Monday 25th September 2023 is the start of International Happiness at Work Week, so we wanted to have a look at how we can ‘Harness Happiness’ at Brindleyplace.
Why be happy?
Research shows that positive emotions and life satisfaction contribute to better physical health and immune function, longer life, greater creativity, increased success at work, higher quality relationships and greater ability to cope with challenges. We only have one life, everyone experiences challenges, so we should actively choose happiness for our health and enjoyment!
Positive Psychology research indicates that your capacity for happiness is set by:
- 50% Genetics (biology and heredity)
- 10% Circumstances (sex, ethnicity, income, education, geography, etc.)
- 40% Intentional activity (behavioral choices, thinking patterns, etc.)
Most of us focus the majority of our time and energy on trying to improve our circumstances, but that will only ever impact our happiness by 10%. We cannot impact our genetics, so to improve our happiness levels, we need to focus on our intentional activity – what we think. Happy people experience hardship like everyone else, it’s their response which differs, choosing positivity, even when, especially when, it feels impossible. There are skills and strategies you can learn to increase happiness and life satisfaction.
Here’s our top 5 tips for harnessing happiness;
1. Control your thoughts
Human brains are designed to look for danger, to help keep us safe, it’s a survival mechanism. However, if we aren’t aware of that, we can end up constantly looking for the dangers, talking about all the negatives, living in stress and fear. The more we think a certain way, the more deeply trodden that path in our mind becomes, and so it becomes the easiest route for our thoughts to take – being negative then becomes our automatic thought process. The beauty of the human brain is neuroplasticity, it’s ability to change shape according to what we choose to repeatedly think. So, if we choose to repeatedly think positively, that will eventually become our natural thought pattern. They say it’s like walking through a forest, the first time you take a new path it’s hard work, but the more you walk it, the easier it becomes. So, we really can change the way we think, if we work at it. Notice your thoughts and then choose to focus your attention on a positive outcome. Law of attraction also shows how that thought process also increases the likelihood of the positive outcome manifesting itself too!
2. Live in the present
As many well-known philosophers have stated, the only moment that exists is now. We waste a lot of energy thinking about the past (which can lead to depression as there’s nothing we can do about it), or the future (creating anxiety about ‘what if’ scenarios, which usually don’t happen). A quick trick to happiness is being ‘present’ – training the mind not to wander off to places that don’t serve you, guiding your thoughts back to the present moment, the activity at hand, the breeze on your face, the person you are with etc.
3. Take responsibility
If you want to ultimately achieve happiness, you need to be both responsible and committed to yourself. You must be willing to acknowledge what is going right, not only paying attention to what’s going wrong. Happiness isn’t a one-time destination; it’s a life-long vow to your own health, well-being, and pleasure. Instead of complaining about things you want to change, change it – or change the way you perceive the situation, which is another way of doing something about it. As Dr. Wayne Dyer said, “The best antidote to worry is action.”
4. Take Action
Many people decide to live in a way where they just ‘go with the flow’ but this can subconsciously lead to a feeling of powerlessness and eventually ‘victim state’. We are the only people who can change the outcome of our life, to improve it, we must take the actions required to make that happen. They say your destiny is already written. But sometimes you have to grab a pen and become the author of your life.
5. Put ‘you’ first
Choosing happiness hourly takes energy. In order to have the energy to choose positivity, we have to look after ourselves, and that requires putting ourselves first more. Eating what you need, sleeping as much as you need, exercising when you need to, and creating a routine which supports this. There will always be reasons why that isn’t easy – work, kids, finances etc. Putting ourselves first can feel uncomfortable if it’s not something our parents modeled for us, but we only receive what we believe we deserve, so if we want to start receiving more, we need to start putting ourselves first no matter what, and feeling worthy of doing that. Putting ourselves first also models self worth to our children, so in turn, it will improve their self worth and happiness too!
NB. Avoid toxic positivity – choosing positive thoughts doesn’t mean that we should deny or suppress our worries, it just means that we don’t dwell on them. Journaling can be a fantastic way of acknowledging all our true feelings, the good and the ugly! To stay well, we must allow ourselves to feel all our natural human emotions and remind ourselves that it’s okay to feel bad or even to feel contrasting emotions at the same time – we are complex beings, but we can also be in control of our thoughts and our destiny!
