Why Happiness Matters

Why Happiness Matters – Maria Sirois, Psy.D.

So many life-giving reasons to choose happiness and other states of positivity – here are the top ten, all based on the latest research from the field of positive psychology:

1. Happiness brings respite to our heavy moments, which, despite all our best efforts, are part of the show.

2. Positivity elevates optimism, really useful if you are in the habit of reading the news these days.

3. Happiness draws other folk toward us…Yay!

4. It makes the day worth living – even when it’s a basic Monday or a regular Tuesday.

5. Happiness increases self-worth and confidence.

6. It changes the conversation away from pain points toward uplift and what is possible. Wouldn’t that be amazing around the water coolers of your day?!

7. It increases engagement at work…even when that work is repetitive and slightly boring.

8. Happiness is way more fun.

9. Positive emotions bring energy to our bodies.

10. Happiness opens the door for hope…not like hope that I’ll be invited to sing with Bon Jovi or hang with Denzel but grounded hope.

11. It broadens our ability to create a next better moment, upleveling creativity and innovation.

12. It is contagious, sometimes even with the irritable people breathing right next to us.

13. It undoes the effects of negative emotions, so that they stop owning so much of the real estate in our minds, and helps build inner resources like kindness, courage and tenacity.

Okay, so I can’t count – that’s 13 not 10 – but happiness also helps us move away from perfectionism where everything always has to be just so and into that territory where it’s okay to be human and kind of flawed and contributive to the world anyway.

So…that’s 14.

Here’s to happier moments = happier days = the life you have been looking to create!

With love, Maria

NEW: Creating Happiness After Loss, June 23,10am – 1pm, MotherLOVE Annual Conference, Mayerson Academy, Cinncinati, OH. For more information email: marcie@MotherLOVE.net

An Annual Favorite: Introduction to Positive Psychology,August 3-5, Kripalu Yoga Retreat Center, Lenox, MA. For more information visit: http://bit.ly/29KhwkF

NEW: Authentic and Radical Self Care: A New Paradigm for Resilient Work and Living, August 25-26, Eurocenter, Mexico City, For more information contact: informes@ibi.mx

Navigating a Graceful Transition, with Celebrity and Lifestyle Coach, Karlee Fain, Sept. 6, The Happiness Club, West Hartford, CT. For more information visit: www.hartfordhappinessclub.com

Coming Soon to the New York Open Center, Sept. 2018: A Short Course in Happiness After Loss (A Book Reading and Conversation) andCan Happiness and Loss Co-Exist? The Importance of Positivity in Dark Times (workshop). For more information contact: mariasirois1@gmail.com

For more information about my work, visit www.mariasirois.com

Photo Credit: Rouben Madikians