Don’t worry, be happy. Nowadays, that’s easier said than done. The Delta Variant is threatening to undo all the progress we made on defeating COVID-19 while a typhoon is bearing down on Japan just as the Olympics are set to get underway. Throw in wildfires, floods, record-setting heat waves and the existential dread associated with Climate Change and you’ve got a real double whammy of negativity. Suffice it to say, in today’s day and age, it’s not easy to find happiness. But there are things one can do to achieve happiness. Real, tangible, legitimate things. At least in theory. If such a thing is even still possible with everything else going on.
These things, these so-called keys to happiness, are intertwined within the pages of Eric Weiner’s fascinating book The Geography of Bliss. Some of them, like having sex, will seem obvious. Others not so much. Some will apply to you. Others won’t. But just knowing that they exist is good enough for me. At least for now. I’ll worry about trying them out later. If there is a later.
With that in mind here’s a look at some scientifically proven ways to find happiness in a not so happy world:
- Stay busy
- Be tolerant
- Have sex
- Be religious or just have a belief system of any kind
- Be extroverted
- Get a college degree
- Live in a city
- Feel like you have control over your life
- Get a dog
- Hug other people
- Be around other people
- Live in the moment
- Have exposure to dirt
- Appreciate nature (Biophilia)
- Do good (be altruistic)
- Be less materialistic
- Live in a colder climate
- Express your creativity
- Find a culture to take part in that best suits you
- Have low expectations
- Eat chocolate
- Avoid the Paradox of Choice (of being in situations where you have too many choices and can’t decide what to do)
- And most importantly of all….don’t actively think about your happiness!
Some of these like what climate you live in or how extroverted you are you won’t necessarily have control over. But others (eating chocolate, spending time in nature) you absolutely can control. Or at least try to work on such as expressing your creativity or lowering your expectations.
So, what do you think?! Are you ready to take your happiness to the next level?!
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