I read a research paper recently that aimed to look at the relationship between happiness & resilience.
It set out to test the theory that the happier you are, the more resilient you are & the more resilient you are, the happier you are.
Made sense to me, sounds absolutely common sense. But I was a bit surprised to find out the results & I think they will be a great help to you, as they have been to me.
Having a goal has always been a way to envisage a happier life, a more successful life with hundreds of books telling us to look forward to the future.
We’re probably doing it now. Looking forward to when Covid has gone, so we can be happier. Planning now, makes us more resilient.
Not so.
The study found that the key to happiness & building resilience is doing everyday things that make you happy. These small things, no matter what they are, have a cumulative effect, creating positive emotions, enabling us to grow our resources of resilience. Short term effects led to long term growth.
They also found that negative & positive experiences are not equal currency. The more frequent the positive things, the more satisfied you are, the more you enjoy yourself, the more you can handle life’s daily challenges. People could have a bad day, but because they were building up a bank of positive experiences every day, they could handle it.
They were more resilient.
So, try these each day;
- Do things that make you smile
- Spend time on things that interest you
- Learn or discover something new
- Connect with someone about the things you enjoy
In the words of Brené Brown – Joy, collected over time, fuels resilience