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Five things that bring genuine happiness – Study
Experts and researchers have discovered several factors that can add to a person’s happiness. It could be from genes to personal characteristics to life choices.
These could also add to ones well-being. Here are a few you might have some control over.
Get a pet (a dog or a cat)
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A survey published in July 2011 online in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology of pet-owners and non-pet-owners found that people who have dogs say their pets increase their self-esteem as well as their feelings of belonging and meaning. The research also found that pets had a similar ability as human friends to stave off feelings of rejection.
Show gratitude
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Having positive thinking can be a very good source of happiness. Researchers who detailed their work in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, said people who get into the habit of writing down three good things that have happened to them every week show a significant rise in happiness.
According to the review, people who wrote letters of gratitude to others reported a happiness boost that lasted for weeks. Interestingly, such letters may not even be posted, but for the fact that it is written at all brings happiness.
Get Nostalgic
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Social and energetic, extroverts are also the happiest personality type. It’s not easy to blossom from wallflower to center of the party, but you can steal an extrovert’s happiness trick: Viewing the past through rose-colored glasses.
Research published in June 2011 in the journal Personality and individual Differences found that extroverts owe their happiness advantage to their tendency to look back on the past with nostalgia. Savoring happy memories or putting bad ones in an optimistic light could help make life happier.
Have Sex
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As odd as this may sound, sexual satisfaction promotes happiness. A 2008 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine said post-menopausal women with more satisfying sex lives are happier in general.
Those who just got married with neurotic personalities find that their anxieties are soothed when their sex lives are better, another research published in 2010 in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science also said.
Practice giving
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The same 2010 review found that giving back to others can pay happiness dividends. And a 2008 study published in the journal Science found that people who give money away rather than spending it on themselves get a happiness boost.