Choose Happiness
We probably don’t think we need a definition of happiness. We know it when we feel it and describe ourselves as happy when experiencing many positive emotions, such as joy, pride, gratitude, and love. However, researchers need to define happiness to determine its cause and effects. Most happiness research revolves around three primary sources of potential happiness: temperament and personality, life circumstances such as health and wealth, and our focus and choices.
In an overview of studies on happiness, Sonja Lymbomirsky found that we control at least 40% of our happiness through our focus and choices (Lymbomirsky, 2013). Matt Killingsworth, a leading researcher in happiness, studied over 650,000 real-time reports from over 15,000 people. He found that people are less happy when their minds wander and happier in the present moment (Killingsworth, 2011). We now know we can raise our happiness by cultivating positive emotions such as love, kindness, compassion, gratitude, hope, and inspiration.
Why Practice Happiness?
According to the Center for Greater Good at the University of California, Berkeley, here are the six reasons we need to raise our overall happiness:
Good for our health
Supports positive relationships
Helps us be more productive
Brings out our generous nature
Helps us cope with stress and trauma
Sparks creativity
Ways to Boost Your Happiness
Here are some science-based ways to boost your happiness and well-being. Take a look to see which ones have the most appeal to you. Then pick one or two of these to practice today.
Savor life’s joys. Whenever you have a moment where you experience happiness and joy, take a picture in your mind of how you feel. Spend time with the feeling, enjoy it, call it up, and enjoy it again. This builds positive connections and creates more pathways for pleasure in the brain.
Drop grudges. These may not be big things that you are holding. Perhaps they are a lot of little things you have collected. Ask yourself, is it worth it to hold all that negative energy? What’s to be gained? Who is being hurt? Forgiveness has been linked to greater life satisfaction. In contrast, holding grudges has been shown to compromise the immune system, leading to various health issues (McCullough, 2000).
Physical activity. It is well known that exercise is good for us. Regular exercise increases self-esteem, reduces anxiety and stress, and releases chemicals that can immediately increase your well-being.
Connect. Social relationships have a tremendous impact on your health and well-being. Social connection has repeatedly created higher life satisfaction levels and well-being (Kok et al., 2013).
Give thanks. Research has shown that counting blessings improves health and overall life satisfaction (Emmons et al., 2003).
Find an interest. According to the National Institute on Aging, engaging in social and productive activities you enjoy helps maintain your well-being and happiness.
Be of service to others. Help a neighbor, volunteer, do anything that allows you to connect to others, and make a meaningful impact. Studies show we are happy when connected and of service (Binder and Coad, 2013).
Play. Play has been proven to boost creativity and help you think outside the box. When researchers look at play, they refer to many activities. Play can include game play, festivals, musical play, and sports. It can be organized, structured, or rule-bound. Or it can be spontaneous, unstructured, and playful (as in imaginary or free play). Researchers make the distinction that not all play is playful.
Smile. Research shows that you feel better when you smile (real or fake). Scientists believe there is a relationship between physical action and its neural counterpoint, which means that even forcing a smile begins to release positive chemicals in the body. And guess what—others will smile back, creating a wonderful upward spiral of happiness (Davidson and McEwen, 2012).
Find a couple of these that you can try this week and see if it makes a difference in how you see the world.
References
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Binder, M., & Coad, A. (2013). Life satisfaction and self-employment: a matching approach. Small Business Economics, 40(4), 1009-1033.
Davidson, R. J., & McEwen, B. S. (2012). Social influences on neuroplasticity: stress and interventions to promote well-being. Nature Neuroscience, 15(5), 689-695.
Emmons, R. A., McCullough, M. E., & Tsang, J. A. (2003). The Assessment of Gratitude.
Killingsworth, Matt (2011). TED Talk
Kok, B. E., Coffey, K. A., Cohn, M. A., Catalino, L. I., Vacharkulksemsuk, T., Algoe, S. B., ... & Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). How positive emotions build physical health: Perceived positive social connections account for the upward spiral between positive emotions and vagal tone. Psychological Science, 24(7), 1123-1132.
Lyubomirsky, S., & Layous, K. (2013). How do simple positive activities increase well-being? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(1), 57-62.
McCullough, M. E. (2000). Forgiveness as human strength: Theory, measurement, and links to well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(1), 43-55.
