International Day of Happiness marks its 6th year today after being first celebrated on March 20, 2013. It is an annual event which is acknowledged and celebrated by 193 countries, two observer states and 11 territories.
The aim to mark this special day was to inspire individuals to share happiness and create a happier world for all.
“I urge people to dedicate their efforts to filling our world with happiness.” Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon.
To help understand what exactly constitutes ad happiness we have rounded up what recent research says about happiness and what makes it eternal.
A true secret to leading a happy life is trying to find contentment. One cannot be happy all the time. The art resides in going through experiences and coming out of them better than before.
“Happiness is more than simply feeling pleasure and avoiding pain. Happiness is about having experiences that are meaningful and valuable, including emotions that you think are the right ones to have,” said lead researcher Maya Tamir, Ph.D., a psychology professor at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “All emotions can be positive in some contexts and negative in others, regardless of whether they are pleasant or unpleasant.”
The study may shed some light on the unrealistic expectations that many people have about their own feelings, Tamir said.
“People want to feel very good all the time in Western cultures, especially in the United States,” Tamir said.”Even if they feel good most of the time, they may still think that they should feel even better, which might make them less happy overall.”
Maya Tamir, Shalom H. Schwartz, Shige Oishi and Min Y. Kim. The Secret to Happiness: Feeling Good or Feeling Right. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Aug. 14, 2017
In the words of Ellen DeGeneres.
“Don’t beat yourself up if you do something stupid. Let it go. Nothing is as important as it seems. Try to look at the big picture and get a different perspective.”—
