If somebody would ask now: €What makes you happy?€ Perhaps some of us say that a vacation, a new car, less body fat, a new job. But does happiness depend only on the external circumstances or should we take in consideration other aspects such as luck or genetics?
The study €Genes, Economics and Happiness€ found that genetic variation explains about 33% of the variation in happiness. But it differs by gender (women is 26% and men 39%) and tends to increase with age. Also, scientists have found evidence that a specific gene variation can predict happiness.
However, we should not think that if we do not carry this generic variation we are condemned to a life deprived of happiness. There are many things you can do to improve your happiness. In fact, happiness depends on the choices we make.
Many factors and many techniques have been tested that turned out to be useful.
Using studies and books, I made €‹€‹a list of things you can do to increase our level of happiness.
1 Be grateful!
The most important is that gratitude helps us to be happier. Scientists have concluded that when we think about how we can live in the absence of people we love, we have affective states more than when we contemplate the presence of these people in our lives. Like when we realize how important one thing it was only after we lose it. In this case learn to appreciate things around you and enjoy them just imagining how it would be without them.
What can we do to become more grateful?
Professor Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania suggests to use one of the tested techniques.
According to him, all you have to do is to keep a journal at the end of every evening, to note three things that have gone wrong during the day. This can have a very significant meaning (like €my sister gave birth to a healthy child today€) or less important (like €my husband bought me chocolate today€). Then, after noting each event, you must answer all written the question €What has contributed to this event?€. For example, if you wrote €My sister gave birth to a healthy child today€, then the answer might be €During pregnancy, she had done everything to ensure that the baby is healthy.€
If we can keep a diary for a week we have more chances to become happy and to get rid of depression, also we learn to be grateful for all the good things in our lives.
It is also very important to train your brain so you do not remember the failures of the day.
2 Give!
Countless studies, including €Doing well by doing good€, concluded that people who volunteer for some reason feel happier and healthier than the rest of the world. The authors research suggests that volunteering helps us to see in the future and notice that others are less privileged than us.
In short, researchers at the University of Michigan concluded that mortality is much lower among individuals who help their friends, relatives, neighbors, or who support their life partners. The results remained the same after the scientists took into account several variables including demographics, personality and mental health.
Other research has shown that people who do good deeds daily helping others have the happiness level higher than the rest of the world. If you want to try this you should choose a day of the week that you plan to do five good deeds. It is important to choose the day before and everything to be premeditated. Otherwise, if at the end of the day you review your actions and find that you have accidentally done five good deeds, the effect will not be the same.
3 Enjoy life!
Take time to enjoy the good things in your life, the presence of loved ones and unexpected opportunities. To see all the good things that happen to us must live in the present. On his blog, PsyBlog, Jeremy Dean proposes two ways to learn how to €taste life€. His advice is to €be present€. Minds and thoughts €fly€ even when we realize extremely important task, but with a little focus we train the brain to pay attention to the details of daily life. The other strategy involves the use of €positive mental time travel,€ meaning pleasant memory or pending events that we know.
Life is short and therefore we must take care to enjoy every moment. The key to happiness, however, is the perspective of time. Many are scared when they think of the time remaining in the world and they only see the glass half empty. Studies indicate, however, that individuals who learn to appreciate life and take advantage of opportunities are happier than those who €feel sorry€ thinking that a certain stage of life is coming to an end.
4 Spend most of the time with people you like!
The highest level of happiness is associated with time spent with people we appreciate and cherish. Social activities such as discussions between friends and between family members are responsible for ensuring a daily level of happiness.
And if you share with partners the major events of the day, whether good or bad, the happiness of both halfs will increases considerably. And while you're at happiness and relationships, then you should not neglect the study results led by Brad Bushman, from Ohio State University. Following this research i found out that people enjoy more of a compliment that reinforces self-esteem than any other pleasant activity performed in couple or with friends. Also, we must take care of the relationships we form at work so that the time spent out there to provide a certain level of happiness.
5 Fight for your happiness
We are followers of simple and easy things. For example, it was found that young Americans are 2.5 times more happy when they are practicing a sport or a hobby instead watching TV. Yet, these young people spend four times more time watching TV than doing sports or occupying their time with their passions. Why is this paradox? Because man is attracted to simple things, without much effort.
6 Be optimistic!
Optimism is the key to happiness. A study by scientists at the University of California for 8 months followed the immediate and long-term regular practice of two positive activities (expressing optimism and gratitude) to the well-being of the individual and concluded that people who remain optimistic and are grateful for the good that we receive are happier than other individuals. Ed O'Brien from the University of Michigan reached the same conclusion, his study indicated that people who easily generate positive thoughts can predict the level of happiness they will have in the future.
Another study conducted by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the United States concluded that some people are born happy and live longer. Specifically, the experts said, that individuals who like to laugh and engage in several activities could have €personality genes€ involved in those mechanisms that ensure longevity.
In other words, optimism not only help us to achieve happiness, but it also offers the opportunity to live longer, healthier.
7 Little things bring happiness? Apparently so.
People quickly get used to things that give them pleasure and after a while they start to believe that these are usual things. It is sad but true that once you get used to such things or events that bring us happiness, lose their real meaning.
In this case, the best solution to achieve a constant happiness is to keep doing little things which cause pleasure.
Studies have shown that the basis of happiness are these little details gathered and not the general conditions of life. Unfortunately, however, when we make plans we think at the macro level and ignore the details of daily life.
8 Avoid regrets
Firstly we should not worry so fast and so much for all. Most of the times we tend to overestimate the problems and disappointments that cause us more pain and regret.
We must be determined when we make decisions. Some people
The study €Genes, Economics and Happiness€ found that genetic variation explains about 33% of the variation in happiness. But it differs by gender (women is 26% and men 39%) and tends to increase with age. Also, scientists have found evidence that a specific gene variation can predict happiness.
However, we should not think that if we do not carry this generic variation we are condemned to a life deprived of happiness. There are many things you can do to improve your happiness. In fact, happiness depends on the choices we make.
Many factors and many techniques have been tested that turned out to be useful.
Using studies and books, I made €‹€‹a list of things you can do to increase our level of happiness.
1 Be grateful!
The most important is that gratitude helps us to be happier. Scientists have concluded that when we think about how we can live in the absence of people we love, we have affective states more than when we contemplate the presence of these people in our lives. Like when we realize how important one thing it was only after we lose it. In this case learn to appreciate things around you and enjoy them just imagining how it would be without them.
What can we do to become more grateful?
Professor Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania suggests to use one of the tested techniques.
According to him, all you have to do is to keep a journal at the end of every evening, to note three things that have gone wrong during the day. This can have a very significant meaning (like €my sister gave birth to a healthy child today€) or less important (like €my husband bought me chocolate today€). Then, after noting each event, you must answer all written the question €What has contributed to this event?€. For example, if you wrote €My sister gave birth to a healthy child today€, then the answer might be €During pregnancy, she had done everything to ensure that the baby is healthy.€
If we can keep a diary for a week we have more chances to become happy and to get rid of depression, also we learn to be grateful for all the good things in our lives.
It is also very important to train your brain so you do not remember the failures of the day.
2 Give!
Countless studies, including €Doing well by doing good€, concluded that people who volunteer for some reason feel happier and healthier than the rest of the world. The authors research suggests that volunteering helps us to see in the future and notice that others are less privileged than us.
In short, researchers at the University of Michigan concluded that mortality is much lower among individuals who help their friends, relatives, neighbors, or who support their life partners. The results remained the same after the scientists took into account several variables including demographics, personality and mental health.
Other research has shown that people who do good deeds daily helping others have the happiness level higher than the rest of the world. If you want to try this you should choose a day of the week that you plan to do five good deeds. It is important to choose the day before and everything to be premeditated. Otherwise, if at the end of the day you review your actions and find that you have accidentally done five good deeds, the effect will not be the same.
3 Enjoy life!
Take time to enjoy the good things in your life, the presence of loved ones and unexpected opportunities. To see all the good things that happen to us must live in the present. On his blog, PsyBlog, Jeremy Dean proposes two ways to learn how to €taste life€. His advice is to €be present€. Minds and thoughts €fly€ even when we realize extremely important task, but with a little focus we train the brain to pay attention to the details of daily life. The other strategy involves the use of €positive mental time travel,€ meaning pleasant memory or pending events that we know.
Life is short and therefore we must take care to enjoy every moment. The key to happiness, however, is the perspective of time. Many are scared when they think of the time remaining in the world and they only see the glass half empty. Studies indicate, however, that individuals who learn to appreciate life and take advantage of opportunities are happier than those who €feel sorry€ thinking that a certain stage of life is coming to an end.
4 Spend most of the time with people you like!
The highest level of happiness is associated with time spent with people we appreciate and cherish. Social activities such as discussions between friends and between family members are responsible for ensuring a daily level of happiness.
And if you share with partners the major events of the day, whether good or bad, the happiness of both halfs will increases considerably. And while you're at happiness and relationships, then you should not neglect the study results led by Brad Bushman, from Ohio State University. Following this research i found out that people enjoy more of a compliment that reinforces self-esteem than any other pleasant activity performed in couple or with friends. Also, we must take care of the relationships we form at work so that the time spent out there to provide a certain level of happiness.
5 Fight for your happiness
We are followers of simple and easy things. For example, it was found that young Americans are 2.5 times more happy when they are practicing a sport or a hobby instead watching TV. Yet, these young people spend four times more time watching TV than doing sports or occupying their time with their passions. Why is this paradox? Because man is attracted to simple things, without much effort.
6 Be optimistic!
Optimism is the key to happiness. A study by scientists at the University of California for 8 months followed the immediate and long-term regular practice of two positive activities (expressing optimism and gratitude) to the well-being of the individual and concluded that people who remain optimistic and are grateful for the good that we receive are happier than other individuals. Ed O'Brien from the University of Michigan reached the same conclusion, his study indicated that people who easily generate positive thoughts can predict the level of happiness they will have in the future.
Another study conducted by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the United States concluded that some people are born happy and live longer. Specifically, the experts said, that individuals who like to laugh and engage in several activities could have €personality genes€ involved in those mechanisms that ensure longevity.
In other words, optimism not only help us to achieve happiness, but it also offers the opportunity to live longer, healthier.
7 Little things bring happiness? Apparently so.
People quickly get used to things that give them pleasure and after a while they start to believe that these are usual things. It is sad but true that once you get used to such things or events that bring us happiness, lose their real meaning.
In this case, the best solution to achieve a constant happiness is to keep doing little things which cause pleasure.
Studies have shown that the basis of happiness are these little details gathered and not the general conditions of life. Unfortunately, however, when we make plans we think at the macro level and ignore the details of daily life.
8 Avoid regrets
Firstly we should not worry so fast and so much for all. Most of the times we tend to overestimate the problems and disappointments that cause us more pain and regret.
We must be determined when we make decisions. Some people