The Daily Habits of Happiness Experts

"If anyone knows the secret to happiness, it’s surely the people who have dedicated their careers to studying it. The first thing they’ll tell you? Being happy all the time isn’t a feasible—or even desirable—goal.

The meaning of happiness is, to an extent, subjective. But nearly every expert we surveyed emphasized the same cocktail of ingredients: a sense of control and autonomy over one’s life, being guided by meaning and purpose, and connecting with others. And they largely agreed that happiness can be measured, strengthened, and taught. “The more you notice how happy or how grateful you are, the more it grows,” Grizont says.

One of the most striking lessons centered on the importance of acknowledging negative emotions, rather than suppressing them. The idea that dodging resentment, fear, or anger is healthy is one of the major misconceptions about happiness, they agreed. We err when we assume that focusing on happiness means acting like a “Pollyanna,” ignoring the very real difficulties of life,” says Judith T. Moskowitz, a professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Instead, the experts say, we should aim to accept and appropriately deal with difficult feelings.

So what works?

The experts we surveyed had a handful of happiness habits in common.

• Spending time with family outside of the house, and with friends in a non-professional setting, were big ones: the majority did both at least once a week, and many gathered socially three to four times a week. John Zelenski, a psychology professor at Carleton University, describes social relationships as the chief building blocks of happiness. We all stand to benefit from close friendships, romantic partners, and a “general sense of respect and belonging in a community,” he says.
• Pursuing hobbies, such as art, music, cooking, or reading, was also universally important. Most respondents carved out space for these interests five to six times a week. Mental well-being has long been linked to sufficient sleep, and our respondents prioritized getting at least seven hours a night. Exercising or playing sports was another shared habit, with respondents saying they fit it in three to six times weekly.
• An additional key to unlocking happiness might be basking in nature. More than half of the experts reported doing so at least three times a week. Emiliana Simon-Thomas, science director of the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, notes that when she’s stressed, she takes a walk and “marvel[s] at flowers, plants, birds, insects.”
• She also counts breathing exercises, reading poetry, and watching stand-up comedy among her go-to coping strategies on bad days. Other experts overcome unhelpful thoughts, anxieties, and stressors by revisiting favorite books, listening to upbeat songs, or journaling. Some described asking a friend for a hug or letting it all out with a good cry."

Read the full article on Time