10 Things to Keep in Mind About Happiness

When was the last time you were bursting with joy? Can you think of moments when the entire world around you can stop right there and you wouldn't even notice because you were just so happy? Are these memories precious moments like the day of a graduation, a marriage or a birth? Or are they moments that you enjoy every single day, like waking up next to someone you love, having a good conversation with a friend or doing something you are passionate about? Are you smiling right now? I hope so.
With the International Day of Happiness coming up it's a good moment to list 10 things we should know about happiness. At the end of the day, we are all entitled to be happy so let's brush up on a few facts:

1. Happiness has been an important question to think about throughout the ages. For Aristotle, "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."
   
2. The pursuit of happiness is a "fundamental human goal." This is included in the UN General Assembly Resolution that designated March 20 as the International Day of Happiness.
   
3. We know economic development is not enough and that if we want societies to thrive, we need to make sure they are healthy and HAPPY. This is why measuring well-being is becoming more and more relevant. There is an index for better life the Human Development Report measure different aspects of well-being every year.
   
4. Bhutan has been ahead of the game for 42 years in measuring "Gross National Happiness" instead of "Gross National Product."
   
5. You may have heard that money can't buy happiness but if you are living in poverty, increased income will certainly make a difference and go hand in hand with increased happiness (or less unhappiness) but after all basic needs are met, money does not seem to really buy happiness.
   
6. Then again, according to a provocative TEDx talk money can buy happiness as long as you don't spend it on yourself.
   
7. The happiest countries in the world tend to be wealthier countries with strong social support networks and a distinct closeness with nature: Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden according to the World Happiness Report. The next report is in the works.
   
8. Happiness means different things to different people but science shows that a lot of people find happiness in helping others and in sharing moments with friends and family.
   
9. George Valliant a Harvard professor who has followed one of the world's longest studies of adult life has been tracking people for 70 years- says that the most powerful influence on a rewarding life is the simplest : "Warm, intimate relationships are the most important prologue to a good life" as well as "the transformative power of love."
   
10. The UN is partnering with a host of global stars to create a global #happyplaylist of songs using #HappySoundsLike. My happy song is A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. I encourage you to add your song to this global playlist.
    

We all know the path to happiness is different for each one of us but we can agree that there are things we can all do, every day, to make ourselves and the people around us happy. Let's do that.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moller-/10-things-to-keep-in-mind_b_6891692.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news

Great thread.
I've been a bit stressed lately tbh, a lot going on.

Sometimes you have to remind yourself that life is too short to be a grumpy grouch!

Oh well I think that is a que to list your favorite happy songs:
I have many but will start with this one:

eddie wrote:Great thread.
I've been a bit stressed lately tbh, a lot going on.

Sometimes you have to remind yourself that life is too short to be a grumpy grouch!

Maybe this will help

money cant buy happiness....but it CAN buy BEER.....which is kinda similar but in a bottle

darknessss wrote:money cant buy happiness....but it CAN buy BEER.....which is kinda similar but in a bottle

Well this will really make you smile:




Behind all those canned compliments for older adults — spry! wily! wise! — is an appreciation for something that scientists have had a hard time characterizing: mental faculties that improve with age.
Knowledge is a large part of the equation, of course. People who are middle-aged and older tend to know more than young adults, by virtue of having been around longer, and score higher on vocabulary tests, crossword puzzles and other measures of so-called crystallized intelligence.
Still, young adults who consult their elders (mostly when desperate) don’t do so just to gather facts, solve crosswords or borrow a credit card. Nor, generally, are they looking for help with short-term memory or puzzle solving. Those abilities, called fluid intelligence, peak in the 20s.
No, the older brain offers something more, according to a new paper in the journal Psychological Science. Elements of social judgment and short-term memory, important pieces of the cognitive puzzle, may peak later in life than previously thought.
The postdoctoral fellows Joshua Hartshorne of M.I.T. and Laura Germine of Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital analyzed a huge trove of scores on cognitive tests taken by people of all ages. The researchers found that the broad split in age-related cognition — fluid in the young, crystallized in the old — masked several important nuances.
“This dichotomy between early peaks and later peaks is way too coarse,” Dr. Hartshorne said. “There are a lot more patterns going on, and we need to take those into account to fully understand the effects of age on cognition.”


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/17/health/older-really-can-mean-wiser.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Love the toons

I love this one which I posted before for lifting my spirits - especially this version with the audience joining in.

Yep, amazing how music can lift you up!

darknessss wrote:money cant buy happiness....but it CAN buy BEER.....which is kinda similar but in a bottle

I think Vic will like this one


http://www.buzzfeed.com/danieldalton/ever-embasan#.jy2pOdqXWg

We all know the path to happiness is different for each one of us but we can agree that there are things we can all do, every day, to make ourselves and the people around us happy. Let's do that.

The point being missed by some, where again some again are proving they cannot move on or understand what I said before. I never denied Music can be uplifting, in fact I agreed it can but to others and some songs it can bring them down. Hence why there many ways to help people become happy, where we should be looking for a lasting happiness, not a momentary one, but again some seek to spoil a thread because again they cannot move on and are unahppy because they have to be at odds with people in life because some of their views differ. That is what is sad today, that people can work together of what can help people be happy.
Some people need to start being more positive in life and learn that disliking people, allowing it to lead your life, does not lead to happiness.

I think you're saying don't hold grudges didge.

I don't. It's a waste of time.

eddie wrote:I think you're saying don't hold grudges didge.

I don't. It's a waste of time.

Agreed Eddie, if we did, we would no doubt never speak to each other.



Which shows we can be adult enough to move on as life is to short to be angry over nothing more than differences.

Brasidas wrote:

eddie wrote:I think you're saying don't hold grudges didge.

I don't. It's a waste of time.

Agreed Eddie, if we did, we would no doubt never speak to each other.



Which shows we can be adult enough to move on as life is to short to be angry over nothing more than differences.

We would have killed eachother