WHAT REALLY MAKES US HAPPY?
We all want to be happy, but with our busy lives we rarely take action in order to BE happy. Despite having more money, better health, more education, we are less happy than people sixty years ago. It is time to RETHINK and PRIORITIZE our lives.
Fortunately, Happiness has less to do with money and “things” and more to do with our own attitudes and our relationships. That means, we have the power to makes changes to create happy lives for ourselves and for those around us.
Everyone's road to happiness is different, but there is evidence to suggest that there are ten key factors that consistently lead to having a positive impact on people's happiness and well-being. The first five keys are about how we interact with the outside world in our daily activities. The second five keys come from inside us and depend on our attitude to life.
The first five keys: if you want to feel good – do good (GREAT)
Giving (G) – Do thing for others. Caring about others is fundamental to our happiness. Helping other people is not only good for them and a great thing to do, it also makes us happier and healthier too. Giving also creates stronger connections between people and helps to build a happier society for everyone. And it's not all about money - we can also give our time, ideas and energy. So if you want to feel good, do good!
Relating (R) – Connect with people. Relationships are the most important overall contributor to happiness. People with strong and broad social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self-worth. Broader networks bring a sense of belonging. So taking action to strengthen our relationships and create new connections is essential for happiness.
Exercise (E) – Take care of your body. Our body and our mind are connected. Being active makes us happier as well as being good for our physical health. It instantly improves our mood and can even lift us out of a depression. We don't all need to run marathons - there are simple things we can all do to be more active each day. We can also boost our well-being by unplugging from technology, getting outside and making sure we get enough sleep!
Awareness (A) – Live Life Mindfully. Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good news, there is! And it's right here in front of us. We just need to stop and take notice. Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life - like our walk to work, the way we eat or our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future - so we get more out of the day-to-day.
Trying Out New Things (T) – Keep learning new things. Learning affects our well-being in lots of positive ways. It exposes us to new ideas and helps us stay curious and engaged. It also gives us a sense of accomplishment and helps boost our self-confidence and resilience. There are many ways to learn new things - not just through formal qualifications. We can share a skill with friends, join a club, learn to sing, play a new sport and so much more.
The second five things: It helps to know what you are looking forward to (DREAM)
Direction (D) – have goals to look forward to. Feeling good about the future is important for our happiness. We all need goals to motivate us and these need to be challenging enough to excite us, but also achievable. If we try to attempt the impossible this brings unnecessary stress. Choosing ambitious but realistic goals gives our lives direction and brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when we achieve them.
Resilience (R) – Find ways to bounce back. All of us have times of stress, loss, failure or trauma in our lives. But how we respond to these has a big impact on our well-being. We often cannot choose what happens to us, but in principle we can choose our own attitude to what happens. In practice it’s not always easy, but one of the most exciting findings from recent research is that resilience, like many other life skills, can be learned.
Emotions (E) – Look for what’s good. Positive emotions – like joy, gratitude, contentment, inspiration, and pride – are not just great at the time. Recent research shows that regularly experiencing them creates an 'upward spiral', helping to build our resources. So although we need to be realistic about life's ups and downs, it helps to focus on the good aspects of any situation – the glass half full rather than the glass half empty.
Acceptance (A) – Be comfortable with who you are. No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insides to other people's outsides. Dwelling on our flaws - what we're not rather than what we've got - makes it much harder to be happy. Learning to accept ourselves, warts and all, and being kinder to ourselves when things go wrong, increases our enjoyment of life, our resilience and our well-being. It also helps us accept others as they are.
Meaning (M) – Be part of something bigger. People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They also experience less stress, anxiety and depression. But where do we find 'meaning and purpose'? It might be our religious faith, being a parent or doing a job that makes a difference. The answers vary for each of us but they all involve being connected to something bigger than ourselves.
Use the ACTION FOR HAPPINESS guide to help you introduce a series of simple actions to take in your daily life. They are just some of the many things that recent scientific research shows can have a positive impact on our happiness and fulfilment.
Using these TEN Keys will help you take ACTION FOR HAPPINESS. You can use the Ten Keys and the guide to identify areas that you are already happy in and highlight areas that you want to focus on. You can also use the guide as a template for yourself, your family and friends or your greater community to increase HAPPINESS!
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