Happy people are more successful!

Positive psychology, neuroscience and emotional intelligence have published various studies (www.6seconds.org; “Authentic Happiness”, Martin Seligman) showing that happy people are more successful socially and professionally, have good health and a good perception of heath, and live longer. In addition to this scientific finding, they give us extremely valuable tips on how we can increase our degree of happiness.

The first tip is to pay attention to the good things that happen in our day-to-day lives and duly value them. In order to have a positive happiness balance we need at least three positive emotions for each negative emotion. In marriage this ratio is 5:1!

Consciously generating positive emotions is an intelligent way of achieving positiveness. Share the good things that happen to you. This intensifies and prolongs the sensation of pleasure. Try and do good for others and show your gratitude to people who make, or who have made, a valuable contribution to your life. Relationships and showing your gratitude represent the most powerful ways of generating positive emotions, well-being and health in life!

Keep a diary in which you note down the good things that happen to you, why they happen and how you can provoke them into happening more often.

The second tip is: identify your character strengths, your competences and values, invest in improving them constantly and apply them in all the domains of your existence – in your intimate life; in your physical, financial and spiritual care; in the community; in friendship relationships; and in your family and professional life. (There are several assessments available for increasing our degree of self-knowledge: www.6seconds.org ; www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/).

The third tip is: connect with a bigger purpose for your existence. Discover a greater reason for why you do what you do. A practical way of creating this connection is to set down your mission in life on paper.

By developing these techniques for increasing your degree of happiness, you will increase your emotional capital and consequently your resilience. Increased resilience or accumulated emotional wealth will be useful to you at inevitable times of adversity. The bigger the emotional capital you generate by way of these tips from Kronberg, the easier and more quickly you will overcome the difficulties in your life.

Carlos Aldan A., CEO of Grupo Kronberg; Regional Network Director of Six Seconds for Latin America.