Pursuit of Happiness

The suggestion that everyone should feel happy all the time seems to be emerging as a new phenomenon in pop-culture.
Movies, books and music lyrics all send messages that say, “You deserve to be happy.” But, research shows that chasing happiness may actually make you feel worse.
Although there are countless books, websites, and speakers offering advice about how to achieve optimal levels of happiness, the exact path about how to get there remains a bit hazy. In fact, most people make incorrect assumptions about what will make them feel happy. These inaccurate predictions lead people down the wrong trail as they expect happiness will be found right around the next corner.
Sometimes people believe having children, getting a new job, or becoming self-employed will automatically equate to increased happiness. But often, these changes don’t result in the increased happiness that people expect. When attempts to increase happiness fail, it can leave people feeling unhappier than ever.

What can you do if you want to increase your happiness?
Well, the one that most research studies do seem to agree on is that pro-social behavior increases happiness.While earning more money might not make you happy, giving it away could.
Acts of kindness alone won’t make you happy, however. Doing good deeds could backfire if you go about it the wrong way. The latest happiness research from Stanford University, the University of Houston, and Harvard Business School shows that to achieve an increase in happiness, people need to establish concrete, attainable goals aimed at helping other people. When these goals are accomplished, happiness increases for both the giver and the receiver.
However, creating attainable goals helps establish reasonable expectations for how much happiness you’ll experience when the goal is accomplished. Following through with your action steps to help other people can increase your overall life satisfaction and sense of happiness. Set out to make the world a better place one small step at a time and your happiness meter is also likely to climb.

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