Create happiness – create connections

Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness, gave some tips for living a happier life in a recent issue of Spirit magazine (Hello, weekend trip on Southwest Airlines). Seeing how happiness plays into how people perceive their fit and connection with a university experience, I’m wondering how any of these pieces could fit within a residence life or student life program …

• Generosity: “Being generous … makes you see others in a more positive light because generosity boosts positive emotions and those emotions create a halo effect, making you feel good about those around you,” Lyumbomirsky said, adding that anonymous acts of kindness raise positivity because they make us feel like a better person.
• Companionship: Doing things with someone else – anyone else, it seems – makes you happier because it strengthens bonds. So, going shopping, hanging out between classes, anything really, can help. “People with stronger and bigger social networks are happier,” she said. “The pleasure you get in the moment of an activity increases when you’re with someone who similarly values the experience.”
• Experience: If you’re going to spend money – spend it on experiences, not stuff. While the stuff gets old (that new car means less after a month or two), experiences provide memories that can fuel happiness for a long time. “They’re renewable, so you’re less likely to adapt to them,” Lyubomirsky says. This is great news for people in student life. I sometimes bemoan the lack of the newest dorms or state-of-the-art facilities, but while those help a college experience, it’s really the environments for connection and opportunities to create memories that matter the most.
• Well-Being: Exercise, not surprisingly, increases endorphins. But it also keeps you in a good mood for the next 12 hours, the magazine quotes a 2009 University of Vermont study as reporting. “Any activity you’re doing to improve yourself physically increases happiness levels,” Lyubomirsky says. “This includes your mental well-being, so meditation and relaxation can do the trick.” Maybe getting people involved in intramurals or that hiking club is a good first step after all. Hey – activity, experience and companionship in one!