The new year is approaching. The “Happiness Advantage” has captured my attention.

Alex Hetland gives us a formula to increase our “happy” state and make our brains 30% more efficient — in 2-5 minutes a day. That’s cool. It’s cool for us parents; and it’s cool for our kids, especially our adolescents.

Consider for a moment that only 10% of happiness comes from one’s external world . . . while 90% of one’s happiness is a result of one’s internal world.

This is supported in science.

Having recently discovered the concept of the “Happiness Advantage,” conveyed by Alex Hetland, I have enjoyed a renewed perspective on happiness, and all which that entails.

Within the “Happiness Advantage,” there is scientific proof that a “happy” state increases dopamine in the brain, which in turn makes the brain 30% more efficient (Lyubomirsky, 2005, in Hetland blog of March 2012).

So, Hetland says, the “Advantage” comes from grasping the 90% happiness factor in our internal world — and maximizing it. He even tells us how to do so. With life-lasting effects, 2-5 minutes a day, in just 21 days.

Stay tuned. This is high-quality stuff for 2013.

See you then.