Be happy, be bright, be you

I have been on the “happiness” bandwagon for many days and maybe it seems too clichéd, also some of us feel why must we be smiling all the time.  Maybe you are one of those few people who feel that being friendly is too much work. I wouldn’t touch this area of thinking but for my extreme conviction in the ideology that, “In order to spread happiness around we need first to be happy ourselves.”

Advertisement

Happiness deal

We can find a direct link between happiness and the stress hormone cortisol. An American University did an experiment. People were asked to rate their own happiness. Their blood samples were rated over two days. The happiest 20 per cent people had cortisol levels 32 per cent less than the least happy 20 per cent.

Friendly folks 

Happy people are more approachable and easy to deal with. Positive interactions build a sense of belonging and commitment you feel you can rely on. You become more trusting. It has been proved that the primary function of positive emotion is to build resources. 

Productive edge

Another experiment at the University of Warwick proved the influence of positivity in creating better productivity. They induced happiness by giving chocolate’s and like and saw people getting 12 per cent more productive. 

Creative call

Happiness expands our vision. We can see more things around us. Our newer perspective allows freedom of expression and expands our personality into a freer flow. A study tells us that doctors in a positive mood made better diagnosis.

Kindness helps

New research says that once you start doing nice things for others you might not want to stop. In Great Britain’s Journal of Social Psychology mentions a study that took 86 participants into three groups for different actions. First group for kindness acts, second group for general acts and third group was not given any instructions. They checked the groups after 10 days. The groups 1 and 2 had experienced a boost of happiness. 

Sound health 

Researchers have found evidence that positive emotion leads to increased longevity. Positive emotions directly affect the health by affecting hormones and cardiovascular system. 

For the moment I recommend that you give yourself a happy shot and watch the exuberant fun in your life. We shall seek the path beyond happiness next week. 

(Singh is a Chandigarh-based psychotherapist)