Why be happy?

When we talk about happiness many people raise eyebrows and think it as a fluffy subject. Who has time for this, for many people is taboo like sex and money you can's ask them if they are happy.
And many start an arguments of who is happy, you can' measure it , how can you be happy?


Happiness has been a subject since Socrates, Plato, Aristotle times talking about Eudamonia ( fulfilment ) and they discovered that the base of out life is search and savoring positive emotions.

Im my book of the week I am reading as to the benefit of happiness and how it has been measured in psychology labs.

The research has been  done despite positive psychology is a new only 10 years and the results are unmistakable.

Happy people are more sociable and energetic than their peers.

They are more charitable and cooperative and better liked than their peers.

Happier people are likely to get married and stay married and have richer networks of friends and social support.

There are more resilient in the face of hardship and earn more money, have stronger immune system and live longer.

In the Socrates time people had access to philosophers that would live in the house of rich people or be part of the community and they would discuss their most important issues and give opinions and lead people in their daily struggles and how to view the world.

That role today is played by life coaches that are becoming more dominant in our society but still to very little degree. Although people nowadays think that because there is so much information easily available they can digest it them self and don't like to seek help, that was not a problem with athenians that asking a philosopher was a normal phenomena.

There RE MANY MYTHS TO HAPPINESS but three are stressed in Sonja lyubomirsky book "The how of Happiness

Myth 1. Happiness must be found.
Happiness is within us and we can affect 40% of it. as stated before 50% is determined by genes, 10% circumstances by cars/ goods/ jobs /holidays.
Such a shame that we put so much effort on only 10%

Myth 2. I will be happy WHEN.....
As humans we overestimate how happy something will make us and hoe sad something bad will make. If we took more time to understand that we adapt to everything that happen to us we will come ti a peaceful place of love and compassion for our selves and our fellow human beings and start be happy in the moment.

Myth 3. you either have it of you don't
Buddhist monks through many researches have proven that you can increase happiness through meditation that we have 40% that we can influence and the journey is worth it.

The ideas and inspiration by book " The how of happiness"
Some idea by my favourite site that is more stoic when viewing happiness www.theschooloflife.com