Dan Buettner has spent the last 20 years studying the places in the world with the highest concentration of centenarians per square meter, the “blue zones” of the planet. His work made him one of the great gurus of longevity and a great expert on happiness, knowledge which he brought together in one of his books entitled The Blue Zones of Happiness : Lessons From the World’s Happiest People (The Blue Zones of Happiness: Lessons from the World’s Happiest People).
To write this book, as Buettner himself told CNBC, he spoke with Dan Witters, research director of Gallup’s National Health and Well-Being Index since 2008.”He told me that authentic happiness results froma set of interconnected factors that almost always appear in one and the same set“, he said. Plus, according to experts, there are certain indicators of true happiness. If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you are happier than you think.
Do you have enough money to do what you want?
As famous Harvard professor and happiness expert Arthur C. Brooks explained on TheStreet podcast, “true well-being depends on what we do to achieve emotional happiness as long as we have some financial security“.
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In other words, we can focus on happiness when we are financially secure and have enough money to do what we want. This doesn’t mean we have to be rich, far from it. As Brooks explained, it’s not about winning more, it’s about winning better.invest“this money and knowing how to control expenses, by reducing expenses”useless” which we are often not aware of.
Are you continually setting and achieving your goals?
Ferran Cases, writer, speaker and director of the Bye Bye Ansiedad Center, said in the Vidas Contadas podcast that achieving goals makes us happy. These goals don’t have to be big life resolutions, but rather small commitments to ourselves.
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For example, getting up and saying to yourself “today I’m going to go to the gym“, then finish the day and go to the gym. Making a commitment to ourselves and sticking to it makes us feel satisfied and happier.
Do you learn something new every day?
If we listen to the Spanish proverb, “nunca te acostarás sin saber una cosa más” (you will never go to bed without knowing one more thing). With almost no effort, we can learn something new every day. This is even more true if we follow Bill Gates’ five-hour rule, but learning doesn’t have to be complex to make us happier. It can be as simple as discovering that there are 25 million ants for every human being on earth.
-People who learn every day, even if it is something tiny and seemingly unimportant, are happier. As German neuroscientist Manfred Spitzer explained in his TTS forum keynote speech, “lasting happiness is not possible, but it can come again and again“. And this is possible through learning.
Do you have time to share with your family and friends?
Consider the Harvard study on adult development and its most important conclusion after more than 85 years of work: people who have better relationships live longer, are happier and healthier. If we have time to share experiences with those we love most and, above all, if we use this time to be with them, we will be happier.
Are you following a truly healthy diet?
Dan Buettner says that diet is one of the great pillars of longevity and happiness. It even influences productivity. According to this study from Brigham Young University, the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO) and the Center for Health Research, people who follow an unhealthy diet are 66% more likely to be unproductive.
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Are you an active person?
Physical activity, as explained by the Health Services of the Community of Madrid, “is beneficial for our health because it contributes to ideal body weight, improves bone mass, muscle mobility, self-esteem, emotional well-being and intellectual performance“. According to the Ministry of Health, physical activity is defined as any movement of the body produced by voluntary muscular action and which involves an expenditure of energy.
Physical exercise is included in physical activity, but also other activities that require bodily movement, but are performed as part of play, work, active forms of transportation, household chores, and recreational activities . For example, climbing the stairs, walking to work or doing housework… Being active doesn’t just mean exercising a few hours a week. It’s about finding physical movement in our daily lives, avoiding long periods without moving.
Article written in collaboration with our colleagues from Trends.
