Moe and Deborah Heisz talk about the 2015 issue of the World Happiness Report and the secrets to staying happy.
The happiest people in the world know that ——
Happiness is contagious, but unfortunately, so is unhappiness. “You would think that your emotional state would depend on your own choices and actions and experiences,” Harvard University medical sociologist, Nicholas Christakis and University of California, San Diego professor James Fowler referenced in the convincing research that led to their book, Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives — How Your Friends‘ Friends‘ Friends‘ Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do. “But it also depends on the choices and actions and experiences of other people, including people to whom you are not directly connected.”
In 2008, when their research was originally published, social networks were still in their infancy; still there was increasing evidence that they would have far reaching impact on both public policy and society at large. Fast forward to 2015, and you can’t imagine life without Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter.
I reference Christakis and Fowler’s research because I sense something very sticky about the body of work that Deborah Keisz and her team at Livehappy.com are doing. With the ambition to help ‘people discover their personal journey of happiness in life, at work and at home,’ Heisz turns to science to demonstrate how positive psychology is helping people redesign their lives to dream bigger, and lead more inspiring lives. Listen closely and you’ll understand why:
- True happiness depends as much on social capital as financial capital
- These five habits will dramatically enhance your quality of life
- Happy people replace worry with a vision of a better future
- Unhappy people are stuck in these five patterns
- Happy workplace cultures celebrate individual diversity
- The happiest people find great satisfaction in the quest
- Needing nothing is the gateway to abundance