10 Keys to Happier Living

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In 2011, global not-for-profit Action for Happiness launched, with the aim of reducing mental ill health. They led the development of the evidence-based 10 Keys to or Happier Living, the acronym for which is GREAT DREAM. Cultivate greenery wherever you are – grow herbs in your kitchen, plant a window box or a cultivate greenery in a patch of earth outside. Pause by a pond – find some pleasant water to sit or stand by and notice the reflections on its surface.

Our body and our mind are connected so being active benefits both our physical and mental health. It can improve mood and can lift our spirits. We can also boost our well-being by unplugging from technology, getting outside and making sure we get enough sleep. AWARENESS: Live life mindfullyTaking action to maintain and improve our well-being has never been more important. One of the classic positive psychology experiments asks people to write down “three good things” and why you think those three good things happen to you each night for a week. After six months they found people were happier but also noticed a decrease in depressive symptoms. Mental Health First Aid England suggests that the strategies contained within the 10 keys for happier living are:

Neff, K. D., & Costigan, A. P. (2014). Self-compassion, wellbeing, and happiness. Psychologie in Try it:What would a wise, kind and helpful friend say to you when you mess up or fall short of your own expectations? How would they say it? How will you remember this the next time you make a mistake or fail? Other studies have shown the practice of mindfulness can improve working memory and cognitive flexibility; our ability to concentrate and learn and even boost creative thinking since it encourages an open and accepting attitude. In essence, mindfulness is the process of openly paying attention, with awareness, to our experience in the present moment [2]. It’s not something new. Forms of it have been practiced in different cultures and faiths for millennia and can be found in Christianity, Judaism, Islam as well as Buddhism. However, it’s a capacity we’ve somewhat lost since fewer of us practice a religion, the speed of life has become faster and the amount of information we process in our daily lives has increased.Notice and appreciate good things around you every day, big or small. Trees, birdsong, the smell of coffee, laughter perhaps? Some mindfulness-based practices specifically focus on cultivating compassion towards others and ourselves. Compassion is defined as sensitivity to the suffering of oneself and others, with a commitment to prevent and alleviate it [24]. Compassion-focussed practices, of which the most well-known is ‘loving-kindness meditation’, specifically cultivate positive feelings towards others such as warmth and kindness. They may also incorporate appraisal of difficult feelings we might have in relation to others. In contrast, in classic mindfulness the emphasis is on neutral and open, present moment awareness of whatever we are experiencing. Do three extra acts of kindness today. Offer to help, give away your change, pay a compliment, or make someone smile. Savouring the Past - Bring to mind one of your happiest ever days. Each day for three consecutive days, spend 8 minutes privately replaying it in your mind in as much detail as you can: where you were, what happened, who you were with, what you and other people did; what thoughts and emotions were running through your head at that time. Don’t analyse it, just revel in the memory of it [19].

Huppert, F.A. and Yu, N. (2020) The Rise of Mindfulness and its impact on Mental Health and Wellbeing. In Eds. Kirby, J.N, & Gilbert, P. (2020) Making an Impact on Mental Health: The Applications of Psychological Research. Routledge; Lomas, T., Medina, J. C., Ivtzan, I., Rupprecht, S., & Eiroa-Orosa, F. J. (2019). Mindfulness-based interventions in the workplace: An inclusive systematic review and meta-analysis of their impact upon wellbeing.The Journal of Positive Psychology,14(5), 625-640. Vonderlin, R., Biermann, M., Bohus, M., & Lyssenko, L. (2020). Mindfulness-based programs in the workplace: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Mindfulness,11(7), 1579-1598. Zhang, J. W., Chen, S., & Tomova Shakur, T. K. (2020). From me to you: Self-compassion predicts acceptance of own and others’ imperfections.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,46(2), 228-242. Ask a trusted friend or colleague to tell you what they think your real strengths are. Try to make more use of these. Over the next 10 weeks, the Health and Wellbeing Inspiration team will be reviewing each of the 10 keys to happiness and providing tips with how they can help and be applied in our current climate. You can find them at https://www.hwbinspiration.com/blog/Try it: Here are some ideas to help you get started exploring and putting your strengths into practice.

Gilbert, P. (2014). The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy.British Journal of Clinical There is growing attention being given to mindfulness as a potential route to increasing pro-environmental behaviour through improved pro-sociality, reduced automatic behaviour, enhanced well-being, greater connectedness with nature, recognition of intrinsic values, and openness to new experiences. However, as yet, there are few studies directly demonstrating this [33]. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994) Wherever You Go, There You Are – Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, Hyperion. Cited in in Hart, R., Itzivan, I, & Hart, D. (2013) Mind the Gap in Mindfulness Research: A comparative account of the leading schools of thought. Review of General Psychology, 17 (4) 144 Aknin, L. B., Whillans, A. V., Norton, M. I., & Dunn, E. W. (2019). Happiness and prosocial behavior: An evaluation of the evidence.World Happiness Report 2019, 67-86. Okabe-Miyamoto, K., &; Lyubomirsky, S. (2021). Social connection and well-being during COVID-19.World Happiness Report, 131-152. Share your dreams. Tell three people about an aspiration that is really important to you this year and listen to theirs too.

We can train our brain to look for the good around us, increasing the number of pleasant emotional moments we experience so over time we benefit from the ‘broaden and build’ effect outlined above. This doesn’t mean ignoring what’s wrong, but noticing what’s right. For example, studies show that simply reflecting and writing down three good things we experienced over the course of the day (however small), for seven days, boosted how happy people felt and reduced feeling down, and this impact lasted as long as six months! [3] Do something for the first time today. Sample sushi, try a new route, read a different newspaper or visit a local place of interest. Baumeister, R.F. & Leary, M.R. (1995). The Need to Belong: Desire for Interpersonal Attachments as a Fundamental Human Motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529