The art of happiness

Happiness (which I have sometimes seen as just an illusion dreamt up to make us think all this slogging away and muddling through has some purpose) is apparently a much more concrete entity than that, according to the latest psychological research.

A founding researcher in the field of "positive psychology", Dr Martin Seligman, was among the first to begin scientific investigations into what "makes the human heart sing" – a leap beyond "Beyond Blue" if you like. His theory is based on the very logical hypothesis that if psychologists can help people move from the extreme negatives of neurosis, depression and mental illness to normality, then perhaps they could also help them move from normality to the more positive end of the scale - in other words not just cope, but flourish. This hypothetical journey into the light, he contends, is linked to emotional competencies such as optimism, engagement, creativity, altruism and a sense of connectedness.

A fascinating aspect of his research findings is what apparently doesn't make us happy. Among the non-raters are:

• Money (not really a surprise, although I have always suspected it must help to ease the misery to some extent)


• A Good Education and/or a high IQ (ignorance is bliss perhaps?)


• Youth (apparently despite their physical advantages, all that existential angst gets in the way for younger people)


• Sunshine (a surprise here for all those sufferers of seasonal affective disorder).

And what does you may well ask – interestingly it's a lot of things in life that can't be bought, taught, inherited, or just luckily stumbled upon, e.g.

• Community spirit – contributing to the lives of others


• Friends, family and our commitment and sense of connection to them (what have I been saying about the value of blog networking?)


• A sense of purpose (I think having worthwhile but achievable goals really helps)


• Being in control of your life (makes sense - if you're a victim of any of life's really tough blows, it's clearly going to be hard).

Moving beyond the purely diagnostic, psychologists are even daring to be prescriptive and suggesting strategies to boost our feelings of happiness. These tend to focus on cultivating the art of gratitude (sincerely count your blessings, in other words) and regularly practicing acts of altruism. Other suggestions include savoring life's joys (really cherishing those pleasurable moments and sensations), thanking those who have helped us or made us happy, learning to forgive those that have done the opposite, investing time and energy in friends and family, taking care of our bodies and finding effective ways of coping with stress and hardship.

So, contrary to popular belief that happiness is an arbitrary and subjective concept, it is apparently capable of being not only put under the microscope, but cultivated, nurtured and largely self-initiated. Perhaps not a revolutionary idea, but certainly an enormously valid one and a breath of fresh air amidst the obsession with depression that seems to prevail in our society today.