You Can Increase Your Health and Wealth By Increasing Your Happiness

Written by Donna Daisy, Ph.D. on September 21, 2010

Why do we put forth so much effort to be happier? It turns out that happiness brings with it quite a few fringe benefits:

Health benefits:
1. Happiness strengthens the immune system, and results in greater overall physical health.
2. Happy people are 35% less likely to get a cold and they produce 50% more antibodies in response to flu vaccines than the average person.
3. Individuals who score high on happiness and optimism scales have a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and infections.
4. People who maintain a sense of humor, an indicator of happiness,
outlive those who don’t, and the survival edge is particularly large
for people with cancer.
5. Happiness and health create a positive feedback loop. Improving on
one improves the other

Wealth benefits:

1. Research has shown that over a lifetime, happy people make significantly more money over a lifetime than their unhappy counterparts.
2. Happy people tend to have more energy, more focus, and more motivation than pessimistic people – all of which contributes to greater financial success.
3. Happy people are more positive. Other people tend to want to be around them as well as do business with them.

Miscellaneous benefits:

1. Happy people are more sociable and energetic.
2. They are more charitable and cooperative.
3. They are better liked by others.
4. They are more likely to get married and have satisfying marriages.
5. They are more likely to have greater networks of friends and social
support.
6. They are better leaders and negotiators.
7. They are more resilient in the face of hardship.

Your Happiness Level:

50% of your happiness level is determined by genetics; 10% is determined by your circumstances, and 40% is determined by your daily thoughts and activities. This is the part you have control of! The more happiness habits you build into your daily life, the more you raise your happiness level.

In my book, Why Wait? Be Happy Now! I outline many strategies for developing daily habits that support happiness. Here is the first step each you can take if you want to start increasing the amount of happiness and satisfaction you have in your life.

Strategy: Take responsibility for your own happiness.

During my husband’s four year illness, we were determined to maintain happiness and quality of life in whatever time we had left together. The first thing that we had to really “get” was that happiness is not “out there” somewhere. Happiness doesn’t lie in some other circumstance or in other people in our lives. We also had to get over the myth of “I’ll be happy when - - (Charley can walk again)“. What we learned was that we always have a choice of what we focus on, and what we focus on will determine how we feel. Our mantra became “Focus on what is still good in our lives.” Happiness is a choice. You create your own happiness.

What gets in the way of your happiness?
These are the greatest culprits when it comes to undermining your own happiness:

• Blaming others
• Complaining (the average person complains 70 times a day)
• Blaming yourself
• Saying “I”ll be happy when - - - - “

The best illustration I have seen of taking responsibility for your own happiness is the story that goes around in the email circuit. It is the story of a 92 year old man who had just lost his wife, and made the choice to move to an assisted living facility. The attendant showing him to his room said, “I believe you will love your room. It is decorated quite nicely. Just wait until you see it.” The man, quietly and wisely said, “I already love my room. I made the choice to love it when I got up this morning.” His attitude is the perfect example of choosing to create your own happiness.

Happiness is a CHOICE! Why wait? Be happy now!