There are laboratories and scientists that are examining and measuring human happiness. They want to find out what things make people happy and how the brain reacts to different stimuli. And there haven't been too many surprises in that research is showing that happiness is really within us and not what is on the outside. The way we perceive our surroundings has an obvious impact on our happiness level.
Drs. Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin and Sonja Lyuobomirsky at the University of California-Riverside have shown that what you choose to think about and what you do with your brain might be responsible for as much as 40% of a person's happiness. In essence, you have to practice being happy and the more you practice the happier you will be. You need to 'force' yourself to be positive for this state of minds to start become constant. It is like creating a new habit.
Buddhist monks, who actively practice their positive thoughts, are among the happiest people studied so far. Research has shown that sitting for half an hour a day thinking about kindness and compassion will cause changes in your brain in just 2 weeks.
What this means is that we can do things to positively affect our lives, our brains and our thoughts. Get involved in doing good and it will be good for you too. Think positively and you will be a more positive person. By training yourself to think positively, by practicing your positivity, you can condition your brain to be happy.
And we can all use more of happiness. So let's make sure we have a healthy and happy mind!
