FHM's Top 20 Hottest Women Alive

Angelina Jolie
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Anna Kournikova
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Kylie
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Carmen Electra
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Jordan
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Megan Fox
FHM's Top 20 Hottest Women Alive
1. Megan Fox
2. Jessica Alba
3. Keeley Hazell
4. Elisha Cuthbert
5. Hayden Panettiere
6. Scarlett Johansson
7. Cheryl Cole
8. Hilary Duff
9. Angelina Jolie
10. Keira Knightley
11. Rihanna
12. Kate Beckinsale
13. Jessica Biel
14. Eva Longoria
15. Alessandra Ambrosio
16. Rachel Bilson
17. Beyonce Knowles
18. Gemma Atkinson
19. Jennifer Love Hewitt
20. Christina Aguilera


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How to be happy

daily mantras—keys to contentment—that will change your life.

Happiness, like baking, is something I’ve always been good at. And that puzzles me: I don’t live in a glass house by the sea. I’m not rich or beautiful. I’ve endured grief and battled depression. It’s true that I’ve been lucky in love—I have a great husband. But I came to him happy. Yet some people who seem to have all the raw materials for happiness—looks, money, success, and love—seem perpetually glum. So what is it that really makes us happy?

The answer is not good fortune. Psychologists have known for decades that even winning the lottery won’t make a person happier over the long haul. People simply adapt
Think of what happened when you got your last raise: odds are, you felt great for the first few pay checks but soon adjusted to it, and now you may be back to feeling underpaid. Such observations have led researchers to conclude that each of us has a set point for happiness— a level of contentment that stays constant through changing circumstances, such as the loss of loved ones or winning big bucks.

If this all sounds a bit depressing, take heart. Recent breakthrough research shows we can make ourselves happier—and how to do it.

The science of happiness

Some of the most exciting research in psychology is in a field called positive psychology, a discipline that aims not just to relieve suffering but also to increase happiness. For the past few years, Martin E P Seligman, PhD, and his colleagues, have been working to unlock the secrets of living the good life. Seligman, founding director of the Positive Psychology Centre at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Authentic Happiness, has found that the key to happiness appears to lie in our internal qualities and character strengths, not in external events. What’s more, he says, we can use these qualities—work with them and enhance them—to make ourselves happier over the long run.

Habits that will make us happy

A couple of years ago, Seligman’s group described and classifi ed the 24 character strengths that make people thrive, including creativity, curiosity, bravery, and kindness. But all these traits aren’t equal when it comes to producing satisfaction.

Combing through questionnaire responses from more than 5000 study participants, the researchers found that happiness was most strongly associated with a core subset of the character-trait list that they labelled heart strengths: gratitude, hope, zest, and the ability to love and be loved.

Topping the charts was love, says Nansook Park, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Rhode Island and a study author. “Relationships with other people are what make us the happiest,” she says. (Learn what your character strengths are at authentichappiness. org)

Seligman’s team made a list of 100 ‘interventions’ that people through the ages have suggested as routes to contentment—culling ideas proposed by Buddha and self-improvement gurus alike—and set out to test them. It was, Seligman says, the most ambitious, controlled study of happiness ever done. The results of the team’s efforts were published in American Psychologist.

Habit 1 Focus on what’s right

As it turned out, all the exercises, including that of the control group, temporarily bumped up happiness levels. But some interventions proved to have a much bigger, more lasting effect than others. For example, the group that spent a few minutes each night writing about what had gone well that day felt happier for the full 6 months of the study.

“Most of us focus on our weaknesses and on what we don’t have,” says Carol Kauffman, PhD, a life coach and an assistant clinical professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School. “By listing good things, you’re training yourself to reverse your focus from what you did wrong to what you did right. You’re emphasising your strengths,” and that seems to change the way you feel. Kauffman uses the what-went-well-today intervention with her patients—and does it every night herself.


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Three roads to happiness

When positive psychologists talk about happiness, what they mean is a sense of deep contentment. There are 3 routes to achieving it, Martin E P Seligman, PhD, has found, and the most satisfi ed people pursue all three.

1. Pleasant life Full of pleasure, joy, and good times.

2. Engaged life In which you lose yourself to some passion or activity, experiencing what psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, PhD, calls flow.

3. Meaningful life It may not have many high moments or blissful immersions, but it is packed with purpose “The notion of three pathways is important,” says psychologist Karen Reivich, PhD. “We all know people who aren’t smiley-faced, so we may say this person isn’t happy. But what Seligman is saying is, ‘Hey, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great life.’ These broader conceptions of happiness are more liberating.”

Seligman’s team made a list of 100 ‘interventions’ that people through the ages have suggested as routes to contentment—culling ideas proposed by Buddha and self-improvement gurus alike—and set out to test them. It was, Seligman says, the most ambitious, controlled study of happiness ever done. The results of the team’s efforts were published in American Psychologist.

Habit 1 Focus on what’s right

As it turned out, all the exercises, including that of the control group, temporarily bumped up happiness levels. But some interventions proved to have a much bigger, more lasting effect than others. For
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Habit 2 Feel grateful, say ‘thank you’

The ‘gratitude visit’, which focussed on building one of the four heart strengths, also produced a lift in happiness scores. In fact, “The exercise decreased depression and increased happiness more than any other intervention,” says Park.

“Gratitude is an affirmation of the goodness in one’s life and the recognition that the sources of this goodness lie at least partly outside the self,” says Robert A Emmons, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of California. “It’s a very social experience, and it’s restorative in times of stress.”

Seligman’s study did show, though, that a single gratitude visit went only so far: the happiness boost lasted a month and then dissipated. But some people took the initiative to pay gratitude visits to additional people—and their happiness scores stayed high even after 6 months.

“There’s no quick fix,” says Christopher Peterson, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan and Seligman’s frequent collaborator. “The only way to become grateful is to act like a grateful person over and over.”

Habit 3. “What’s in that box?”

Be curious

In the study, one other intervention proved effective—and this one suggests that it’s not essential to have those major heart strengths, so long as you play to one of your character strengths. The last group of participants identifi ed their top 5 strengths and then used one of them in a new way every day for a week.

A person who wanted to exercise her curiosity, for instance, might have read a book on an unfamiliar subject one day, researched her family tree on another, visited a museum on a third, and so on. That, too, lifted spirits for at least 6 months in those who continued the exercise.

For the study, the researchers enlisted more than 500 visitors to Seligman’s website. The adults completed online questionnaires to assess their level of happiness; then each volunteer was assigned to do 1 of 6 exercises for a week.

Some wrote and personally delivered a gratitude letter to an individual who had been particularly kind to them but whom they had never adequately thanked, for instance; others recorded 3 things that had gone well each day.

People in a control group wrote about their early memories every night for a week—an exercise that wasn’t expected to have much of an impact on their moods. Every few weeks for the next 6 months, the volunteers fi lled out questionnaires measuring their happiness and depression
Play on your strengths, get happy

Using your character strengths helps compensate for weaknesses or vulnerabilities that otherwise can interfere with happiness, says Karen Reivich, PhD, a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania and coauthor of The Resilience Factor. She sees herself as a recovering pessimist: “part of my brain is always scanning the horizon for danger.” Instead of telling herself that her concerns are unwarranted, Reivich exercises a strength that comes naturally, drawing on her creativity to counter the dour, gloomy part of her personality. “I’ve created an ‘awe wall’ covered with poems, my children’s photos, a picture of a lavender farm. And every day I work on it a bit.”

“I may add a cartoon that made me laugh and a picture drawn by my young son,” she says. “It’s hard to be basking in all these reminders of wonder and simultaneously be filled with dread.”
Reivich and other researchers say that strategies like these, used consistently over time, lead to long-lasting change.

Her pessimistic habits are starting to atrophy, says Reivich. “At fi rst the change happens at the surface, in a conscious change in behaviour; then it begins to take place more deeply, becoming almost effortless.

That’s because I’m repeating the exercise until it becomes a new habit. If I focus my attention on noticing good and thinking about the things I can control, I’m using my attention and energy to build optimism and happiness rather than to deepen worry and sadness.”

All of this begins to explain my own pleasure in life. I took Seligman’s questionnaire and answered how closely 245 statements described me. I fi nd the world a very interesting place: yes, I certainly do. I always keep my promises: yes—or I feel terrible.

According to my responses, one of my signature strengths is curiosity. That rings true. During even a quick trip to the store, within minutes I’m discussing how to grind wheat with the baker or what the fi shing’s like with the fi sh man.

My husband has learned to get a cup of coffee and wait me out. It’s the exchange that makes me happy, as well as learning something new.

So, by Seligman’s measure, my happiness is less and less surprising. After all, I make my living by asking people questions about themselves and their occupations. I’ve found a way to use my natural strengths in my work.

Even if your job isn’t a perfect match, the research on happiness suggests that you can still find ways to play to your strengths.

For example, if you know that one of them is gratitude, try starting a staff meeting about a troubled project in a new way: instead of discussing what went south, ask everyone to talk about one thing that is going well, and then thank each of them for their contribution. “That’s a very different way to start a meeting,” says Reivich. “And the team’s reaction will feed your own sense of happiness.”

Tone up your happiness muscles

Such conclusions are heartening.

If satisfaction can be learned and practised, if contentment is a muscle anyone can learn to flex, then there’s hope for all of us, even those with unfair burdens or dour dispositions. It doesn’t matter that none of us live fairy-tale lives. We can still live happily ever after.



*****

Vishwanathan Anand is World No. 1 and world cham pion in chess. Many of us know that the Chennai star can move the chess pieces expertly. In an off-beat interview to this newspaper, Anand fields a variety of questions, many of them not related to the mind game.

Earliest sporting memory: The first event I played when I was six. I remember losing my first three games and won the fourth game because my rival didn't turn up!

Other sports he watches on TV: Football and tennis.

Life without chess: Don't know. Would have tried to get good at it, perhaps.

Memorable sporting moment: A game against Tkachiev when around 2,000 people at the Kremlin started applauding. It was a honour for a non-Russian.

Worst sporting moment: Have long forgotten.

Sporting heroes: (Mikhail) Tal and (Boby) Fischer.

Favourite venue: Mainz.

Event he would pay to see: Viswanathan Anand play rapid chess. I have been told that it is the fastest action.

Most frequent question: ‘What is your favourite chess piece?' If they saw all my answers they would be confused.

His choice for one change in chess: Fair rules for all. Do away with privileges for a select few.

Sporting motto: Just play your chess.

Favourite dinner guest, and why: U2. Apart from that, Bono has interesting views about the world.

Best teacher: My mistakes.

Most admired player: Tal.

Favourite holiday spot: Tough to choose one. Current favourite is SA.

Other interests in life: Astronomy, reading and music.

Advice to youngsters: Take all the opportunities and challenges that come your way. You have to enjoy whatever you do.

Pet name:
Should I really answer this? OK, Simba.

Biggest extravaganza: My telescopes.

What he never leaves home without: My laptop.

Craziest thing he has ever done: Once the car I was travelling in broke down a few minutes before my game. As we were in Moscow I had no idea what the driver was saying but he wouldn't allow us to open the door. The driver gesticulated that the car would be repaired.
At some point it became comical as we were right in the middle of traffic. Concerned that I would be late for the game, I flung the door open and started running through the traffic. The poor driver gave me a chase and stopped me by the red light. Thankfully, I reached the venue in time and managed to win.

Best trait: My intuition.

And worst: I think too quickly. Well, that's what makes me a good chess player but at times gets me in trouble.

One bad habit he wishes to get rid of: It always comes back. Sometimes I play too fast and can't control it.

Worst nightmare: Preparing for the wrong opponent and I have already done it!

First game at international level: I remember seeing all the Soviet players and think "Wow, those guys must know everything."

What is the routine for evening games: Usually I wake up just in time to catch breakfast. Then, I do some work for a hour or two. Have lunch by about 2 pm and sleep for an hour. Get ready for the game and go over my notes. Sometimes, I like to listen to music just before a game. In the night, I analyse how I played that evening. Then I may go to the gym. Have a relaxed dinner and then quickly decide what I should play the next day. I really like to watch a movie or some comedy shows before I go to sleep.

His best present, and why: Aruna got me a telescope for my birthday. I remember telling her how cool it would be to have such a nice one. I never realised that she already bought it. We met up in Berlin for my birthday and she had even managed to bake a cake and bring the telescope all the way from Madrid to surprise me. The funny thing was I arrived early and Aruna refused to let me in to keep the present as a surprise.

Favourite author: I like reading a variety of books. I enjoyed the Dan Brown series. William Dalrymple is also very enjoyable. His Last Mughal was a very good read.

Childhood ambitions: To trick my opponent at blitz. Each win meant one comic book and one ice cream. My parents would buy me Tintin and Obelix.

Greatest influence on his life: I don't think anyone has influenced me greatly. I tend to learn from others but do my own thing.

Bottomline: Someone who made playing chess look so easy.

source: deccanchronicle

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