Despite the deleterious effects of the health crisis on morale, an Ipsos* study revealed that France ranks fourth among the countries where the population declares itself to be the happiest. But what does it mean to be happy? Let’s go in search of happiness…
The search for happiness is at the center of our concerns. How to be happy is THE question for everyone. Just open any magazine, listen to the radio or watch a TV show to see that the quest for happiness touches everyone.
A complex question
Accessing happiness is a complex question, which more and more health professionals, philosophers and researchers are trying to answer.
Paradoxically, the rapid evolution of science and technology has made many things so much simpler: traveling the world, working remotely with collaborators, communicating faster and faster, finding relevant information easily.
Going in search of happiness, it should also be more and more simple. And yet, we are desperately looking for the magic recipe…
What is it to see the glass half full?
In the same way that some have the blue eye gene, is it possible that some have this predisposition to be happythis ability to take a positive look at the world allowing a more cheerful reading of the world in a way?
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We know that a glass half filled can be perceived as half empty or half full, depending on the individual. But then, what makes some perceive it as half empty and others as half full?
Above all, if a priori we perceive it as half empty, can we re-educate to see it halfway full and thus become more gifted to go in search of happiness?
And what, exactly, would the ability to see the glass half full be?
the our view of the world is fundamental to determine the perception of our environment or the events we experience. This outlook on life will be forged by our education, our childhood, the words we have heard about ourselves and about others.
How to go in search of happiness ?
But this positive outlook can also be worked on once you have understood a few fundamentals:
• Notice the negative is a human tendency well known in psychology, which is called the negativity bias. The human species is biologically programmed to pay more attention to bad news than good news, simply because we are a species that has been built through survival instinct and knowing how to spot danger, and therefore negative information, enables us to protect ourselves.
• Use words with a strong positive impact as beautiful, good or even good, positively influences our brain. Giving ourselves positive challenges also has a positive impact on our willpower. A positive wording will lead us to put in place behaviors in this direction and will allow a positive anchoring towards this change of behavior.
• Express gratitude towards the little things in life is also impacting our brain. Recognizing what is going well and saying thank you for what is good for us encourages us to perceive more. The more we draw our attention to the good things, the more we will notice them spontaneously, it is a nourishing philosophy of life which participates in the search for happiness.
You would have understood it, being happy is a skill that needs to be worked on as a proven physical activity when practiced regularly.
If our brain is naturally formatted to retain the negative, then it is up to us to strengthen it in the positive version. By training to perceive differently and to express oneself differently.
And yes, you just have to practice and learn to see the glass half full. You see, going in search of happiness is within everyone’s reach.
- Study Ipsos Global Advisor “The Global Happiness Index” (October 2020)
