Happiness is like the weather – a constant alternation between sunny days and rainy moments. It is normal not to always feel happy, and this is where psychology's perspective on happiness becomes valuable. Here are some ideas for navigating through life's different stages and increasing your chances of feeling joy.
Acceptance instead of happiness
Psychologist Isabel Petrini advocates avoiding the word "happiness" and instead focusing on "joy". Joy is present despite pain, as when parents experience both joy and worry for their child. By embracing joy as a cognate to pain, we can appreciate the complexity of life.
We may not even feel joy at all times. This is also normal. Many times we may just have the energy to hit the dunk and just be, hang out or be bored in a restful way. This is what the neurology review says”Your brain at work” is a restful state as we simultaneously solve many problems. I mean that long boring moments are needed to preserve our ethics, happiness and rationality.
Lars Fr. H. Svendsen: In the book "The philosophy of boredom" Svendsen explores the role of boredom in human life. He argues that boredom is a necessary part of human existence and that our ability to deal with it can affect our ethics and quality of life.
Philippa Perry: Psychotherapist Philippa Perry has discussed the importance of allowing yourself to feel boredom and how it can be a creative force. Not constantly distracting yourself can lead to deeper self-reflection and increased awareness.
Mary Mann: In the book "Yawn: Adventures in Boredom", Mann examines boredom and argues that it can be a creative and productive force. She explores how boredom can make room for new ideas and perspectives.
Bertrand Russell: The philosopher Bertrand Russell has discussed in his works the importance of being able to experience boredom and loneliness in order to develop a deeper understanding of oneself and life.
Accept and Act (ACT)
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is an alternative to the pursuit of happiness. The doctor Russ Harris describes a form of therapy that advocates not trying to suppress unpleasant thoughts and feelings. Instead, they are allowed to be there without being valued or changed. By accepting negative thoughts, it becomes easier to move on without getting stuck in them.
Face challenges with direction
When we face suffering, it is important to focus on our long-term goals and values. Instead of making short-term decisions to escape immediate pain, it is important to focus on what really matters to us both now, yesterday and in the future.
Diet and exercise for body and soul
During periods of challenges, it is common for diet and exercise to fall into the shade. Accepting yourself as you are is important, but returning to healthy habits can bring joy to both body and soul. Engaging in daily exercise, such as walking around 5000 steps per day, weight training or some other pulse-raising activity 1-2 times per week can provide benefits such as increased muscle strength, improved fitness and reduced cravings for sweets. When we are older than around 35-40 years, muscle mass starts to decrease if we do not exercise. Strength training can make it easier to lift the body and prevent pain.
Work and study methodically for lifelong learning
Building a pleasant working life or coping with studies requires methodical work and patience. Starting to study from a young age makes it easier, but it's never too late to learn. Taking breaks when needed and varying activities can promote mental well-being. When you focus on a reasonably challenging task at work or in your studies, you can hide from yourself and the outside world and focus on creating benefit. This often gives rest to the soul. Acquiring specialized knowledge, such as a forklift driver's license or a sommelier's degree, not only increases job opportunities, but also makes working life more rewarding and healthy. Then someone might rather want to be a journalist or a doctor. But in a demanding labor market, know-how is a key to more pleasant work and better pay.
Then you don't have to be talented at everything to have a good life. If you feel that you cannot develop your talents at the moment, that you can cut down on your expenses, then you can choose a lower paid job with a slower work pace. Then there are many great talents who are not good at everything. Mna can be good at both math/science and humanities/social science/art or art/creativity and/or practical work, but often most tend to be more gifted in one and less gifted in another. These people have still had a very good life, especially if society is red-green.
To keep the courage alive
There is a shortage of jobs and a shortage of jobs with good living conditions. It is important to keep the courage alive. Most people who are successful in whatever it is, such as work, studies, business, love, life harmony, diet, exercise or living well, have lost their way many times. They do this both before and after they have found the right path. The one who achieves his goals usually just fail more times, but does not give lost. Don't even compare yourself to yourself. Just keep up the courage. If you falter, get back up when you've had a break.
Self-compassion
Being kind and forgiving to oneself, even in adversity, is a form of self-compassion and more harmonious than happiness. Instead of being hard on yourself, it is important to give yourself love and show that you are worth taking care of. Combining this with doing the best you can towards yourself and others lays the foundation for a calmer interior. No one is perfect, but trying will do. It is important to remember that it is human to make mistakes. Especially in today's complex and challenging society.
Diversity of happiness experiences
Happiness researcher Bengt Brülde identifies four forms of happiness: euphoric happiness, peace of mind happiness, well-being happiness, and life satisfaction happiness. By understanding and appreciating the different forms, we can create a more nuanced view of our well-being. In youth, people chase more maximized forms of happiness that are often euphoric. If this goes too far, you can become addicted to drugs or unhappy because you never get enough likes on social media.
Focus on relationships and meaning
To increase the level of happiness in life, it is important to focus on close relationships and engage in meaningful activities. By prioritizing these aspects instead of status and consumption, we can achieve a sustainable and rewarding form of happiness. What makes us happiest at the end of life is often if we meant something loving to those who were the same to us. To Doing what you can for the outside world also helps while no one can do everything.
A good and comfortable life
Happiness is a journey through the different phases of life, and by embracing its diversity we can learn to navigate through both happy and challenging times. In youth, we want to party and maximize our experiences. Over time, I think many people realize that managing their everyday life as comfortably and well as possible and appreciating the big in the small gives great satisfaction. A friend has said that the better the intoxication, the worse the hangover. Managing one's life calmly, responsibly, comfortably with consideration for others and oneself and a small dose of rebellion can go a long way. A cake for coffee on Sunday perhaps?
Inspiration
The four different forms of happiness
What to do when the happiness myth is just a myth?
Sometimes we are happiest when we get it wrong
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Still, this is a political issue.
First, self-rated happiness is greater in developed countries than in developing countries. It seems that income growth is parallel to happiness growth - up to a certain limit (perhaps somewhere around Uruguay...). After that, happiness becomes parallel to equality. People become unhappy by comparing themselves to those who have a lot more money than themselves. See Richard Layard's research on e.g. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/30529548_Happiness_Lessons_From_A_New_Science.
And this certainly has political implications. When a country is comparatively rich, e.g. Sweden, it is futile to chase after growth. What should be pursued instead is equality.
Or to see it from the trade union point of view: it is pointless to chase after increasing one's salary calculated in kroner. It works better to increase it as a percentage of the CEO's salary. In other words, it works just as well to demand a lower salary for the CEO in a salary negotiation - if it is happiness, or even satisfaction, you are looking for.
We humans (and all social animals are probably the same) seem to be wired to be made unhappy by inequality. It seems to be an evolutionarily developed feature whose purpose is to ensure that everyone helps and no one cheats, see https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/dec/18/comment.science
And because man is the very weakest ape without either natural weapons like fangs or natural armor like fur. What made man conquer the earth was our ability to cooperate and to give our vulnerable many second chances. Otherwise, I agree with you and am aware of the importance of the equality issue.