ourselves. If we try to deny our unhappy moods, we'll lose valuable insights. Plus, putting on a happy face when you're sad takes a lot of work. Sometimes you just need to be sad for a while before you're ready to feel good again. But science shows us that we can feel good again.

The Truth About Happiness

The point is that happiness, like many things in life, isn't always what it appears to be. Happy people have high points and low. Laughter and tears. Triumph and struggle. The difference is that happy people have the emotional tools to navigate life's inevitable ups and downs.