Even if you don't belong to the group of nursing staff, cashiers, single mothers/fathers, or teachers stressed by online vs. frontal teaching, the Corona year has most likely not passed you - and especially your mental life - completely unscathed. According to the Happiness Atlas 2020 , a study by Deutsche Post, the overall life satisfaction of Canadians has fallen slightly in the last year.
But the good news is that people are generally able to adapt to new life situations relatively quickly. A well-known study from Northwestern University found that someone who won $20 million in the lottery was no happier a year later than before. Similarly, people who become paralyzed adapt emotionally to the existing situation after a few years and are generally no less unhappy afterwards.
Although one might think that the above events have a significant impact on happiness levels - and a permanent one at that - a millionaire gets used to the new mansion, and paraplegics also adapt to the new circumstances. The contrast between 'before' and 'after' blurs and the new normal becomes the starting point of daily life.
What does this mean for us now, given the Corona year? It means that sooner or later we will adapt to the changed circumstances and return to our starting point in terms of our personal happiness. So, at some point, we will most likely be just as happy or unhappy as we were before the pandemic.
That sounds good at first. But you're probably wondering: What does it all look like in reality and how can we influence our own happiness? Don't worry - we'll get to that in a moment.
The formula for happiness – what influences our happiness
According to the happiness research of Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, there is actually a formula that determines our happiness. It is made up of the following:
Happiness = heredity (50 percent) + living conditions (10 percent) + daily activities/'will' (40 percent)
In other words, how happy you are is determined half by your genes, 40 percent by your daily activities, and only a very small percentage by what else happens in your life (like a pay raise).
Martin Seligman's theory yields the following two action items, which are easier to implement than you think:
1. Choose daily activities that boost your well-being
2. Try to influence your genetic predisposition to happiness
What you can do every day
Do you remember our example from the beginning of the article, where people get used to winning the lottery or being paraplegic? This is exactly how we get used to pretty much everything and it becomes part of our daily lives (with a few exceptions, of course). In psychologists' terms, this is called the 'adaptation principle'. And who hasn't experienced that feeling of finally handing in your bachelor's thesis after long, hard-working months? You're on cloud nine, the tunes to 'Awesome Life' are ringing in your head. However, the joy of the milestone you've just reached usually fades away faster than you can say "ecotrophology".
As already described, in relation to Corona, this means that in the long term we will most likely return to our starting level in terms of our subjective feeling of happiness. But what can you do if the 'adjustment' has not happened for you and you still keep falling into a hole, or if you would simply like to be happier?
Here are a few practical tips for every day to boost your personal happiness level:
1. Change your routine as often as possible
What to do:
If you haven't done so yet, start your workday with a walk. Try a different sport for a change. Take a short trip to a place near you that you've never been before. Sign up for an online course to learn a new skill (how about origami, or Vietnamese cuisine? #wanderlust). Overcoming your laziness and trying something new is definitely not easy - but once you've done it, you'll notice how good it actually is for you. We'll explain why that is now.
The why:
As we get used to the things we see and do every day, our brains become particularly receptive to new information and stimuli. In other words, our little grey cells perceive change as vital information that we need to pay attention to. The same does not apply to constant conditions.
For this reason, new, exciting things and activities have a much stronger impact on how happy we feel than the usual things we encounter in everyday life.
2. Pause for a moment & appreciate your (positive) experiences
What to do:
Remember a positive moment with one of your friends. Think about the last time you laughed together (even if it was just through the smartphone camera). Sometimes it helps to listen to a song that reminds you of a specific, beautiful moment. Before you go to sleep , write down three things you were grateful for that day.
The why:
Because we adapt so quickly to new circumstances, we have to work extra hard to be happy about what's going well in our lives or about the milestones we've achieved. Have you ever invested a lot of energy into planning an event, only to be able to enjoy your personal success long after the event was over?
As David Brooks describes it in a New York Times opinion piece:
"When the editor of my first book called to tell me I'd made the bestseller list, it was almost as if nothing had happened. It didn't feel like a part of me. If you focus your life on career success, your ambitions will always get in the way of what you've actually achieved - and that ends up making you totally unhappy."
To counteract this, take some time to visualize the good things that are happening, maybe even write them down or discuss them with others. According to a famous study by Prof. Martin Seligman, subjects who made it a habit to write down three things they were grateful for felt happier not only immediately afterwards, but also after a week, a month and six months.
3. Prioritize your (interpersonal) relationships
What to do:
Invest in your friendship and relationships. Make as many plans with friends as possible - even if that means planning what feels like the 1000th happy hour over Zoom or taking the 50th walk around the lake together. Have deep conversations with your friends and family. Share your moments of happiness, even the more mundane ones, with other people - and preferably with those who are most important to you.
The why:
There are some things we never completely 'get used to', and relationships are one of them. Our friends (and family) share our happy moments, and comfort us when we're sad. They make us laugh, and keep loneliness at bay. They are the all-purpose tool for a happy, fulfilling life:
“If you want to predict how happy someone is, or how long they will live, you should find out about their social relationships… No man, woman, or child exists in a vacuum. We are ultrasocial creatures, and we cannot be happy without friends.” – NYU Prof Jonathan Haidt
How to rewire your brain
Now that you know how to adjust your daily activities to increase your happiness levels, let's tackle the genetic component of happiness. Your genes determine half of your happiness at any given time. And while these are mostly static, there are two important things you can do to increase your brain's ability to feel happiness:
1. Do sports
What to do:
Exercise for 20 minutes a day, every day.
The why:
Exercise promotes neurogenesis (aka the formation) and release of our feel-good hormones (endorphin and serotonin), all of which change the brain and increase the feeling of happiness.
You definitely don't need to go jogging for 10 km to reap the benefits of exercise. If you have a higher heart rate for 20 minutes, that's enough. Just remember that the effects of exercise are short-lived - if you exercise on a Monday, you won't automatically be happier on a Tuesday. The key is to stick with it. For example, even a brisk walk is enough to stimulate neurogenesis. To keep track of your activity, steps and any route you've taken, we recommend using an app like ' Google Fit ' (Android) or ' Pedometer - Free Activity Tracker' (Android & iOs ). Seeing what you've achieved is motivating and helps you keep going.
2. Meditate – in search of inner Zen
What to do:
Meditate for 2 minutes every day, 21 days in a row.
The why:
Meditating reduces your levels of stress hormones (cortisol), shrinks the part of your brain that influences worry and fear (the amygdala), and activates the happy zone (the prefrontal cortex) – thus expanding your neurological capacity for happiness.
And just like with sport, the key to helpful meditation is consistency, not duration. Have you never meditated before and don't know where to start? Check your App Store/Play Store for suitable meditation apps, such as ' Headspace '. There are now countless good options that you can easily integrate into your everyday life.
Four rules you should follow to be happier
That was quite a lot of input. Here is the short version:
1. Consciously have new experiences
2. Be grateful & appreciate the good things in your life
3. Prioritize your relationships with others
4. Train your body & mind
Being proactive and taking your happiness into your own hands is not easy. But we know from experience: things that are really worth it are rarely easy.
Prioritizing your happiness impacts your entire life, improving not only your fitness and social life, but also your productivity and creativity.
Concluding remark
There are of course exceptions, such as strokes of fate, in which a few simple hacks are not enough to make you feel better/happier. For example, in cases where your initial happiness level is so low that you cannot improve your condition on your own. If this is the case, be sure to contact a specialist and seek professional help.
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Do you think these tips have helped you? You can find more practical life hacks on our blog – feel free to stop by.