The age-old question keeps us thinking, how can one stay happy, what keeps one happy and Why does one need happiness to live.
Happiness has a key role in our lives, often impacting much of how we coexist with each other. According to the Oxford dictionary, happiness is defined quite simply as “The state of being happy”.
What is happiness?
This can be put in many perspectives. For instance, in positive psychology, happiness is known by subjective well-being. According to Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener, and their colleagues (2005) in a study conducted on happiness, the three main ways in which happiness can be approached in positive psychology include:
- Happiness as a global assessment of life and all its facets;
- Happiness as a recollection of past emotional experiences;
- Happiness as an aggregation of multiple emotional reactions across time (Kim-Prieto, Diener, Tamir, Scollon, & Diener, 2005).
For most of us, we feel happy when we are living satisfying lives, in a good mood, feeling positive emotions, little joys like playing with your dog, and so on.
Now the question comes, can you teach yourself to stay happy? How do we include happiness like a habit?
The answer, gathered from numerous studies is definite YES. You can learn how to.
The degree to which you increase your happiness will vary widely by which theory you subscribe to, but there are no credible theories that allow absolutely no room for individual improvement. To stay happy, the most effective method is to work on enhancing the quality of your experiences in each one of them.
According to Martin Seligman, the founding father of Positive Psychology, there are 5 elements that lead towards a happy life using the PERMA model.
The 5 elements to stay happy are
1. Positive emotions
Positive emotions involve a wide range of feelings that lead to a better state of mind. The emotions we showcase such as awe, pride, and excitement can be considered in the same manner. Maintaining and regulating emotions like these are frequently viewed as driving forces toward healthier social relationships and living longer life.
2. Engagements
Anything that involves the mind getting occupied in an activity can be considered as an engagement. True engagement involves a deep state of effortless improvement, a feeling that would in itself bring a sense of clarity and pride. Once you truly become engaged, it can be noted that a sense of happiness can be found amidst the excitement of completely being absorbed in the task at hand.
3. Relationships
Regardless of how a person is like, one essential need as human beings is attention. Humans are social animals and have a deep tendency to share, receive, and spread kindness to others. Most of the positive outcomes are taken place in the presence of people. Relationships are fortified with the help of sharing positive outcomes and you truly become one with the world once you take the actions required to strengthen a relationship.
4. Meaning
Meaning can be associated with having a purpose for existence. Whether it may be contributing weekends for a local NGO or showing up for a cause, you tend to feel accepted and reason with your WHY factor. Finding meaning can be associated with knowing that there is something greater than one’s self.
5. Accomplishments
One of the key reasons why accomplishments are a source of well-being is that they tend to activate the other elements of PERMA such as positive emotions and meaning. Accomplishments give a sense of pride and a drive to continue to strive for greater things. Most of the rewards that come with having accomplishments are a sense of respect, that directly corresponds to an increase in meaning and better relationships.
Why is Happiness so important?
People have their own ways to stay happy, once you figure out what drives you it is easier to focus more and figure out how it makes you feel. If it helps you to be in a state of mind where you are content, then begin to dive deeper.
We have to be aware that our happiness depends on ourselves and that if we want to stay happy, a good place to start is to begin to understand what happiness means to you with respect to how you live.
Read Also: The Hygge Self-Care And Its 10 Basics.
