Scientifically Tested and Proven Ways to Be Happy
Have you ever wondered what determines the level of your happiness?
Is it the relationships? Your level of professional success? The money? Your health? Your spiritual fulfillment?
According to Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor in the Department of Psychology at University of California, Riverside, there are 3 factors that affect your happiness and she’s broken them down into percentages based on how much they affect your happiness level.
So what are the 3 factors?
The first one is a genetically-based happiness set point. This is something you got it from your parents, your ancestors which you cannot do anything about.
This next discovery is very shocking because your genetically-based happiness set point- a level of happiness we tend to gravitate toward accounts for a 50% of your overall happiness!
This means that 50 % is fixed.
The second component that affects the level of your happiness is your life’s circumstances, which are responsible for a 10% of your overall happiness.
Your life’s circumstances include events connected to your health, career (getting a raise, for example), relationships (meeting the love of your life…), where you live, and etc.. are responsible for 10% of your happiness.
The challenge here is even if your life’s circumstances, your outer reality shift dramatically, studies indicate that as we get used to the new circumstances we tend to go back to our usual happiness set point.
This can sound quite depressing… but don't worry.
So, what’s the last 40%?
It’s our daily intentional activities.
What does that mean?
The word intentional implies that you have choices. You have the power to decide. You have the ability to choose to do something.
Circumstances are situations and events that happen to people, but “intentional activities” means that you have the power to choose and decide as to how you act on your circumstances.
According to Dr. Lyubomirsky, the potential of the 40% is within our ability to control. She highlights the fact that we need to focus on the 40% to increase our happiness.
“In a nutshell, the fountain of happiness can be found in how you behave, what you think, and what goals you set every day of your life. ‘There is no happiness without action.’ If feelings of passivity and futility overcome you whenever you face up to your happiness set point or to your circumstances, you must know that a genuine and abiding happiness is indeed within your reach, lying within the 40 percent of the happiness pie chart that's yours to guide.”
Using your 40% power, you can be the first in your family to raise your happiness set point for your future generations!
“If an unhappy person wants to experience interest, enthusiasm, contentment, peace, and joy, he or she can make it happen by learning the habits of a happy person.” – Sonja Lyubomirsky
According to Dr. Lyubomirsky, there are 12 happiness activities that are proven to hardwire yourself to happiness.
Expressing gratitude
Cultivating optimism
Avoiding overthinking ad social comparison
Practicing acts of kindness.
Nurturing social relationships
Developing strategies for coping
Learning to forgive
Increasing flow experiences
Savor life’s joys
Committing to your goals
Practicing religion and spirituality
Taking care of your body: (Physical activity, meditation)
You can learn more about them in her book:
So, for what are you grateful? I think we can all come up with at least 5 things that we feel grateful for.
If you want to learn an effortless way to hardwire yourself to happiness, gain Free access to spiritual empowerment kit. They are free for you to use. You can use them to elevate your happiness set point starting today.
Warmest aloha,
Yoshie
