Blog, Happiness•
on August 13th, 2010•
Dirt is good. It makes you happier. It improves learning ability, improves memory, makes for better moods and feelings of wellbeing, and reduces anxiety. How’s that for a concept?
More accurately and specifically, it’s the natural soil bacteria mycobacterium vaccae that is considered of benefit. The bacteria are likely to be ingested or breathed in while participating in outdoor activities such as gardening. The bacteria increases serotonin levels, at least in mice. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that affects mood and feelings of wellbeing. Serotonin improves learning and decreases anxiety.
Researchers believe people may experience the same benefits when they participate in outdoor activities where natural soil bacteria are present. The researchers also speculated how the school learning environment could be enhanced by children spending more time outdoors as this may decrease anxiety and improve the ability to learn new tasks.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100524143416.htm
So this weekend, spend some time in the garden or biking through the forest – weather permitting. And schools – think how you could use this information to improve the learning of children. I am sure there are many boys in particular who would learn better just from being able to be outside digging in the dirt, independently of bacteria.
Blog, Happiness•
on August 12th, 2010•
Happiness at work is all about your attitude towards that job according to a Columbia University professor. We often think that we have little or no choices at work. We think that we are powerless and that someone else has all the control. We wait for something outside ourselves to make us happy, a pat on the back from the boss, a promotion or pay rise. But it’s what is going on in the inside that counts. How we think about our job has a huge impact on what makes us happy or unhappy.
Blog, Happiness•
on August 11th, 2010•
Money can buy happiness according to research out of Cornell University. We just need to spend it the right way. It’s experiences that make us happy. A vacation, in the end, will make you happier than a flat screen TV – we get used to the TV but somehow remembering the experience of the vacation brings more long term satisfaction. However, material goods that are vehicles for experiences bring happiness, the more experiences it can bring, the more happiness it brings.
People with more money are marginally happier than people with less money – perhaps that’s because they can buy more experiences.
Unemployed and in debt? You can still have experiences that bring happiness. I recall a friend of mine, at that time a solo mother struggling financially. She found a way for her children to have an adventure. They all put their raincoats and gumboots on and went out into the rain and jumped in puddles. They all loved it! As adults these ‘children’ still remember it and talk about it. To check out the video:
http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/10/does-money-equal-happiness/
Blog, Happiness•
on May 24th, 2010•
Over 50? If you are, you may have noticed you are less stressed with every passing year. Research involving 340,847 adults between the ages of 18 and 85, conducted by Gallup and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show that the negative emotions of stress and anger decline as a person gets older. Worry remains fairly constant until a person reaches 50 whereupon it drops sharply, while overall life satisfaction increases after 50 years of age. 42% of 50 year olds said they had “a lot” of stress; this had dropped to 20% by 70 years of age.
Do we have less to worry about as we get older? Probably not, although with our children grown and generally beyond the worrisome teen years there could be those who would say there is less to worry about. Perhaps we are more financially secure. Or perhaps as we get older we simply get better at sorting out what is important and what is not, and not worrying needlessly about things we can do nothing about.
At all ages, women were sadder, more worried and stressed than men.
So if you are young and and want to reduce stress, just hang about and it will happen naturally. Rock on 70! Even better, rather than wait for it to come to you, learn to reduce negative emotions now. Start by accepting those things that you cannot change, and changing what you are saying to yourself and others about it.
Blog, Happiness•
on May 19th, 2010•
According to a worldwide study, there are positive links between access to technology and feelings of well-being http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10108551.stm Access to communication devices was found to be the most valued technology. Something as simple as a basic cell phone can serve as a happiness-increasing tool. It enables the expansion and maintenance of social networks beyond the immediate community.
Happiness is increased especially for women, for the poor, and for the poorly educated. Women in developing countries are more socially constrained than men and it is thought that this is the reason they benefit more from the use of a cell phone. Technology is also a status symbol and can be a sign of prosperity.
There is a view that that technology has a negative impact on people because it blurs professional and personal time. The difference is whether the cell phone is a tool or whether it becomes the Master.
Blog, Happiness•
on April 28th, 2010•
“Only God gives liberty, freedom and only God gives the right to happiness,” according to Republican Michele Bachmann in a speech to fellow Republicans, where she referred to Democrats as “a cabal of radicals” who want to “pull the rug of freedom out from under us.” http://minnesotaindependent.com/58135/in-maryland-bachmann-calls-democrats-a-cabal-of-radicals I’m not sure if Us refers to Republicans or Americans.
I wonder if that’s the God that those of other religious persuasions believe in or if Michele Bachmann means only the God that Republican Americans believe in. What about those who do not believe in a God? Will they never have liberty or freedom, or a right to happiness? I even wonder if God-fearing Democrats miss out …
Reminds me of those old Superman movies where he fought for ‘truth, justice, and the American way.”
Blog, Happiness•
on April 20th, 2010•
After weeks of guests everyone has gone home. Space. Quiet. Peace. I love having people here, the chance to talk. And its so nice to now be here alone. Time to think. I am blessed. Shhhhh…
Blog, Happiness•
on February 8th, 2010•
Stuart Donnelly died last week.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10619064
Stuart Donnelly’s life was transformed by winning £1.9 million in a U.K. lottery at the age of 17, and now at 29 he is dead. We don’t seem to be informed as to how he died so we guess it may be his own choice. Donnelly won the lottery money in 1997. To avoid the people camping outside his house and the constant hassling from people for money, he and his ailing father moved to the Scottish countryside. When his father died two years later he lived alone for the next ten years. Stuart Donnelly’s social networking site on Bebo, listed his activities as: “Sleeping, watching TV, listening to music, surfing the net. Basically, anything that involves not leaving the house.” So Stuart became a person who avoided interactions with others.
It has been said that his self-imposed isolation and unhappiness was because he had so much money. I would say that his unhappiness was more a result of the media-generated notoriety that lead to the expectations of others that they could have some of it and the way they pursued him for a slice of the cake.
Blog, Happiness•
on November 20th, 2009•
This afternoon I was travelling behind a vehicle with the number plate VRY HPY. And well (s)he might be. It was a very nice dark green Mercedes convertible. Now as long as your basic needs are met, money can’t buy you happiness, but it sure can buy you a nice car. And a really good car can give a great sense of satisfaction to those who enjoy the the thrill. I remember following a low smoky-grey Lamborghini up the road, twice. Probably the same one. It reminded me of a stealth bomber. Sitting at the lights behind it, even my car vibrated with the raw power of this magnificient beast. Then the lights turned green and it was gone in a whoosh. It would be so much fun to go for a ride, but would I choose to own one? Assuming that I could, would I choose a car such as this? OK so its never going to be a car like this, its just not that important to me. But a really nice new car? The price may be too high.
If the price of a car or any other luxury purchase is financial stress because you have overstretched the budget, or missing out on time with loved ones because you are working crazy hours then you have a choice. What is the most important thing. And hey! If you can love your life, keep balance and have the car then why not. Why not indeed!