Skeptics have often asked whether a person who uses cocaine every day is “happy.” If feeling good all the time were our only requirement, then the answer would be “yes.” However, recent research suggests that an even-keeled mood is more psychologically healthy than a mood in which you achieve great heights of happiness regularly—after all, what goes up must come down. Furthermore, when you ask people what makes their lives worth living, they rarely say anything about their mood. They are more likely to cite things that they find meaningful, such as their work or relationships. Recent research even suggests that if you focus too much on trying to feel good all the time, you’ll actually undermine your ability to feel good at all—in other words, no amount of feeling good will be satisfying to you, since what you expect (all the time) isn’t physically possible for most people
The research suggests that happiness is a combination of how satisfied you are with your life (for example, finding meaning in your work) and how good you feel on a day-to-day basis. Both of these are relatively stable—that is, our life changes, and our mood fluctuates, but our general happiness is more genetically determined than anything else. The good news is, with consistent effort, this can be offset. Think of it like you think about weight: if you eat how you want to and are as active as you want to be, your body will settle at a certain weight. But if you eat less than you'd like or exercise more, your weight will adjust accordingly. If that new diet or exercise regimen becomes part of your everyday life, then you'll stay at this new weight. If you go back to eating and exercising the way you used to, your weight will return to where it started. So it goes, too, with happiness.
In other words, you have the ability to control how you feel—and with consistent practice, you can form life-long habits for a more satisfying and fulfill.
What are the Benefits of Happiness?
It was Aristotle who once said “Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and the end of human existence” – a sentiment that is still true today. While Aristotle had a philosophical notion of the importance of happiness for human well-being, today we have a range of science and research to back it up.Scientific studies have begun to reveal a host of physical health benefits surrounding happiness including a stronger immune system, stronger resilience in the face of stress, a stronger heart and less risk of cardiovascular disease, alongside quicker recovery times when overcoming illness or surgery. There is even a body of research that indicates being happy may help us tolive longer lives.
Across all of the research, there is a conflict between whether feeling happier directly leads to better health outcomes, or whether it is merely a correlation (Newman, 2015).
Some researchers have hypothesized thatfeeling happierand more positive leads to greater participation in activities that are healthier including exercise,eating healthy,socializingand good sleeping habits
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