There had been much publicity on the subject of Happiness and there’s no letting up!
Singapore, our prosperous city-state had ranked low in many international happiness surveys for a number of years now, but what really got our attention I think was when we ranked the lowest in 2 separate Gallup survey findings released just 1 month apart-as the world’s most emotionless and most unhappy.
Every article written on happiness surveys we are ranked in would mention how ironic it is, given how prosperous Singapore is, but how unhappy we are especially relative to the South-East Asian countries around us (and this is where they would provide statistics of Singapore’s GDP per capita).
Authors on the subject of happiness have said that money is important for happiness until an annual income level of US$75,000, after which money usually doesn’t play a part in a person’s level of happiness anymore.
In fact, to be happy seems really easy. I found these tips in the book Happiness Within Your Reach, by Sean Lim, Singapore’s first Happiness Coach.
Happy people:
1. Make about US$75,000 a year. (Even if you’ve not achieved this yet, the rest of the items on the list are easy enough to achieve)
2. Eat plant-based breakfasts.
3. Volunteer.
4. Work 5 days a week, seven hours a day.
5. Sleep eight hours a day.
6. Exercise 30 minutes a day.
7. Socialise six hours a day.
Here are 3 ideas on how to be happy:
Happiness is a Choice
It is not what happens to us that matters, it is how we choose to react to what happens to us that matters.
Reframe
One way of changing your attitude towards a bad situation is by asking, “What are the benefits of this situation?” instead of asking “Why did this happen to me?”.
Letting Go
“Life is the art of sometimes holding on and sometimes letting go.” If it is worth hanging on, persevere and hang on. If it does not offer the results you want, perhaps it’s time to let go. However, do strike a balance. Sometimes, success is just around the corner.
I’m Happiness and I’m not hard to find 🙂
(Photo from The World of Hina)
The thing is, Happiness is desired by all, but elusive to most. But Happiness doesn’t discriminate, everyone can find Happiness. It costs nothing, but yet it’s everything.
Happiness is within you, is in your hands, it isn’t hard to find, nor is it elusive. It is as simple as choosing to be happy, and adjusting your lifestyle for happiness.
It’s easier said than done I guess, where working for 7 hours and sleeping for 8 hours a day is a luxury for most of us. But it’s in knowing how we can achieve happiness that we can take steps towards it.
It’s a new year, where we are still working on the resolutions we made, if your new year resolution is to seek contentment and be happy, well, you know what you can do…
