Since we have spent the past six weeks exploring the EASIER way to be happy, I thought you’d enjoy learning more about Dr Dacher Keltner’s (University of California) very interesting research findings… He has discovered that finding reasons to be happy now can actually benefit your future.
Dr Keltner claims he can predict a person’s future by judging the strength of their smile. Researchers examined yearbook photos of 111 female students taken between 1958 and 1960. Subsequent tests revealed that the women who expressed more positive emotion in those photos became more mentally focused, had more successful marriages and enjoyed a greater sense of well-being. It’s a no brainer then, isn’t it? Let’s take Key Steps this week to…
Smile! Smile! Smile!
1. Express positive emotion. “While positive emotion tends to broaden thought, negative emotion tends to narrow it and hold back development. The findings of Dr Keltner and his colleagues, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, are among the first to show that differences in the extent to which people express emotion may be stable throughout their lives and dictate personal and social success.” So take responsibility for your happiness right now. Don’t play the BLAME game. Stop expecting others to make you happy and start doing it for yourself. Now!
2. Have more fun! Fun and happiness is not found in the BIG things. And it is definitely not an external process. Happiness is a choice and it is usually found in the little things. Fun happens in everyday moments. Appreciate them NOW! Deeply internalise how grateful you are for the happiness in your life today. Appreciate, laugh with and have fun times with your loved ones. Let them know how much you love them – give them a reason to smile and it’ll make you smile too. You owe it to yourself to be happy and to…
