Psychology of Happiness

In the last 6 months, achieving happiness and the psychology of happiness has become a large focus in my life. Post nervous breakdown, it was clear that changes needed to be made, however what these changes had to be, was not so clear. Here are some facts about happiness that make the changes needed to get happy that little bit clearer.

1. Your genes and family upbringing account for only half of your happiness levels.

2. Only 10 percent of your happiness comes from external circumstances. Genes and upbringing influence about 50% of the variation in our personal happiness, our circumstances (income and environment) affect only about 10 percent. The remaining 40% is accounted for by our outlook and activities, including our relationships, friendships and jobs, our engagement in the community and our involvement in sports and hobbies.

3. Your outlook on life, and what you choose to do with your life accounts for 40 percent of your happiness levels. This includes your friendships, work, and participation in your community.

4. It gets easier as you age. A 2005 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey showed ages 20-24 are sad for 3.4 days per month. Those aged between 65-74 are sad only 2.3 days per month

5. A mere 20 minutes of exercise, three days each week will increase your happiness by 10 to 20 percent after six months.

6. The happier you are, the more antibodies your body generates – up to 50 percent more, in fact.

7. In the United States, the number of people with clinical depression is 3 to 10 times more common than it was for their grandparents at the same age.

8. Happy people generally earn more than unhappy people.

9. Women are unhappiest in their life around the age of 37; men around the age of 42.

10. Dancing increases happiness.

11. Sports facilities and community centres increase a community’s overall happiness.

12. Money can buy happiness. Those who can afford to have their basic material needs taken care of are happier than those who cannot.

13. Money has its limits. After having your basic material needs met, additional money does not have any impact on your levels of happiness.

14. People in relationships are usually happier than people who are single, however….

15. Happier people are more likely to retain relationships.

16. Education and intelligence do not make you more happy than anyone else.

17. Happiness has a fragrance. Clinical experiments on body odour have proved your scent changes between when you are stressed or happy

18. The more you hug your children, the happier they will be as adults.

19. The most powerful way to increase your short-term feelings of happiness is to perform random acts of kindness to others, or to send a letter of gratitude to someone you care about. Five such acts in a week will increase your happiness for up to three months.

20. The most powerful way to increase your long-term feelings of happiness is to change your thoughts rather than your circumstances. Thought patterns are are like stubborn habits, they aren’t going to change straight away, but you can train yourself to change them.

21. Happy people live up to 10 years longer than their depressed peers.

New Year’s Resolutions that coincide with the new me.

After reading the freshly pressed article this morning about creating new years resolutions and sticking to them, I have been inspired to use this article to write my own New Year’s resolutions using his advice to keep them alive. The pieces of advice that really drew to me the most, were writing more detailed goals rather than abstract resolutions and including how I am going to achieve these resolutions in the first place. I have always found the idea of New Year’s resolutions a bit odd. Why does this turning from one day to another mean you should want to fix things in your life. But this year has kind of coincided with the ‘new me’ or rather the regaining of the old me after a relationship. Relationship breakdowns make you re-evaluate your life and want to make positive changes towards the future. So this is a list of my new years resolution, that aren’t just abstract like the usual vague ones I make that I usually have no thoughts or interest in really sticking too. And if the world really is really going to end this year, then we only have one year to get it right

1.) 2012 will be the year of no relationships for me, EXCEPT for if someone actively seeks me out. When telling my mum my resolution she found it counter productive, stating if someone comes around and you feel like you want to date them, you shouldn’t knock them back because of a principle and she is right. So my resolution is more to not think about relationships or men or the prospect of having another one for the year of 2012. If something comes onto my door-step so be it, but I will not actively seek a guy out myself or flirt with a guy with the interest of a relationship. And it would be a very slow processing relationship if it was going to happen. This will be my single year, I haven’t had to many of them and frankly I need it to figure some things about myself out.

2.) I am going to put more time and effort into my appearance. I have never been one to dress up very often or really to put a lot of effort into my appearance. Very much a shower and go kind of girl. But when you dress up you feel good about yourself and more confident. I’m not talking about the painted on make up that looks more like a your going to a costume party. Just natural looking. But less jeans and more dresses and skirts and more doing my hair properly and things like that. Let my inner girly girl shin through.

3.) To have less stress in my life. This year stress caused big problems for me. Whilst this stage of my life is over, I have no desires to get back to the place I was in before. To be less stressed I am going to meditate more, take better care of my body, relax, have more baths and generally live more in the present, with less worry about the future. The future will happen whether I worry about it or not.

So here is to saying goodbye to the year 2011 and bringing on another exciting year of adventures in 2012. It is going to be a good year.