Striving for a happy life is one thing, but striving to be happy all the time is unrealistic. Recent research indicates that psychological flexibility is the key to greater happiness and well-being.
November 25, 2022. It's easy to think that people are happier than you, or happy all the time, because they seem to constantly have a smile on their face. But those who appear to be “always happy” could be managing a mental disorder such as high-functioning anxiety or depression.
Answer: Some people's brains respond more to positive events than negative ones, and vice versa. As a result, some people might just be happier—all the time. ... However, if you're constantly feeling down about your life, know there is a difference between a “mediocre” level of happiness and actually being depressed.
Not only does excessive happiness sometimes wipe out its benefits for us—it may actually lead to psychological harm. Why? The answer may lie in the purpose and function of happiness. When we experience happiness, our attention turns toward exciting and positive things in our lives to help sustain the good feeling.
In this case, “too happy” or “too positive” can mean an intense level of happiness. Contrary to popular beliefs, studies have shown that excess levels of experiences, emotions, and mental states can lead to becoming unhealthy (Gruber et al., 2011).
For both men and women, higher levels of optimism were associated with a longer life span and “exceptional longevity,” which the researchers defined as surviving to 85.
It's about being authentically who we are, including pleasure and pain, happiness and sadness, love and conflict. If we felt happy all the time, we might end up missing opportunities to improve ourselves, fight for what we believe in, or engage in some of the most meaningful endeavors of our lives.
Typically, happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. While happiness has many different definitions, it is often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction.
True happiness is enjoying your own company and living in peace and harmony with your body, mind and soul. To be truly happy, you don't need other people or material things. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort and living a life of purpose.
Happy people are warm, considerate, respectful, helpful, and pleasant to be around. They do not indulge in envy, jealousy, or gossip, nor do they waste time complaining. Use positive rather than negative language. Happy people focus on what has, is, and can work, rather than on what is problematic.
They're Optimistic
A happy person is generally an optimistic person. That doesn't mean that things always go well for them. Sometimes, unfortunate events happen to them too. However, in most situations, they're glass-half-full kinds of people.
Pollyanna. noun. old-fashioned someone who is always very happy and believes that only good things will happen.
The truth is that happiness is finite. It's impossible to be happy now and remain happy for the rest of your life. My longest streak of exceptionally happy days has lasted 29 days. But the average streak of happy days actually only lasts 3 days before my happiness returns to average or even turns into sadness.
You Create Your Own Happiness
Constantly feeling joy is impossible, but a good sign that you're happy is you find it easy to bounce back. You have moments of unhappiness, but they don't bring you down for long. You know how to make yourself happy again. You find gratitude in the joyful moments in life.
Euphoria – intense and the all-encompassing sense of joy or happiness, often experienced when something extremely positive and exciting happens. Contentment – peaceful, comforting, and low-key sense of happiness and well-being.
True happiness is the combination of positive emotions and having a sense that life matters in some way. This can emerge from things like doing work that we value, engaging in fun activities, making an impact in the world, or building stronger connections with others.
While people who experience happiness tend to have better psychological health, people who value happiness to an extreme tend to have worse psychological health, including more depression.
Happiness is possible right now, today—but happiness cannot be without suffering. Some people think that in order to be happy they must avoid all suffering, and so they are constantly vigilant, constantly worrying. They end up sacrificing all their spontaneity, freedom, and joy.
According to a study published in the Social Indicators Research journal, we're the happiest between the ages of 30-34, and midlife (our 40s and 50s) is not perceived as the least happy period in life.
The bottom line is, no matter why or how you do it, there are countless benefits to smiling, especially when it comes to your health. In fact, studies have shown that smiling can help you live better—happier—longer.
The research looked at flickers of electrical energy in the brain that make up brain waves. Researchers associated some patterns with calmness and others with tension, stress, and anxiety. They found that people with the calmest brain regions also had the healthiest biomarkers, indicative of a longer life.
The golden rule of happiness is that “the more you make others happy: the happier you will be”.
The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.