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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