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Maintaining happiness is key to success
Emily Plihal
for Express
If you are interested in maintaining your happiness throughout your lifetime, Happiness 101 may be the answer.
Registered psychologist and former Smoky River Region resident Louise Lambert will be conducting a session at the Smoky River MD office on Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. to help you maintain that happiness.
Lambert is currently working on a doctoral dissertation involving positive psychology theories and concepts, which she will be sharing in Happiness 101.
“Typically psychology examines states like depression and anxiety, but has little to say about happiness,” explains Lambert. “Since 2000, the field of positive psychology has weighed in to the debate and provided some good insight about the nuts and bolts of happiness.”
Lambert explains some people ask why happiness is crucial in everyday life. She says other than it feeling better than other mental states, happiness gives multiple benefits in life.
Positive states of mind (inspiration, joy, curiosity, optimism) helps to undo the harmful effects of negative emotions in the body. She says forms of positivity help to reduce levels of cortisol, showing quicker recovery from cardiovascular activation.
“Happier states of mind also increased natural killer cell activity and increased the number of helper T cells in the body,” Lambert explains. “Happiness also increased longevity, reduced mortality rates, and had positive impacts on immunity. Laughing, and other positive states of mind, do keep the doctor away.”
Studies have shown people who are happier are generally paid more and receive greater pay increases than the less happy.
“Happier people are also more cooperative, active, better liked by others, and problem-solve with more efficiency and success,” says Lambert. “They are more likely to show more productivity and performance, and be rated more positively by their bosses.”
In addition, happier people are often judged as more attractive and more desirable to be around, which Lambert says people should consider at their next job interview.
Studies show people think happiness is something to obtain or wait for, which Lambert says they don’t realize that it’s a state of mind and something we can purposely generate or make happen.
“Our personal control, meaning the things we do and how we think, accounts for about 40 per cent of our happiness,” says Lambert. “On the other hand, and much to everyone’s surprise, circumstances only account for about 10 per cent of our happiness.”
Lambert explains circumstances are those things in life that we don’t have control over, like our gender, socio-economic status, number of children, marital status, and geographical location.
“This doesn’t mean that going through a divorce won’t make you sad, but it means that because we adapt to changes in time, the effects of a divorce will generally not follow you your whole life,” says Lambert. “You will eventually get used to this change and your happiness levels will return to where they were before the divorce, or be even higher.”
She explains money does not add to happiness either. She says we get used to levels of happiness and to the objects around us, thus money has little long-lasting effect on happiness because the more money we make, the more our expectations rise.
“For example, I might rate my happiness at a six out of 10 working in a job where I make $39,000,” says Lambert. “If I get a raise to $44,000, I might rate my happiness at an eight for a few days, but in time the new amount will cease to mean that much anymore, and it won’t be as big of a deal as it was the day I got the raise.”
She explains as humans, if we could keep our expectations low, the money would make a difference, but our tendency is to raise our expectations in line with our abilities and self-worth.
“Science has taught us about happiness, and timing is everything,” she explains. “If you really love an activity, maybe you should do it less often or differently so that you don’t get used to the activity and it stops generating pleasant feelings for you.”
Lambert says her workshop is for people who are already happy and want to learn how to keep it that way over the long-run.
“It is equally important for those who are languishing, stuck in neutral and going through the motions of life and not necessarily depressed, but not happy either,” says Lambert.
The seminar will be held in cooperation with the Smoky River Community Adult Learning Centre and Lambert.
If you are interested in attending, registrations and queries can be addressed to Lambert through Marilyne Despins. Call 780-837-3013 for more information.
Cost for the seminar is $50 per person
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