The Medicine with No cost:Happiness
- 1. Golden Rules of Happiness
- 2. Hello! I am Vaishnavi I am here because I love to give presentations. You can find me at @vaishnavi.in 2
- 3. “ Quotations are commonly printed as a means of inspiration and to invoke philosophical thoughts from the reader. 3
- 4. • Happiness • Happiness as Religion • Correlational Factors for Happiness • The Global Pursuit of Happiness • The Rules for Happiness • Happiness by the Numbers 4
- 5. Happiness ▪ Happiness is used in the context of mental or emotional states, including positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. It is also used in the context of life satisfaction, subjective well-being, eudaimonia, flourishing and well-being. ▪ Daniel Kahneman has defined happiness as "what I experience here and now“. ▪ Ruut Veenhoven has defined happiness as "overall appreciation of one's life as-a-whole.” ▪ Sonja Lyubomirsky has described happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one's life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.” 5
- 6. Happiness as Religion ▪ Happiness forms a central theme of Buddhist teachings-For ultimate freedom from suffering, the Noble Eightfold Path leads its practitioner to Nirvana, a state of everlasting peace. Ultimate happiness is only achieved by overcoming craving in all forms. ▪ Hinduism-In Advaita Vedanta, the ultimate goal of life is happiness, in the sense that duality between Atman and Brahman is transcended and one realizes oneself to be the Self in all. ▪ Judaism-Happiness or simcha in Judaism is considered an important element in the service of God. The biblical verse "worship The Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs," (Psalm 100:2) stresses joy in the service of God. ▪ Islam-Al-Ghazali (1058–1111), the Muslim Sufi thinker, wrote "The Alchemy of Happiness", a manual of spiritual instruction throughout the Muslim world and widely practiced today 6
- 7. Correlational Factors for Happiness ▪ In scientific literature, happiness is referred to as hedonia (Ryan & Deci, 2001), the presence of positive emotions and the absence of negative emotions. Pleasure, comfort, gratitude, hope, and inspiration are examples of positive emotions which increase our happiness and move us to flourish. ▪ Research on happiness over the years has found that there are some contributing correlational factors which affect our happiness. These include (Ryan, 2001): 1) Personality Type 2) Positive Emotions versus Negative Emotions 3)Attitude towards Physical Health 4) Social Class and Wealth 5) Attachment and Relatedness 6) Goals and Self-efficacy 7) Time and Place 7
- 8. The Global Pursuit of Happiness ▪ In world economic circles, Richard Easterlin investigated the relationship between money and well-being, the Easterlin paradox ‘money does not buy happiness’ (Mohun, 2012) sparked a new wave of thinking of wealth and well-being. ▪ In 1972, Bhutan pursued a policy of happiness versus a focus on economic growth tracked via their gross domestic product (GDPP). Subsequently, this little nation has been among the happiest amongst nations with far superior wealth (Kelly, 2012). ▪ The United Nations also established World Happiness Day, 20th of March, which was the result of efforts of the Bhutan Kingdom and their Gross National Happiness initiative (Helliwell, Layard & Sachs, 2013). ▪ Ruut Veenhoven is a world authority on the scientific study of happiness and was one of the sources of inspiration for United Nations adopting happiness measures (Ki-Moon). Veenhoven is a founding member of the World Database of Happiness, which is a comprehensive scientific repository of happiness measures world -wide. 8
- 9. The Rules for Happiness ▪ Positive Psychology,” have recognized 14 ground rules for happiness which, as offered by Doctor. Michael W. Fordyce (foremost researcher in the psychology of happiness) in his work, Psychology of Happiness. ▪ The 14 rules are as follows: 1. Be more dynamic and keep occupied 2. Do productive and significant work 3. Stop stressing over pointless things! 4. Lower your anticipations and ambitions 5. Work on a healthy personality 6. Be yourself! 7. Remove negative spirits and problems 8. Maintain close relationships (a prime method to acquiring happiness) 9. Devote more time to socializing (or attempting to do so) 10. Cultivate positive, optimistic thinking 11. Try to develop an outgoing, social character 12. Develop your skills at organizing and planning things out 13. Give to others! 14. Place happiness at the top of your priority list! 9
- 10. Happiness by the Numbers ▪ 6 or 7: The hours per day of socializing that leads to the highest levels of happiness. ▪ 10: The number of friends it takes to give your well-being a big boost-A 2012 survey of thousands of British adults. ▪ 5: The number of positive interactions happy couples have for every negative one and divorced had just 0.8 happy encounters for every one negative interaction. ▪ $75,000: The annual salary it takes to put a smile on the average person's face. ▪ 1: The distance (in miles) to keep close friends within. ▪ 33, 55, the 70s: What do these numbers have in common? They've all been called “the happiest age” in various studies and surveys. ▪ 40: The approximate percentage of your happiness that is truly up to you. 10
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