Happiness - what is it and how it can be attained?

 

Happiness is a state of well being. It  is considered that happiness is more important than acquiring wealth. The basic requirements of any human being are – food, house and dress. All other items are a luxury. The requirements of a person will vary depending on his/her living status as a baby, student, grown up person or a senior citizen. Health plays an important factor in the well being of a person. The old adage “Health is wealth, if health is lost, everything is lost” is perfectly apt. Religious people are observed to be more happy  than non-religious people. It has also been found from a study conducted few years back that happy people live longer than unhappy and discontent people.

Happiness index

Happiness index measures the subjective well being based meeting the basic needs of an individual. Factors contributing to happiness can vary from person to person. However happiness is a term of vague and subjective experience. In July 2011 , The  UN General Assembly adopted a resolution inviting member countries to measure the happiness of their  people and to use the data to guide a public policy.

The factors taken into consideration for calculating Happiness Index are:

-        GDP/capita

-        Social assistance

-        Life expectancy

-        Level of corruption

-        Charity among people

For calculating Happiness Index, people are asked to rate their  own current life style on a scale of 0 to 10.

The happiness is calculated ever year and  the values of 2023 are:

Country               Rank

Finland                   1

Denmark                2

Iceland                   3

USA                      15

U K                       19

China                    64

India                     126

Afghanistan         146

On the basis of observing and studying the habits and traits of happy people, the following rules are formulated to lead a happy life.

1.    Concentrate more on the present rather than the past or future

2.    Cultivate happy thoughts and have a pleasant smiling face

3.    Be satisfied and content with what you have and express your gratitude

4.    Utilize your spare time to do some social work and serve the society

5.    Take balanced food and have sufficient  exercise

6.    Surround yourself with happy people

Citizens of each country differ on various factors like culture, language, religion, political arena, living standard etc. The world happiness day is being celebrated every year on March 20.

Greek philosopher Socrates says

“ The secret of happiness is not found in seeking but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”

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Lead a happy life with minimum requirements

 

Key words - minimalism, declutter, characteristics, elements

All human beings in this world require some basic necessities - food, shelter and clothing. The necessities will vary depending on the individual concerned – baby, school going child, house wife, student, employed family person or senior citizen. Minimalism  can be described as a particular life style  . It is the process of removing  all unnecessary things in life and living with what is actually necessary. It cuts down excess consumption and helps to reduce carbon footprint. Even though minimalism was being practised in the very early stages,  its importance has increased in the recent past. 

Buddha says “The less you have, the less you have to worry about.”

Japan is a country having less natural resources compared to its population. As such they practice a life style with simplicity. People all over the world are now realizing that there is no need of lots of material possession to be happy.

Decluttering

Decluttering is the process of throwing out the unwanted stuff  from the house or donating the extra things which one really do not need to the needy. The best way to declutter the home, work space and life is to take few small steps at a time. Adult Americans throwaway about 35 kg of clothing every year and on an average every American household has very large number of different items which actually they do not require.

 Minimalism in interior design

( Elements and characteristics)

It involves using the bare essential things to create a simple and uncluttered space:

-        Limited furniture

-        Limited decorative objects

-        Natural light

-        Monochromatic or neutral color palettes

-        Wall storage provisions that keep the space uncluttered.

BBenefits of materialism

-- - Reduced expenses

E-  Easier to clean

-  - Good for the environment

- - Own higher quality stuff

V- Visual appealing

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Effective communication - very essential in the present day world

 

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         Key words: effective communication, language, signs, clarity

A baby cries; mother understands the meaning of the baby’s  cry and then feeds her. A child asks for  food  when he is hungry. A deaf and dumb boy demands food through his gesticulations. A professor teaches the students by explaining the subject matter. It can be seen that basically there is a communication between two or more individuals. So communication can be defined as the process of conveying information through speaking, writing or gesticulation .It can be seen that the medium of communication is the language  - Hindi, Tamil, English, French … In other words, it means that  the speaker and the listener both get the same message from the conversation.

But in the modern world, the means of communication are  News paper, Television, Radio, Social media, Email etc.

 Skill for effective communication

-          Knowledge  of the subject/topic

-          Command over the language

-          Tone of voice

-          Friendliness

Levels of communication

-Intrapersonal

-Group

-Public

-Mass

Essentials of communication

Clarity

Correctness

Courtesy

Conciseness

Communication Tools

Letters, Email, Fax, Telephone, Teleconference

Communication strategies:

Forms of Communication

As mentioned earlier, language is the, medium through which communication is passed. There are a large number of languages like English, Hindi, French, German , Telugu etc. Language is a set of symbols.  It has two forms:

(a)Verbal Communication: In this spoken or written words are used.

 (b) Non-verbal Communication: Sign language and body language are the tools used for this. Charts, photos, symbols – sign language. Hand and leg movements, posture, eye contact- body language.

Effective communication

It is the process of sending the right message   through right channel at the right time.  It is a communication between two or more persons- the sender and  the receiver.  It is a two-way process. The communication will be effective only if the message is understood correctly and the task is accomplished in the desired way.

Link;

https://businessandfinance.expertscolumn.com/how-demonstrate-your-communication-skills-work

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