Happiness is catching.
Your happiness depends, in part, on your relationships with other people, with pets, and with yourself.
A long-term study (three generations) measured happiness using these markers: feeling hopeful about the future, feeling happy, enjoying life, and feeling equal to other people.
A follow-up to the original study concludes that being around happy people will make you happier.
Your Happiness and the Happiness of Others
The happiness of your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers, affects your happiness. People in your social network are likely to run the gamut of happiness and unhappiness, and it pays to surround yourself with those who are happy.
Your happiness connection goes beyond the people you connect with every day. It extends to friends of friends and friends of their friends, out to the third degree of separation. In fact, your chances of happiness increase (about 9%) with each new happy friend you meet.
Good social relationships are strong predictors of a happy life. We are naturally a gregarious species. Spending time with others is necessary for all of us—introverts and extroverts alike. That’s why being geographically close to happy friends and family also helps you stay happy.
Therefore, to boost your happiness, surround yourself with happy people. Mine your social network for them and make a point of spending time with them.
Their mood will lift your mood. And your happiness will benefit from the chain reaction.
Pets (Especially Dogs and Cats) Help Your Happiness
Psychological research shows that pet owners report receiving as much support from their pets as from their family. Pet owners as a group are happier and healthier than people without pets. In fact, in one experiment, even thinking and writing about their pets made pet owners better able to deal with a negative experience.
Another benefit to pet ownership is that it’s a great way to meet people. Walking the dog becomes a social event when people stop to admire your pet and talk with you.
Older people and children, in particular, are happier if they have pets. Older people with pets show less emotional and social dissatisfaction, while kids with pets are less anxious.
And contrary to popular wisdom, people who are emotionally close to their pets tend to be closer to the people in their lives as well. So, no worries about becoming that crazy ole’ cat lady.
Your Happiness If You Live Alone
Your happiness depends to an extent on your personality. People who are enthusiastic, compassionate, intellectually curious, work hard, and think positively have a better chance for happiness than those who lack these qualities. Personality traits that dispose you toward happiness do not depend on others.
Yoga and other spiritual and mindfulness practices help your happiness levels, especially if you live alone. In fact, some solitude is necessary for the introspection and self-reflection you need for a healthy life.
Therefore, although marriage is a source of happiness, being single does not condemn you to an unhappy life. In fact, if you were a happy person before, your increased happiness after marriage may be temporary. Some people report being much happier after marriage, but settle down to their usual amount of happiness after a couple of years. And some, sadly, are even less happy.
The secret seems to be in having a strong social network. If you don’t have one, you’ll be much happier married, but worse off if the marriage ends.
In the end, then, married or single, your happiness level will improve the more relationships and connections you have. Friendships and social connections are happiness boosters for everybody.
Keeping Your Happiness
Whether married or single, happiness grows when you build relationships with others through friendships and social connections.
Owning a dog or cat can help you be happier and healthier. Fostering personality traits like enthusiasm, compassion, curiosity, hard work, and positive thinking helps your happiness quotient as well.
But the best way to maintain your happiness is simply to associate with happy people.
