How happy are you?

Just pause for a moment and ask yourself, “over all, how satisfied am I with my life as a whole … very satisfied, satisfied, not very satisfied, not at all satisfied”? People have been investigating the causes of happiness for a long time and we have learned how income, education, where we live, what we own, our marital status and where we holiday may add to us being happy, but that ultimately, none of these may be the cause of true happiness.

 

Science is suggesting that happiness may be more to do with our minds; where we focus our attention and what we think about, moment to moment, in our daily lives…. and there is plenty of data to support the claim. Scientist, Dr Matt Killingsworth designed an app called “trackyourhappiness.og” which sends signals to people throughout the day asking them questions related to their levels of happiness, just before and after whatever it was they were doing.

 

Over 650,000 reports from a diverse range of over 15,000 people, in more than 86 occupations spread over 80 countries, with different incomes, education and marital status were analysed and the results prove interesting.

 

Participants were asked 3 main questions:

• How do you feel right now on a scale ranging from very bad to very good?
  
• What are you doing right now (from a list of activities ranging from working, eating, watching TV)?
  
• Are you thinking about something other than what you are currently doing and if so, how pleasant, neutral or unpleasant are those thoughts?
  

 

The study showed that people are significantly less happy when their minds are not focussed on what they are doing, but are instead wandering off to something else, such as how busy the traffic is going to be on the drive home or how long it will be before they go bald! Even if they were doing something they weren’t particularly enjoying, such as completing their taxes or clearing out the garage, it turns out that if people are totally focussed and their minds are fully present, this is when their happiness levels are at their highest, according to Killingsworth.

 

This reminds me of something Lao Tzu said, “If you are depressed you are living in the past, if you are anxious you are living in the future and if you are at peace you are living the present.  If like millions of others, you frequently find yourself ruminating about something someone said or did to you yesterday or last week or maybe you’ve become lost in worrying about what’s going to happen tomorrow or next year, then these are sure signs that you are living a life of distraction. Studies suggest that we spend over 47% of our time mind wandering and over 95% of these thoughts are the same ones that we had yesterday! All this “mind flittering” can take its toll on your mood, health and even your relationships and livelihood ….. but the good news is that it can easily be remedied if you want it to be. I say easily, but you do need to put some commitment and time into it.  

 

Mindfulness meditation is becoming the new buzz word in the arenas of health, sport, the military and the business world, just to name a few. People who want to succeed in their entrepreneurial endeavours or those that want to get just that little bit fitter or a few pounds lighter are frequently faced with those ever familiar distracting thoughts that inevitably take them off course. Regular mindfulness practice can increase self awareness and improve moment to moment focussed attention making it not such an uphill task to improve areas of your personal or business life.

 

Look out for news of some new developments at Strays. We want to significantly improve opportunities for people in Newark and the surrounding areas by helping you to flourish, thrive and become the ‘best you can become’ through our coaching and training programmes soon to be announced at our centre of excellence of personal and professional development.

 

The free happiness app can be downloaded from https://www.trackyourhappiness.org