Why Do Happy People Do Better In Life?

Why do happy people do better in life?

A 2009 study from the University of Pittsburgh looked at the role of positive emotions and discovered that positivity was a powerful source of growth and change, predicting desirable life outcomes in many areas including resilience, coping resources, as well as life satisfaction. The researchers investigated why positive emotions were so significant and concluded that optimistic feelings actually helped people build lasting resources.

Encouragingly, the researchers found that negative emotions had weak or null effects and did not interfere with the benefits of positive emotions. So, if you were to experience positive emotions during one part of your day and negative emotions during another, their effects did not cancel each other out. The report highlighted this effect using the acute experience of bereavement as an example. Many people who were grieving reported some episodes of positive emotions amid their elevated levels of negative emotions, resulting in better psychological outcomes.

Change in resilience mediated the relationship between positive emotions and increased life satisfaction, suggesting that happy people became more satisfied not simply because they felt better but because they developed resources for living well.

What was also interesting was that it was not enough to simply express gratitude or appreciate your life in a general way, it was the “in-the-moment” lived experiences of joy and interest, rather than the more general positive evaluations, that started the process of exploring, learning, connecting, and building new resources and ultimately formed the link between happiness and desirable life outcomes.

A mindful, happy moment!

Savoring The Moment

Increase your own life satisfaction by fostering behavior that triggers a cascade effect of positive emotions, increases resilience, while providing you with tools that give you a constructive and optimistic outlook on life.
Savor the moment. Awareness of wonders, such as a rainbow after a storm, the giggle of a child, the sweet flavor and juiciness of a summer fruit all contribute to memories that not only make you feel good but you can later draw on during challenging moments to sustain you. Pay closer attention to what is happening around you. Think about creating happy memories from good situations, however small and transitory they may seem, and notice how quickly they build up.

Something Else To Celebrate

Altruism, empathy and acts of kindness not only make you feel good, but they make a difference in the lives of others. Your actions don’t have to be major ones; they can be as simple as a smile, opening a door, to something larger such as organizing a food drive or driving someone to and from the hospital. It’s the cumulative effect that makes you feel good about yourself and life in general while enhancing your connectivity to the world. As an added bonus, you will see your kindness reciprocated.

Isn’t that something else to celebrate?

Affirmation
Create a positive feedback loop and boost your life satisfaction through consciously monitoring and choosing your thoughts and actions. When you are aware of the power of your intention and how it shapes yourself and the world around you, you recognize how uncontrolled emotions can keep you tied down in the very place you are struggling to get away from.

The past has no hold over me
I am in control of my thoughts and emotions
I make conscious decisions to follow one path or another
My life is brimming with bright choices and overflowing with joy and happiness.