Why it’s important to be HAPPY?

You must have heard the quote; happiness is a state of mind; hence it’s a no-brainer that a happy sense makes people more productive.

 

A university study of optimism and performance in call centers showed that happy and optimistic people showed greater success.

 

Happiness researcher and author Shawn Achor once asked tax managers to perform five activities a day for three weeks. He found that the experimental group with the highest scores in optimism and life satisfaction was the one tasked with engaging people positively in the social support network. The research concluded that the most direct route to happiness was providing social support to others.

 

A study that induced happiness in employees found that happier employees were 12% more productive than others.

This brings to a valid question-How to be Happy?

 

To decode this secret, let’s first understand the factors which impact happiness in our lives. Martin Seligman, one of the most notable contributors in positive psychology, has summarized these factors via a simple theory called the PERMA model of wellbeing.

 

P- Positive Emotion: How often you experience positive feelings like joy, satisfaction, contentment, etc.

 

E-Engagement: How strongly do you feel engaged with people, activities, and experiences.

 

R-Relationships: The strength and quality of relationships that make you feel good and satisfied.

 

M-Meaning and Purpose: How you connect with the world, find a sense of meaning and develop a broad vision to live a fulfilling life.

 

A-Accomplishment: How strongly you feel you have proudly accomplished something valuable and meaningful in life.

 

Below are some ways in which we can invite happiness into our lives:

 

Show Gratitude: This is the simplest of the methods and requires you to be thankful to others for what you get. One benefit of expressing gratitude is that it drives away negative emotions like guilt, envy, and sorrow, making you happy.

 

Be Optimistic and stop overthinking: Optimism is about being hopeful and striving to do whatever it takes to reduce suffering and expect a better tomorrow. Overthinking is the antithesis of optimism. It makes you pessimistic and pushes you down the slope of hopelessness. Focus on negative things prevents positive outcomes.

 

Social bonding: We all have heard and read the quote,” Man is a social animal.” Connecting with people, therefore, is one of our basic needs, and social isolation impacts adversely. In old times, ostracizing people from the village or society was practiced as a sort of punishment. Talking to people helps us alleviate stress, cope with disasters, and mitigate feelings of loneliness.

 

Engagement in faith and meaningful activities: Faith lays the core foundation of our belief system; therefore, practicing faith or religion plays an important role in uplifting our mood. However, one should follow it only if one feels engaged and upbeat. Meaningful activities would mean a passion or hobby, which makes you happy. It can be running, swimming, hiking, social service, or anything else that lets you de-stress and boost overall wellbeing.

 

Take care of your body and self: Happiness of mind is connected with our physical health. When we are physically fit, we feel energetic, form the right image about ourselves, and are surrounded by positive energy. Taking care of the body by doing an activity that you can perform consistently increases mental health and happiness. Walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, dancing, or any other physically engaging activity can be chosen per your preference.

 

Remember, “We achieve success once we are happy, it’s not the other way round.”

 

Cheers

 

Lalit Kumar Hundalani||Peak Performance & Life Transformation Coach||2X Best Selling Author

 

PS: If you would like to know how you can 10X your performance, then we can connect on the below link.

 

BOOK MY SESSION

 

8 thoughts on “Why it’s important to be HAPPY?”

  1. A very important topic and very well explained.
    PERMA model is worth following.
    In my opinion, optimism coupled with Gratitude and Forgiveness is the catalysts to boost happiness.
    Excellent presentation.

  2. Good, Lalit. But we find many people who earnestly strive for happiness, follow the PERMA model and other techniques but make little progress. Even if they are on the right track, they don’t keep moving and “get killed” as a result. Why it’s so? In the context of the utility of self-help books, I did a study on this conundrum and the findings I’ve presented in detail in my latest bestseller ‘What Self-Help Books Won’t (& Can’t) Tell You’. Optimism, cheerfulness, and the like have to be there in your genes, by way of vasana and samskara. If these are there, then these strategies will work. Else, asking to be happy is like asking to be taller by two inches!

  3. Lalit:Beautifully explained …Happiness is state of mind.. Happiness is multiplied by Gratitude,Contentment ,helping others and pragmatic approach in ones life…deeply subtracted by comparisons, lot of expectations from others,do not enjoy journey and jealousy for others growth etc

Leave a Reply to Dr. K R S Nair Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *