If You Are Happy, You Are Worth At Least $20,000
Suppose you were given the choice of hanging around with happy hearty people or slugging it out with the depressed gloomy grouches, which will you choose? And why?
Well, chances are, most people do prefer the smiling faces with that sincere joyous mood than to see the frowns on the facials.
It’s little wonder that we are so driven to want to be happy. Perhaps the journey towards happiness might be a bit mystical and obscure, with the unpredictable climate of changes in different life dimensions. However, being around happy people do seem to help alleviate those drowsy blues.
According to Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis, who has just recently concluded a study on happiness and its interactive results, he said, “Your happiness depends not just on your choices and actions, but also on the choices and actions of people you don’t even know who are one, two and three degrees removed from you,”
Hailing from Harvard Medical School, Dr. Christakis, a trained physician and social scientist, affirmed that, “Emotions have a collective existence — they are not just an individual phenomenon.”
The study by his team of researchers had analyzed data, statistics and information ranging from 1983 to 2003. It was based on the happiness of 4,739 people as well as their social connections. These included their spouses, relatives, close friends, neighbors and co-workers.
It emerged with evidence that the more happy people you know and surround yourself with, the more likely you will be happier yourself. Hence, happiness is contagious, it gets “spread”.
Co-researcher, Associate Professor of Political Science, James H. Fowler from The University of California, San Diego said their research discovered the link that “if your friend’s friend’s friend becomes happy, that has a bigger impact on you being happy than putting an extra $5,000 in your pocket.”
Drawing from further data, they determined that your neighbor’s joyfulness and delight can improve your own happiness by 34 percent. Your happy network and contacts will increase your joy by 15 percent, while your friend’s happy friend or your closed one’s elated friend adds 10 percent to your chances of being happy.
Finally, your friend’s friend’s friend, the 3rd degree contact, will add 6 percent to your personal joyfulness level. Be with any additional unhappy person, and you become unhappier by 7 percent concurrently as each negative person enter your contact.
This means that your happiness level is able to affect people around you and your close acquaintances.
A note to add, the researches are not advising that you change all melancholy your friends, but strive to work together for an improved relationship.
Extending from other previous studies, they asserted that an extra $5,000 improved your chances of happiness by 2 percent. This, Dr. Christakis, would imply that “a happy friend is worth about US $20,000”
That’s what I call a golden smile. 🙂
(Source: wekie.com)
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December 9, 2008 at 9:58 am
Happiness require effort…. serious effort.
It is easy to say than to do.
Basically in our society, there are more influencing negative factors than positive factors.
In news:
(Negative News)
– Terroist Attacks
– Govt Politics
– Natural Disasters
– Accidents
– Recession
(Positive News)
– Bonus
– Victories
– Good Investment Turnout
– Peace?!?
Food
(Negative)
– Transfat
– Sugars
– Calories
(Positive)
– Vitamins
– Minerals
Transportation
(Negative)
– Increasing Costs
– Accidents
(Positve)
– New Vehicle
– Better Services
– Reduction in Price ?!?
Though it seen to be both positive and negative influencing factors seen even. lt is basically voice down to how one face it.
The truth is having prolong happiness is not easy.
Happiness is contagious, so is saddness.
December 9, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Yes, you need to put in effort to be happy, especially when one is living in a negative environment. I analyzed this concept in detail with my participants in my seminars on why is it necessary to put in effort to be happy.
Hence, it’s never easy to be happy.
But it can be done still.
In fact, being happy is actually not as difficult as what most people think. It’s not as easy but neither is it as difficult. You just have to know the principles and perspectives behind being happy.
That marks the difference between truly happy people and generally negative people.
The research also found that sadness is contagious too. In fact, emotions of both spectrum are contagious to varying degrees.
Therefore it speaks of how we feel do affect other people.
Thanks for your sharing.
Have a happy day that excels!
March 5, 2009 at 6:11 am
Just stumbled onto this blog. Great post about happiness. And it made me think. I always say that if you’re not happy when you don’t have much you won’t be happy when you’ve got a lot of money. Of course, having money removes the problems that having no money creates.
Another thought: I suggest we surround ourselves with as many positive and happy people as possible and get rid of the ones that drag us down.
And lastly, in any situation you’re in, think about what you can be grateful for, right now. This will put you into the present, and when we’re fully in the present (not thinking about past or future), we’re happy.
March 30, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Hi Evelyne,
Thanks for your compliments. I’ve always like to share about happiness and related topics.
Glad to have your perspectives and ideas as well. Indeed, when we surronding our lives with happiness, we are more likely to be infused with joy and a positive way of living.
Gratefullness for living and existing is also another way that we can gain happiness.
Once again, thank you for dropping by my blog.
May happiness be with you always!
Warmest regards,
Wekie
wekie.com