The secrets of happiness have been discovered in recent studies conducted by positive psychology researchers. Their findings have led to the development and validation of interventions everyone can use to include finding happiness in their personal growth plans.
The Secrets of Happiness
There are three components of happiness: Set point, Circumstances, and Intentional Activities. Positive psychologist's research indicates that most people attempt to find happiness by changing their circumstances, such as changing jobs or spouses, seeking to make more money, or buying status-symbol products.
Unfortunately, there are problems associated with changing one's circumstances in order to find greater happiness.
- Circumstances contribute only ten-percent of a person's total happiness.
- Circumstances are not generally within an individual's control.
- The happiness deriving from changes in life circumstances tends to be short-lived.
How to Find Happiness
Instead of focusing on circumstances to find greater happiness, positive psychologists recommend concentrating on activities over which you have control.
Research and studies have revealed that intentional activities contribute forty-percent of a person's overall happiness. A person's greatest opportunity for fighting depression and cheering up when feeling sad is to intentionally select activities which bring long-lasting pleasure.
Positive psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky identifies twelve validated strategies for becoming happier in her book, The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want (Penguin Press, 2008). Following are two strategies to implement for a happier life.
The Strategy of Counting Your Blessings
This strategy for finding greater happiness includes several specific interventions one can include regularly in daily activities or initiate when feeling sad. This strategy reinforces excellent advice perhaps heard from a mother or grandmother to "count your blessings."
- Three Good Things: Before retiring for the night, either mentally recollect or enter in a journal three good things that happened that day. These need not be extraordinary events, simply positive results of the day's activities. Examples might include receiving a hug or warm smile from a child or spouse, reading or hearing something inspiring, completing a satisfying task, or getting a kind word from someone.
- The Gratitude Letter: Write a letter of gratitude to someone who has made an impact on your life. Be specific, describing what the person said or did and how that impacted your life. If at all possible deliver the letter and remain while it is read, reinforcing your gratitude.
The Strategy of Cultivating Optimism
This strategy helps to overcome a person's bias toward negativity by intentionally practicing positive thinking.
- The Optimism Journal: Imagine the brightest possible future for yourself that you can visualize and describe it in your journal. Describe in great detail what happens in that future and how you feel. Imagine a future-you being the very best you can be, demonstrating your best qualities and abilities and what you achieve.
- What Went Right Today: At the end of your work-day or before retiring at night, reflect on what went right that day and what you learned. Refrain from dwelling on things that didn't go well, instead treating those events as learning opportunities. Reflect on the next day's events and identify what you're looking forward to that day. If anxious about some of the day's events, identify learning opportunities inherent in them.
- Cultivate a Positive Attitude: When faced with a situation or event which seems to have a negative impact, practice expanding your thinking about the event. Christopher Peterson (A Primer in Positive Psychology, Oxford Press, 2006) recommends these steps for cultivating a positive attitude:
- Evaluate the evidence for any pessimistic thoughts.
- Think of alternative explanations for the evidence.
- Put the thought in perspective (with respect to life and loved ones).
- Consider the event and your negative perception of it, then consciously explore other scenarios around the known facts that might account for the scenario.
Use the strategies of counting your blessings and cultivating optimism to cheer up when feeling sad. The suggested activities incorporating these strategies are easily implemented daily as part of an intentional focus on happiness. They can also be utilized as needed as a positive pick-me-up during a difficult day.
Jerry Lopper - IPPA member, business and engineering degrees. Jerry's passion for personal development shows in 5 books, hundreds of articles & ...
Join the Conversation