The Positive Psychology world suffered two great losses this year, first with Edward Diener who passed away in April and then Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in October. Diener, otherwise known as Dr. Happiness, was recognized as a leader in measuring what he called “subjective well-being.” Csikszentmihalyi was a pioneer in the Positive Psychology space and introduced the concept of flow theory in the 1970’s. These losses were great but the legacies that these two larger than life figures left behind will live on in the Positive Psychology world for years to come.
In what was a tough year all around, there was still plenty of hope and great research into how to live a happy life, which not only helped many of us to cope with an unprecedented global crisis, but also learn more about ourselves and what’s truly important in life.
What we Have Learnt from the Pandemic
COVID-19’s Impact on Mental Health Hasn’t Been All Bad (Psychology Today). The COVID-19 pandemic has caused mental distress, but it has also strengthened people’s mental health in many ways. New research shows how the crisis has increased mental health through three main processes.
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Chance to Start Over (The Atlantic). It’s time to prepare for a new and better normal than your pre-pandemic life.
Stumbling into the Next Stage of Your Pandemic Life (Greater Good Magazine). A therapist explores the psychology of coming back from the big pandemic pause.
How to Make Your Post-Pandemic Happiness Last (GQ). Human happiness is surprisingly resistant to change—even to positive shifts. So as the pandemic wanes in the U.S., is it possible to make these good feelings stay?
The 9 Silver Linings of the COVID-19 Pandemic (Psychology Today). Researchers found that the average sentiment of participants’ responses was positive when describing the pandemic’s silver linings. The results of the study may help people better heal from this crisis and be better prepared to respond to potential future crises.
Research Suggests Positive Forward-Thinking Safeguards Mental Health During Lockdowns (Mental Health Today). We all might feel nostalgic for a time when we weren’t confined to our homes or had rules imposed upon us in public spaces; however new research from the University of Surrey suggests that if we forget about 2020 or even our current lockdown state in 2021 and look forward to the future, our mental wellbeing will presently be more resilient.
Plan to Find Happiness
Frequent travel could make you 7% happier (Science Daily). People dreaming of travel post-COVID-19 now have some scientific data to support their wanderlust. A new study shows frequent travellers are happier with their lives than people who don’t travel at all.
How Trip Planning and Happiness Are Directly Correlated (Psychology Today). Research reveals that planning future travel may boost mood and mindset.
What Is Transformational Travel? Holidaying With A Purpose Is The New Switching Off (Bazaar). Explore how the power of trips taken with consciousness can emanate positivity, personal growth, and mental wellness for all.
Be Curious and Learn
Learning Boosts Happiness, New Study Suggests (Sci News). New research from University College London suggests that how we learn about the world around us can be more important for how we feel than rewards we receive directly.
Curiosity and Happiness Go Hand in Hand (The Philadelphia Inquirer). As Einstein said: The important thing is to never stop questioning. Research suggests that consistent curiosity goes hand in hand with happiness.
Happiness can be Learned Through Meditation, Philosophy and Training (Medical Xpress). Is it possible to learn to be happier? Well, it seems it is—at least according to a scientific study coordinated by the University of Trento and carried out in collaboration with Sapienza University of Rome, now published in Frontiers in Psychology.
The Wonder Stuff: What I Learned About Happiness from a Month of ‘Awe Walks’ (The Guardian). Feeling down? You need to experience more awe, psychologists say. So, I set off every day to explore my local area, leaving my phone behind.
Green is Good
Green Space Around Primary Schools May Improve Students’ Academic Performance (The Conversation). Greenery around primary schools may improve students’ academic performance, while traffic pollution may be detrimental, our study shows.
Spending Time Outdoors Has a Positive Effect on Our Brains (Neuroscience News). Brain structure and mood improve when people spend time outdoors. This has positive implications for concentration, memory, and overall psychological wellbeing.
The Built Environment Impacts Our Health and Happiness More Than We Know (Arch Daily). The built environment is directly linked with happiness and well-being, and too often urban environments fail to put people at ease.
Nature-Based Activities Can Improve Mood and Reduce Anxiety (Neuroscience News). Participating in nature-based activities including exercise, gardening, and conservation, helps improve mood and reduce anxiety for those with mental health problems.
Birds and Bees ‘Secret Weapons’ to Raising Happiness Levels (Belfast Telegraph). Studies show that increasing people’s connection with nature boosts happiness.
Embrace your Inner DJ
20 Surprising, Science-Backed Health Benefits of Music (USA Today). Research suggests that music not only helps us cope with pain — it can also benefit our physical and mental health in numerous other ways. Read on to learn how listening to tunes can ramp up your health.
The Unsung Secret to Stability and Happiness During The Pandemic (ZDNet). It’s been a hard year, but at least many people have found a reliable way to reduce stress and increase happiness. Netflix is great and exercise is important, but music, it turns out, has made a positive difference in the lives of many during an often-bleak and perpetually uncertain pandemic year.
Coping With COVID-19 Stress Through Music (Neuroscience News). Study reports people who experienced an increase in negative emotion during lockdown listened to music to relieve feelings of depression, stress, and fear. Those with a more positive state of mind turned to music as a replacement for social interaction.
Work for Meaning, Purpose and Happiness
The ‘Great Realization’ has Inspired People to Seek Happiness in Their Jobs and Careers (Forbes). A study of work happiness commissioned by Indeed, the large job aggregation site, and conducted by Forrester, delved into how we feel about our jobs and careers.
Why Work Is More Than Just a Job (Psychology Today). We have been conditioned to think of work primarily as a source of income. The truth is, our job can have a powerful effect on our psychological well-being. Acknowledging the benefits of work can help us better shape our careers.
The Great Resignation is Here: How to Find Purpose in The Next Stage of Your Career (Forbes). By now, you’ve likely heard about the Great Resignation. Due to the pandemic, changes in work-life balance, childcare and other factors, an estimated 40% of the global workforce is considering changing jobs in 2021. Anecdotal evidence and data suggest that it has much to do with our values and feeling aligned with our purpose.
How Self-Determination Can Boost Satisfaction at Work (Psychology Today). Self-Determination Theory provides a framework for understanding changes in work motivation. Motivation often decreases when core psychological needs have not been met. Work structures that support autonomy, competence, and relatedness can facilitate motivation and productivity.
Get the Best Sleep
The Organizational Cost of Insufficient Sleep (McKinsey). In an increasingly hyperconnected world, in which many companies now expect their employees to be on call and to answer emails 24/7, sleep is an important organizational topic that requires specific and urgent attention.
Mindfulness Training Helps Kids Sleep Better (Stanford Medicine). At-risk children gained more than an hour of sleep per night after participating in a mindfulness curriculum at their elementary schools, a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine found.
Natural Light May be Key to Improving Mood and Reducing Insomnia (Neuroscience News). More time spent outside in natural light was associated with improved mood, better sleep quality, and ease of waking.
Laugh!
How Laughing at Yourself Can Be Good for Your Well-Being (Psychology Today). Laughing at oneself is healthy when it is not motivated by self-demeaning drives. People who engage in excessive self-defeating humour may be trying to hide underlying emotional problems. Self-directed laughter can remind us of our humanness and promote positive interpersonal interactions.
Laugh more, live better (McKinsey & Company). Naomi Bagdonas and Connor Diemand-Yauman, lecturers at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, hilariously explore the power at the intersection of humour, business, and leadership. It’s no joke.
Seriously Funny: Humour is a Character Strength (Neuroscience News). Researchers say the use and appreciation of humour is positive for overall wellbeing and psychological health. Humour is observed in all cultures and at all ages. But only in recent decades has experimental psychology respected it as an essential, fundamental human behaviour.
A Little Laughter Decreases Stress and Improves Productivity (Forbes). Paul Osincup is a positivity strategist and his mission is to create workplace happiness. He does this with his humorous and inspirational style of teaching and speaking. According to Osincup, “Humour is the new mindfulness.” You can actually train your brain to see and experience humour more often.
Viewing Memes Online Increases Positive Emotions, Helps Cope with Pandemic (Penn State). Viewing memes online may increase positive emotions which can help improve one’s confidence in the ability to cope with life during a pandemic. The recently published study also showed that people who viewed memes with COVID-19-related captions reported lower levels of COVID-related stress than did those who saw a non-COVID caption.
Share the Love!
There’s a Specific Kind of Joy We’ve Been Missing (The New York Times). Research has found that people laugh five times as often when they’re with others as when they’re alone. Peak happiness lies mostly in collective activity.
Hard Times Make for Stronger Bonds and Greater Happiness: Here’s Why That Matters (Forbes). You’ve heard it before: Going through hard times is one of the things that can create bonds between people. In fact, the more difficult the experience, the more bonding that may occur. And a global pandemic certainly qualifies as a condition for strengthening bonds.
Getting Beyond Small Talk: People Enjoy Deep Conversations with Strangers (NeuroScience News). People overestimate feelings of awkwardness when talking to strangers and underestimate the enjoyment of deep, meaningful conversations with those we have just met.
Selflessness and Feeling in Harmony with Others Coincides with Greater Happiness (PsyPost). A study published in the Journal of Individual Differences suggests there’s more to happiness than feeling satisfied with one’s life. The study found that experiencing the self as interdependent coincided with increased happiness through feeling greater harmony with others.
Why we Missed Hugs (The Conversation). Similar to regular hunger, touch hunger serves as an alert that something important is missing – in this case, the sense of security, intimacy, and care that comes with tactile contact.
Express Yourself
Twirl to Happiness: Does Dance Therapy Hold Promise for Treating Anxiety and Depression? (Economic Times). Researchers understand that the majority of our daily communication is nonverbal, and traumatic memories are encoded, or stored, in nonverbal parts of the brain.
What is it That Makes Baking Such a Soothing, Evocative Pastime? (Happiful). So, what it is that makes baking such an effective mindfulness tool, and how can we harness this to support our mental health? With help from a counsellor, and the people who have explored this connection for themselves, we’re asking the rising question: what happens when you add baking into the wellbeing mix?
How you Decorate Your Home can Impact your Happiness (Women’s Health). Google partnered with the Arts & Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University to explore the impact of sensory input on our minds and bodies. They designed three different rooms, and participants wore bands to track their physiological responses as they moved through each room.
Why Doing Something Different Can Boost Well-Being (Psychology Today). A neuroscience-based method to improve happiness. Experiential diversity—going to new or different places and doing different things—can boost well-being, research suggests.
The Benefits of Texting Your Gratitude (Psychology Today). Research suggests that expressing gratitude by texting may be just as beneficial as an in-person show of appreciation.
Art for Happiness – How Culture can Keep us Healthy and Sane (Mostly) (Evening Standard). The Wellcome Collection is exploring happiness in its new dual exhibitions, but what role can museums and culture play in maintaining our mental health?
