My greatest apprehension is that we as a people are starving for happiness. So at a time when we are all making New Year’s resolutions, let’s take a moment to consider that we can make ourselves and those around us happier just by… being happier!
Emotional energy exerts measurable, real force throughout your body. Negative thoughts have negative consequences. When you continuously worry and obsess about the insignificant nuisances of daily life, toxic emotions cause the body to secrete inflammatory stress hormones.
What I have discovered in my research is that nothing can bring us happiness and joy in living faster than being around others who are happy, and radiating happiness to others yourself.
Can you really “catch” happiness from another person? Absolutely! A study reported in the British Medical Journal showed that happiness is contagious — more contagious than sadness — and the more happy people you are acquainted with, the happier you will be.
University of California, San Diego political scientist and study co-author James H. Fowler concluded the following from the study:
- Happiness from direct social contact increases your chance of being happy by 15 percent.
- Happiness from a second-degree social contact (friend of a friend or friend of a sibling) increases your chance of being happy by 10 percent.
- Happiness from a third-degree social contact (friend of a friend of a friend) increases your chance of being happy by 6 percent.
Since happiness has been shown to improve heart health, reduce pain and lessen your chances of a fatal health disaster, smile and infect others with good cheer.
One of the easiest ways to become happy yourself is to choose the right colors. According to Nancy Stone, Ph.D., a simple change in colors can help brighten your mood and stimulate peaceful feelings. Here are some suggestions:
- For energy: Get reds and purples. These two colors stimulate your body to produce more adrenaline and can be useful in home offices, entryways or small sitting rooms. Try to avoid them in the bedroom, where you would rather relax.
- For happiness: Go green and yellow. Using the colors of the outdoors and sunshine can help produce happier feelings. Ideal for any room. Or just try adding a rug, throw pillow or artwork in any room for fresh inspiration.
- For calmness: Choose blue. The color of the sea and sky naturally evokes calm, soothing feelings. It can work well in any room where you want to relieve stress.
On the other side of the coin, A study published in The British Journal of Psychiatry has found that you can lower your risk of depression by a huge 48 percent just by doing this simple and enjoyable activity once a month: Cultural engagement.
Researchers at University College London looked at the link between the frequency of “cultural engagement” and the chances of someone over 50 developing depression.
They examined data on more than 2,000 people over the age of 50 who took part in the long-running English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), covering the health, social, well-being and economic circumstances of mature people in England.
The researchers combed through data over the course of 10 years, including information about how often people in the study visited the theater, concerts or the opera, the cinema, art galleries, exhibitions or museums as well as their depression symptoms.
When the results were adjusted to take account of differences in people’s age, gender, health and their levels of wealth, education and exercise, the benefits of cultural activities remained clear — people who attended films, plays or exhibitions a few times a year had a 32 percent lower risk of developing depression.
Even more impressive, those enjoying such outings at least once a month or more had a 48 percent lower risk of developing depression. Those benefits were independent of whether or not people had contact with friends and family or took part in social activities like clubs and societies — things that are widely known to be beneficial for staving off depression. Meaning that if you already spend time with family and friends and participate in social activities, adding a movie or play once a month might have additional happiness benefits.
Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage, tells us that you can increase your own happiness by “writing down three new things you are grateful for each day … [as] research shows this will significantly improve your optimism even 6 months later, and raises your success rates significantly.” Another trick is to “write for 2 minutes a day describing one positive experience you had over the past 24 hours” which, according to research for his book, dramatically increases happiness.
Put simply, the more you work on happiness as a habit, and get out there and enjoy yourself, the more likely you are to be happy, and to be able to share that happiness with others.
Bob Livingston
