EVERY day, week and month seems to have a special meaning and most events or occasions are celebrated for good reason.
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For example we are currently in Seniors' Week, and a wonderful week of acknowledgement and activity it is for our senior residents.
Meanwhile today, March 20 marks a special day that is also worth celebrating. Today is International Day of Happiness.
The day, officially declared by the United Nations in 2012, recognises that happiness is a fundamental human goal and calls upon countries to approach public policies in ways that improve the well-being of all people.
Who could argue with such a thought process? After all, there is strong research that suggests happiness, joy and positive thoughts have a strong connection to well-being.
A study in the journal Applied Psychology on health and well-being identified strong evidence linking happiness to health outcomes. Its lead author, University of Illinois professor emeritus of psychology Ed Diener reviewed eight different types of studies which all led to the conclusion that subjective well-being - that is, feeling positive about your life, not stressed out or depressed - contributes to both longevity and better health.
One studied followed 5000 university students for more than 40 years and found that those who were most pessimistic as students tended to die younger than their peers. Another longer-term study that followed 180 Catholic nuns from early adulthood to old age found that those who wrote positive autobiographies of their early 20s tended to outlive those who wrote more negative accounts of their younger lives.
While happiness may at times be elusive, such findings certainly offer a strong case for seeking out and savouring the happy times in life. And perhaps the best advice for those who struggle to feel happiness is to consider baby steps. Value the simple things in life and slowly a more frequent sense of happiness will find you. Take steps to share happiness with others; a light hearted chat, a joke, a cuppa with friends, kind words could be all it takes to help someone else feel happy.
What better time is there than on this International Day of Happiness to spread a little cheer.
