How to Increase Level of Happiness: 6 Scientifically Proven Tips

This new article will show you everything you need to know about how to increase level of hapinness.

Scientists have yet to develop a single consistent procedure to permanently and reliably increase feelings of happiness. However, a number of scientifically validated techniques are available for this purpose.

How to Increase Level Of Happiness:

1. Savoring positive experiences

One method for increasing levels of happiness is to savor and relish positive past experiences.

This strategy is aimed at enhancing the positive emotions and pleasant sensations that flow from them. Savoring positive experiences can take many forms. Among them is a technique known as expressive writing, which involves recalling from memory and describing in detail life’s best experiences and the positive emotions and feelings that accompanied them in such a way as to feel them anew in the present.

Exercise:

Choose a quiet place where you can calm down and focus on yourself and what you are experiencing. Once you’ve calmed down, recall from memory the most wonderful experience (or several experiences) of your life. Think of when you felt very happy, ecstatic moments or moments of elation. They may have been caused by love for another person, creativity, communing with art, listening to music, etc.

Carefully recall and imagine that situation and all the feelings and emotions you felt at that time. Try to feel them as strongly as you did then. Now describe your experience in as much detail as you can. Describe all the feelings, emotions, sensations, and thoughts that accompanied you at that time. Also, empathize thoroughly with all the sensations and try to relive them all again.

Spend about 20 minutes at a time performing the above exercise. Try to perform it regularly for at least three days. Observe your reactions and how you feel.

Savoring positive experiences can also be applied to the future.

Exercise:

Imagine in as much detail as you can four positive situations that you think could happen to you tomorrow. These can be simple, everyday pleasures as well as less everyday but important events for you.

Repeat this exercise regularly for two weeks and observe your reactions and how you feel.

2. Capitalize on positive emotions

Another way to increase feelings of happiness is a strategy that researchers refer to as “capitalization of positive emotions.” As a rule, it is presented in relation to close relationships and interpersonal relations. We speak of capitalization when one person informs another of some good event in his or her life and receives feedback from him or her created in response to this message.

The results of Professor Shelly Gable’s research have shown that the strength and longevity of their relationship can be better predicted by how they celebrate and capitalize on successes together than by how they argue. In close relationships, we are often faced with situations where the other person informs us of their successes or other positive experiences that have happened in their lives.

The way we respond to such communications can significantly strengthen or weaken the relationship with that person. Prof. Gable distinguished four types of reactions to good events in other people’s lives: active-constructive reaction; passive-constructive reaction; active-destructive reaction; and passive-destructive reaction.

The results of her research indicate that active-constructive reacting is associated with an increase in positive emotions experienced in the relationship and an increase in feelings of satisfaction with the relationship. In addition, responding enthusiastically to a partner’s attempts at capitalization is conducive to building lasting and satisfying interpersonal relationships.

Active and constructive reactions—an example

A close person shares a positive experience: “Hey John, you won’t believe it, I won the employee of the year contest!”

Active-constructive reaction:

“Great! Huge congratulations to you, and I’m very proud of you! I know you put a lot of effort into this. Tell me when and where your boss gave you this information. What specifically did he tell you? How will you do it? I suggest that we celebrate it! I invite you to dinner tomorrow.

Non-verbal recitation: maintaining eye contact, open posture, showing positive emotions—e.g., a sincere smile, hugging, etc.

Passive reaction (constructive)

“This is good news. I think you deserved it.”

Non-verbal reaction: no active expression of emotions and feelings. “

Active reaction—destructive:

“They will probably now expect you to stay after hours even more often.”

Non-verbal reaction: expressing negative emotions such as a grimace on the face, furrowed brow, etc.

Passive reaction-destructive:

“Did you feed the dog?”

Non-verbal reactions: lack of eye contact, standing with your back to the interlocutor, leaving the room, etc.

Exercise:

Throughout the coming week, when your loved one opines about the good things that have happened to her, listen to her with attention and sincere interest. Try to respond to her messages in an active, constructive way. Get involved and ask her to tell you in detail how the good event happened and how it went.

Don’t worry about the length of the conversation—the longer it lasts, the better. Try to avoid laconic answers. Record accounts of good events every day and write them down using the form attached below.

1. A good event that happened to a loved one
2. What was your reaction? (Write it down word for word).
3. How did the close person respond to my reaction?

In order to better master the skill of responding in an active-constructive way, you can also think of positive events that someone told you about in the past. Write down how you might have acted then to respond in the above-mentioned way.

In addition, if a situation is foreseeable, you can plan your reactions in advance to stories about positive events and then implement them.

3. Well-being at work

In order to increase the level of your own well-being in the sphere of professional life, it is worth taking advantage of professional methods of supporting personal and professional development, such as career counseling, career coaching (1), mentoring, and therapy.

At the same time, it is worth choosing a competent specialist who will help us take a comprehensive approach to this topic and discover the most satisfying development activities for us, enabling us to achieve full self-realization and the best possible paths of development.

4. Practicing kindness

Another form of activity that is conducive to increasing our sense of happiness is practicing kindness by doing good deeds.

Kindness is understood as the motivation to help others without the expectation that they will reciprocate the benefits thus obtained. Through kindness, we give something to other people or contribute to making them feel happier. Usually, acts of kindness require us to put a certain amount of effort into them.

Exercise:

List five acts of kindness you did for someone today. Among them, include at least one such act of kindness that was done by you voluntarily.

5. Gratitude

Another example of a scientifically proven method for increasing feelings of happiness is an exercise that can be found in the psychological literature under the name “Three Good Things.”

The purpose of this technique is to notice and appreciate positive events in our daily lives and consequently derive more positive emotions from them. With this exercise, we can also form the habit of noticing positivity on a daily basis.

Exercise “Three Good Things”

The “Three Good Things” technique is to set aside 10 minutes every evening before going to bed, and during that time, write down three things that went really well that day. For each of the positive things written down, you should add the reason for it, i.e., answer the question: “Why did this happen?” or “Why did this thing go well?”

For example, if your husband or wife made your favorite dish for dinner, the answer might be: “because she really is caring”; or if a loved one gave birth to a healthy baby today, the answer might be: “because the medical staff was competent and rose to the occasion.”

A very important part of this exercise is physical recording, which can be done in a diary or on a computer. It is also worth emphasizing that the positive things written out do not have to be spectacular—both “ordinary” and “extraordinary” daily events should be recorded.

Initially, doing this exercise may seem awkward for some people. However, it is worth enduring at least one week to see what the effects are. That’s why I encourage you to start doing it starting tonight!

Among other things, it’s worth doing because, according to scientific studies, it promotes lower levels of depression and higher levels of perceived happiness. As a test, you can now write down three good things that happened to me the previous day and add their reasons.

Expressing gratitude

We can also increase our sense of happiness by expressing gratitude to other people who we believe deserve it.

Exercise:

Over the next three weeks, try to take additional actions to express gratitude to your friend or other person close to you. Try to do something you wouldn’t normally do to express your gratitude to her (e.g., write a letter, an email, tell her how much you appreciate her or how much you appreciate what she has done for you).

6. Character strengths

Prof. Martin Seligman, together with Prof. Christopher Peterson and colleagues, analyzed some 200 different catalogs of virtues. Among them, they distinguished six universal cardinal virtues:

1. Wisdom and knowledge,
2. Courage,
3. Love and humanitarianism,
4. Justice,
5. Temperance
6. Transcendence

The way to achieve these virtues are the 24 signature virtues, the so-called character strengths.

Wisdom and knowledge are cognitive powers that include the accumulation and application of knowledge.

1. Creativity/creativity – thinking of new ways to do things…
2. Curiosity interest – in current experiences, exploration, and discovery.
3. Evaluation/critical thinking – thinking about things and analyzing them from all sides; ability to change one’s mind when influenced by evidence.
4. Passion for learning – honing new skills, expanding one’s knowledge, This trait is related to curiosity but goes beyond it.
5. Perspective – the ability to offer wise counsel to others; a sensible view of the world.

Courage—emotional strength, involving exercises of will aimed at achieving a goal in spite of external barriers.

6. Bravery – not backing down under threats, challenges, difficulties, or pain; standing up for what is good even if it provokes opposition; acting in accordance with one’s beliefs even if they are unpopular.
5 Persistence/persistence – finishing what one has started; staying the course despite obstacles.
8 Authenticity – telling the truth, and more broadly, presenting oneself in an authentic way, taking responsibility for one’s feelings and actions.
9. Ignite – approaching life with excitement and energy; feeling energized and invigorated.

Love/Humanity—interpersonal strengths, including caring and affection for others.

10. Intimacy/Love – valuing close relationships with others, especially those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated.
11. Kindness and Goodness – providing favors and good deeds to others; helping them.
12. Social intelligence – being aware of one’s own and other people’s motives and feelings.

Justice the forces underlying healthy community life.

13. Civility – doing a good job as a member of a group or team; being loyal to the group; performing assigned tasks.
14. Fairness – treating all people the same, according to a standard of fairness and justice.
15. Leadership – encouraging the group of which one is a member to perform its tasks while at the same time maintaining good relations within the group, organizing group activities and seeing to it that they are carried out.

Temperance/Moderation – forces to protect against excess.

16. Forgiveness/Mercy – forgiving those who have done wrong; giving people a second chance
17. Modesty/humility – letting one’s own achievements speak for themselves; not seeking applause.
18. Prudence/consideration – being cautious in one’s choices; not taking excessive risks.
19. Self-control/self-regulation – regulating how you feel and do things; being disciplined; controlling your appetites.

Transcendence forces that produce connections with the wider universe and give meaning.

20. Respect/appreciation of beauty and excellence – noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and skilled workmanship in all areas of life.
21. Gratitude – being aware of good things and being grateful for them; expressing thanks.
22. Hope – expecting the best to come in the future and working to achieve it.
23. Cheerfulness/humor – a love of laughter; smiling at others; seeing the bright side.
24. Spirituality – a consistent belief in the higher purpose and meaning of the universe.

Exercise:

1. Fill out the “Valeus in Action-Inventory of Strengths” (VIA-IS) questionnaire, which is available free of charge at: https://www.viacharacter.org/. It will allow you to identify the five main (most dominant) strengths of your character. If you can’t fill out the questionnaire, read the above list of 24 character strengths and choose from it the 5 that best describe you. You can arrange them in a hierarchy, from strongest to weakest.

2. After completing the questionnaire (and reviewing the results), or choosing your top five strengths yourself, do the following exercise:

Throughout the coming week, set aside time in your daily schedule to use one (or more) of your special strengths in a new way. You can use it at work or outside of work; it doesn’t matter. What is important, however, is that you find or create a specific opportunity for yourself to use it, such as: if your special virtue is creative thinking, you may decide to start working on your own book on your free weekend; if you think your special virtue is self-control, make a decision to devote 3 evenings a week to training at the gym instead of lying on the couch.

It’s best to find your own ways to use your character strengths.

After doing this exercise, describe your experience—how you felt before, during, and after the exercise.

I want to thank you for taking the time to read my article about how to increase level of hapinness. I sincerely hope its contents have been a good help to you.