Experts Tell The Keys to Happiness

The field of positive psychology has expanded in the past few years. Now there are dozens of books out on the shelf and articles on the web explaining the science of happiness and how to increase your chances of achieving happiness.

Gathered from various experts, some of the keys to happiness are ...

• Reduce Stress
• Exercise
• Mediation
• Have Time Affluence
• Connected-ness
• Low Expectation
• Gratitude

Happiness is not an exact science. These are not ranked in any particular order because different people will put different weighs on each of these. And no doubt, each of these will affect different people differently. Some people will find that say connectedness has no affect on their happiness whereas other will find that it affects them a lot. Some people may find mediation extremely helpful, and some will not be able to get into it at all. Different experts will tell you different things about what makes people happy.

Furthermore, happiness of a person is determined in part by genetics. There are people that are naturally more happy. Each person has a particular happiness level set-point. However, this natural happiness level is a range. But utilizing the keys of happiness, you can help nudge your happiness level to the top of that range.

Note that we did not say eliminate stress, since it would be impossible to eliminate all stress. Many people will agree that stress is unpleasant and can be the source of unhappiness. So it makes sense that by reducing stress, one can improve happiness.

If we imagine an experiment where a groups of dogs were given intermittent electric shocks (simulating stress) and another control group that were not, one would probably guess that the non-shocked dogs would be happier. But since that would be an inhumane experiment and since dogs can't talk, polls of Americans are used instead.

A 2009 Gallup poll found that "Less stressed states usually, but not always, have more happy residents"^[3]. The study is showing an inverse association between happiness and stress. More stress means less happy. Less stress means more happy.

Guess which state was least stressed? You guessed it: Hawaii. And how happy are the residents of Hawaii? Quite happy; they are in the top 10 states for being most happy.

Which state is most happy? Montana. And yes, they are in the top 10 states for being least stressed. Those are not the only two examples. States North Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming, and Kansas are on the list of "Ten Happiest States" as well as "Ten Least Stressed".

In contrast, New Jersey, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Indiana made the list as "Ten Most Stressed States" and they are also on the list of "Ten Least Happy States".

As an update, a 2010 survey determined that Hawaii topped the list in "well-being score" and West Virginia was at the bottom.[14]

So if we want greater happiness, we have to have less stress. But reducing stress is harder than one might think. We may need occasional reminders to reduce stress, because we sometimes forget and inadvertently take paths of greater stress than one of less stress. There are instances where people are in stressful jobs only so that they can purchase luxury items (items well in excess of what is needed for survival).

The book Happier describes a story of a lawyer who has luxury home, car, wealth, but hates his job:

"He worked extremely hard, spending at least sixty hours each week in the office. Every morning he had to drag himself out of bed to get there, for he felt that he had very little to which he could look forward." [page 97]

He would rather work at an art gallery. However, because of the income difference between the two jobs, he chose the job that the hates rather than the job that he would enjoy.

In article showing the relationship between money and happiness, some experts believe that having more money (in excess of what is needed to live) contributes little to happiness. The idea of equating money with happiness may be just an illusion. Some people eventually do realize this. Examples can be found in article Can One Make a Living Without the Rat Race which shows examples of those who left stressful jobs for ones less stressful which they enjoy more.

Of course, it is not always possible to make such choices to avoid stress. If one is in a stressful workplace and must keep the job to put food on the table, then it may not be possible to leave the stressful job. Even experts agree that if you are in poverty, then having some money so that you can buy enough food to eat and have room and board does contribute to happiness.

But to the extent in which we can reduce stress, it would improve our overall happiness.

Even if one can not leave a stressful situation, science has told us that it is possible to change one's perceptions and internal attitudes that will reduce the internal stress. Two persons in identical situations, one will experience less stress than the other based on their internal perceptions.

There are many ways to reduce stress: meditation, yoga, hobbies, and exercise are some. Different people will find some ways more effective than others.

Stress reduction can be as simple as deep breathing. You've probably have heard it being said to a stressed person to take "deep breaths".

Of course, you don't have to be stressed to take deep breaths. Take deep breaths regularly throughout the day can improve overall health. Some even advocate to take three deep breaths whenever we reach a red light.^[1] Dr. Andrew Weil advocates taking deep breaths for health. Herbert Benson wrote book about the relaxation response and breath plays a role in it. There is another book called Three Deep Breaths.

Exercise has many health benefits as you know, but did you know that it can improve happiness. Sedentary lifestyle decreases a person's level of happiness and exercise boost it back to normal levels.^[1]

FoxNews.com says that exercise helps burns the stress hormone cortisol and helps pump out the euphoric endorphins.^[7]

If you want to get more scientific than that, you should read the book Spark: The Revolutionary Science of Exercise and the Brain. It will tell you (on pages 158 - 254) things like ...

"In the limbic system, ... exercise helps regulate the amygdala"

"Moderate-intensity exercise also releases adrenaline into the bloodstream."

"Chronic exercise improve the tone of the locus coeruleus"

No, locus coeruleus is not a muscle; that is a part of the brain -- the brain stem to be precise.

Exercise is a way to reduce stress. Many of us already know that and we've heard it many times before. But how does exercise relieve stress? The book Spark explains ..

"By elevating restorative chemicals with a moderate workout, you're strengthening the circuits in your brain and tuning up the HPA [hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal] axis so that it isn't as trigger-happy to future incidents of stress."

"Produced by the muscles of the heart itself when it's really pumping, ANP [atrial natriuretic peptide] travels through the bloodstream and into the brain, where it helps to further moderate the stress response and reduce noise in the brain. It's a potent part of a cascade of chemicals that relieve emotional stress and reduce anxiety. Along with pain-blunting endorphins and endocannabinoids, the increase in ANP helps explain why you feel relaxed and calm after a moderate aerobic workout. When you talk about burning off stress, these are the elements at work." [p 254]

You probably have heard about athletes having an endorphin or adrenalin high. You don't have to be an athlete. Sometimes all it takes is doing more walking. In fact, Dr. Andrew Weil says walking exercise is the best form of exercise.

While, there are instances of depression that needs to be treated with drugs and professional help, there have been experiments showing that exercise can sometimes be as effective as drugs and psychotherapy in reducing depression.

The Mayo Clinic says that "Depression symptoms often improve with exercise"^[11] and provides some tips on getting started. WebMD says similarly that ...

"Improved self-esteem is a key psychological benefit of regular physical activity. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. ... Endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body" [13]

Neuroscientist Fred Gage showed that exercise gives birth to new brain cells in the hippocampus. These new brain cells are integrated into the brain circuitry and helps us make associations between old and new information. Gage believes that this process helps alleviate depression and helps us maintain interest in the world. Afterall, one symptom of depression lack of interest.^[12]

There is even a book called "Conquering Depression and Anxiety Through Exercise" by Keith Johnsgard.

Johnsgard writes not only on the benefits of exercise on mood, but he also mentions a concept that he calls "existential drift".

Existential drift is when for example long-distance runner loses track of time and thinks about nothing in particular. It is as if all that exist is this present moment in time where one only feels the muscles moving and the breath breathing -- the bare essentials and nothing else. He writes that "existential drift requires that we be alone in a safe environment that demands only the most minimal attention."[p64]

Others such as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes a very similar mental state called "autotelic experience" or "flow". This can happen if you are so focused on a particular task that you are only thinking of that one task and loose track of everything else including time. Flow happens more readily when the task is not too difficult and not too easy; it is at just the right level of concentration.

Johnsgard writes ...

Both states appear to deliver subjective feelings of well-being. Whatever the case, distance runners, while engaged in the act of running, and autotelic persons, while engaged in a variety of activities, both experience enhanced moods." [p66]

In both "existential drift" and "flow", one is in tune only with the present moment. One is not thinking about the future or the past.

PBS.org has a topic on meditation that says ...

"There are many different mediation traditions. Most of them promote mindfulness: an open-minded, nonjudgmental attention in the present moment."^[10]

Jon Kabat-Zinn says mindfulness meditation is basically “Paying attention, on-purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally”.^[8]

Among many other benefits of mediation, some studies have found that ...

"that people who meditated regularly had increased activity in their left prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain associated with happiness and optimism—compared to people who do not meditate."^[10]

Wired.com tells of a study where monks were put through an fMRI scan to reveal that meditation activates the activity in left prefrontal cortex. It says ...

"Generally people with happy temperaments exhibit a high ratio of activity in the left prefrontal cortex, an area associated with happiness, joy and enthusiasm. Those who are prone to anxiety, fear and depression exhibit a higher ratio of activity in the right prefrontal cortex."^[ref]

You do not have to join a monastery or sit cross-legged and chant. Meditation is the act of putting our mind into the present moment. It is simply a state of mind. You can simply focus on your attention on your breath. Whenever thoughts come to your mind, you acknowledge it and bring your attention back to your breath. Do not try to suppress the thoughts. There is no good meditation or bad meditation. There is nothing wrong with having too many thoughts come to your mind. The act of re-focusing your attention back on your breath is the act of meditation.

Mediation is often associated with the idea of non-attachment. We do not label things as "good" or "bad". They are what they are. It is the idea that we are not attached to the outcome of things. Just like we do not worry that we have too much intruding thoughts during mediation or too little thought. Both are the same. One is not better than the other. Non-attachment is the idea that we do not have great attachment over whether we get the promotion or not. We try our best, and we accept whatever results. We are to enjoy the journey rather than the end result.

The book Fully Present says that "When you meditate or practice mindfulness, you have an opportunity to increase your intuitive awareness, which may be crucial for authentic happiness." [p129-130] And it mentions a study of college students that found there is a positive association between high self-reported mindfulness scores and feeling good (as in life satisfaction).

In line with the idea of non-attachment is to not have high expectations. Having high expectation is to place great emotional attachment to a particular outcome, such as winning the championship, etc.

Barry Schwartz explains the paradox of choice at TED conference. He says that too much choice may not be a good thing. It produces paralysis. And even when you are able to make a choice, you are less satisfied with the choice you made. When there are lots of choices, it is just too easy to imagine that you could have choose better.

Near the end of the talk he makes this bold statement: "The secret to happiness ... this is what you all came for ... The secret to happiness is low expectation".^[9]

We often compare what we got with what we expect. And when our expectations are high, what we got often comes up short and we are not happy. But if we have lower expectations, then it is more likely for us to be sometimes pleasantly surprised when it exceeds our expectations.

Looking across many countries, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) finds that...

"average country levels of life satisfaction are reasonably positively correlated to leisure time"^[5]

OECD defines leisure as ...

"Leisure may be defined in terms of time, activities, or states of mind. In terms of time, leisure can be seen as time spent free of obligation and necessity. For example, the quantity of leisure has been defined as “all activities that we cannot pay somebody else to do for us and we do not really have to do at all if we do not wish to” (Burda et al., 2006, p. 1)."^[5]

From that definition, sleep is not leisure. And many studies will refer to "waking leisure" and not include sleep as leisure. Although it is true that sleep is an activity that we can not pay someone to do for us; it is something that must be done (whether you like it or not).

A concept similar to leisure is what Tim Kasser calls "time affluence" in the paper Time Affluence as a Path toward Personal Happiness and Ethical Business Practice which says that ...

"Across four studies, results consistently showed that ... the experience of time affluence was positively related to subjective well-being."

Tal Ben-Shahar explains "time affluence" as "the feeling that one has sufficient time to pursue activities that are personally meaningful, to reflect, to engage in leisure." In contrast, "Time poverty is the feeling that one is constantly stressed, rushed, overworked, behind. Time pressure leads to frustration..." [Happier page 154-155]

People who have time poverty often find that there is not enough time, are more anxious and more stressful. A PEW study has shown that people who are always rushing are less happy^[6]. Again, it may seem obvious. But when we get caught up in our day-to-day activity, we forget and often have to remind ourselves to slow down.

If there are just not enough hours in the day, then it might mean that we have to say "no" to opportunities and to commitments. We have to simplify.

The book Happier asks the question ...

"What can we do, then, to enjoy our lives more despite the fast-paced rat-race environment so many of us live in?"

It answers by saying ...

"We must simplify our lives; we must slow down. The good news is the simplifying our lives, doing less rather than more, does not have to come at the expense of success." [p153]

Leo Babauta advocates the minimalistic lifestyle in the book "Power of Less" and "The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life".

Humans are social beings and we so we need to social interaction. Gallup.com says ...

"social time spent with friends and family is one of the strongest determinants of happiness, more so than outside factors such as financial worry."^[3]

It is also not surprising to find Gallup Poll saying ...

"Americans say they have more enjoyment/happiness on weekends than on weekdays"^[4]

Could that be because we don't have to work on weekends and is considered leisure time? Quite possibly. It could also be that weekends are the time we spend with friends and family.

See chart that shows a clear relationship between more hours socializing with more happiness and enjoyment.

Tal Ben-Shahar says in this video that the number one predictor of well being of happiness is spending quality time with family and friends who cares about us. He did also mentioned exercise, time affluence, and gratitude as other ways to cultivate happiness. Exercise and time affluence, we have already covered. We will cover gratitude next.

Tal Ben-Shahar says that there are treasures all around us, but we do not always appreciate it. In his Happiness 101 DVD, he mentions that that every night he religiously write down 5 things he is grateful for. As noted in NPR radio broadcast, counting one's blessing can improve happiness. These types of exercises may sound touchy-feely to some, but it does helps people appreciate things more.

BusinessWeek article reports the opinion of a scientist who believes "benevolence and expressions of gratitude appear to be subtle but powerful ways to bring happiness into one's life".

Rick Foster and Greg Hicks are leadership consultants. What they found was that the characteristics of great leaders are the same characteristics of happy people. Furthermore, these same characteristics have an effect on our body at the cellular level providing us with better health. In addition, they went and looked at unhappy people and found that unhappy people tend not to have these characteristics.

So what are these characteristics of happy people? They present these characteristic in this seminar recorded by UCTelevision.

One of those characteristic is having appreciation. Appreciation is related to gratitude. Rick Foster says that appreciation is just the externalization of gratitude. When people are appreciating something, they are fully present in the moment.

In their research, one of the countries they went to was Vietnam to find the happiest person in a village. She had experienced hardship in the past and had lost a leg in the war. Now she only have a few worldly belongings that can fit in a knapsack. However, everyone says that she is the happiest person in the village. When Greg Hicks asked her why she is so happy. She says that it is because she has so much. It is not that she has so much in material goods. It is because she appreciates so much in whatever is around her. She talks about having her favorite birds outside in the trees, having her friends that come by every day, having paper to write and draw her stories, having the nice breeze that comes in from the river, and on and on. Many of us forget or don't even notice and take many of these simple things for granted.

But when you slow down to make more time to be in the present moment to and to appreciate the things around you, perhaps we can all be a bit happier.