The science of happiness – 5 things happy people do
For this reason, the ways we can aim to feel happy and enjoy the state of joy derive from inner transformation. In an old and successively confirmed study from 1978, developed by Northwester University in the US, it was stated that happiness was unrelated to external events. Two test groups where used for this study, the first with lottery winners, the second with victims of serious accidents. The results showed that when questioned about the amount of pleasure they got from everyday activities, the lottery winners actually had less pleasure – and where overall less happy - than the accident victims.
Our common quests for more money or promotions may actually be the wrong objective if the final plan is to find happiness. So how can we find happiness? The best way is to look at what the things that happy people do and learn from experience:
Find the time: Meditation is the straight route to finding inner peace, build a dialogue with yourself and be able to invite happiness into your everyday. It is this state of wellbeing that will offer the key to feeling complete and balanced within the world, just by being comfortable in your own skin. Meditation is an exercise so you need to take some minutes of your day to train your brain.
Be Thankful: Every day we have small encounters, experience little moments that could be extremely meaningful but that get buried under the amount of events that constantly demand our attention in a fast paced life. If you can’t take the time to enjoy them when they happen at least revisit them latter on the day when you have some quiet time to yourself.
Belong: Having a sense of belonging is probably one of the most gratifying human experience. That is what leads us to searching for like minded people. Going to a place where you find people with similar interests, such as taking yoga classes, training or swimming, is a way of feeling the connection between what moves us all. Of course there are other places you can go, and activities you can enjoy for this sense of being part of a community.
Pleasure: Pleasure may just be a part of the experience of feeling happy but it is a huge one. When you complete your training and you have really sweated and felt physically tired your brain will offer you a reward. The release of endorphins is the ‘feel good moment’ that has some people naturally addicted to running or to exercising. For this reason, working out consistently will train the brain to expect the natural chemical reward and your body and health will thank you for it.
Habits: Creating habits is a way to feel there is certainty and security in our everyday lives. This offers a feeling of comfort that, for many, is associated with happiness and contentment. Another variation of happiness, filled with thrills and enthusiasm, will occur exactly when we break the routine. Experimenting and enjoying new things is a great way to keep happiness in our days.