Is There a Formula for Joy?

There have been 54,000 studies on depression and only 415 on happiness according to psychologist Dan Baker. Baker, in What Happy People Know, says that "happiness can be practiced and managed.” He says practicing appreciation and love makes us happy.

It certainly makes sense that there are more studies on depression versus happiness. We want to “fix” the depressed but there really isn’t a need to “fix” happiness. Of course, perhaps looking into what plays into making people happy and how you can achieve or practice happiness in one’s life could play into curing or improving those who suffer from depression. I think we could all benefit from a little education on how to be happier or how to be better at focusing on what makes us happy.

There are many things that make people happy. I think it is normal for folks to focus on the negative – to dwell on it – for those things tend to stand out like the proverbial sore thumb. When things don’t go right we spend a lot of time trying to figure out why, wondering how we could have done things differently, what preventive measures we can take the next time, how bad the consequences might be, etc. When things go right we are sort of in that “everything is as it should be” place therefore feeling no need to dwell, right? But maybe we should. Maybe we need to push past the “bad” more quickly and wallow in the good a little longer? Sounds like a good idea to me anyway. There is way more in my life that makes me happy than what makes me unhappy so what’s the point in letting that smaller percentage of unhappy stuff define my mood or general outlook? It doesn’t make sense. What I think makes sense is to remind ourselves every day – on the good and the bad days – of just few things that make us happy. Things we appreciate or are grateful for that indeed are a link to or a cause of happiness for us. Here is my short list for today.

1. A few days of Spring-like weather in the middle of what’s normally a very cold month.
2. The fun and whimsical movie Hotel for Dogs which is still making me smile days after seeing it with my daughter.
3. My little dog and her wiggly tail.
4. Good books to read.
5. Fresh made iced tea in my fridge.

These may not seem like big things but they are things for which I am grateful today and that bring a happy smile to my face. Tomorrow my list may include some the same things as today or may be different. Here’s the thing, whatever makes you happy doesn’t have to be grand or complex or expensive or “big” in any other way. Nor does everything on “the list” have to be static even though it’s likely many things are – like friends or kids or family. What makes one happy can vary from day to day or hour to hour. Recognizing the happy in little things and focusing on achieving happiness in your life is something that has an immediate pay off – and that’s something we could all use these days.

What makes you happy? What can you do to be happier?