There are thousands of tips and strategies that claim to hold the key to being happy. Although all of them can help us, the truth is that, sometimes, we try to change many aspects of our lives at the same time and, even so, we do not obtain results.
And if there is something that is more than proven, it is that we all long to find that happiness that we usually see in the movies and that, however, seems so difficult to achieve in real life. In a 2022 Oracle Fusion Cloud Customer Experience survey , it was estimated that 45% of people had not felt happiness for more than two years and that 88% were looking for new experiences that made them smile and laugh.
Within this data, it was also found that 75% of those surveyed would even pay money if they could to find true happiness.
The problem is that, normally, within all aspects of our life, we tend to focus on some that perhaps are not so decisive when it comes to being happy. We tend to pursue a concept of success that perhaps has nothing to do with our own conception of it, or we seek to earn more and more money, without being aware that perhaps we have other more important shortcomings in our lives.
According to experts, there is something that, without a doubt, holds the key to being happy: helping others in any way we can. Of course, to do this, we must discover who we are, what our possibilities are, and move away from those external things that condition the perception we have of ourselves. From there, we will discover the best way to help others from our position.
They don't have to be big actions. Sometimes, it is simply enough, for example, to call a friend who we know is unwell and take an interest in him. These are things we can easily do right now.
Almost all of us have grown up thinking that happiness involved having more material things, being more productive, having more money and even being better than others, but this is an old concept that we must forget. Today, to feel fulfilled in our lives, we must prioritize sincere social relationships , helping others and asking for help when we need it.
In a 2022 study, published in The Journal of Positive Psychology , it was found that when people with anxiety and depression practiced acts of kindness they saw greater improvements than doing other types of things, such as social activities or journaling.
Human beings are social beings and this involves helping others. We all have a certain need for connection, but also to feel useful and valued , to see ourselves as people who can make a difference in the lives of others.
Among the things we can do from this very moment to increase our happiness, we find the following:
- Let a loved one know that we appreciate them.
- Congratulate our coworkers when they do something well.
- Call someone we haven't spoken to for a long time.
- Write a good review about a product or business that has satisfied our needs.
- Help someone who needs it.
- Give our opinion on those things that we consider unfair.
If what we seek is happiness , we cannot simply sit idly by and wait for a miracle to emerge. Quite the opposite. We must be the ones to take the initiative and not only worry about our well-being, but also that of others. Once we do this, our perception of ourselves will improve and we will eventually be able to be truly happy.
The original article can be found on GQ Spain.
