Kindness Finding ways to be more kind improves your happiness.
In one study, people were asked to do 5 acts of kindness. They could do it in one day, or one per day. There was also a control group. Outcome?
One way to be happier with a higher salary is to use the money for kindness (e.g. charity). The amount you spend is not important.
So when feeling down, consider spending on others instead of spending on yourself.
Time vs Money In North America, people who are willing to sacrifice some money to get more time show more happiness to some extent than those who sacrifice some time to get more money.
Spending money to get rid of unpleasant chores can improve happiness.
Social Connection People with close social ties are:
- Less likely to die prematurely
- More likely to survive potentially fatal illnesses
- Less likely to suffer in stressful events
People who have close friends, strong family ties, and more romantic ties tend to be happier. Spending more time alone than with family, friends, and lovers tend to be less happy. Correlation, I presume.
In a study, people (on a train and bus) were asked to participate in an experiment. They were put into 3 categories:
- Control: Act as normal
- Make a conversation with a random person
- Enjoy solitude
The participants were asked to predict which groups would have more positivity, and also measured the actual outcome. The results: People who made social connections showed more positivity than those in the control. The solitude group showed negative positivity.