The Happiness Equation

It seems that we are always trying to find ways to be happier, and why not? Happiness is something that needs to be in the equation of how you live your life if you want it to be a fulfilling experience. However, there are some particular ingredients that you do need to maximise your potential for happiness, and some of them you might find surprising. 

I was reading an article this morning about why people in Denmark are happiest, and I was initially quite surprised by the number one characteristic that was listed as a reason for this happiness. That was trust. However, when I thought about it carefully, this made so much sense. If you are trusting of other people, that reduces a whole lot of stress about what is going to happen in your life. 

Number two on the list was the avoidance of complaining about taxes of all things! This is because this means that you are trusting that your politicians will spend your money well. When you have this trust, it automatically eliminates a whole host of other worries, and so leaves you much more capable of filling your mind (and thus your life) with happiness.  

Burning candles is a therapeutic way to increase your happiness :-)

Now, if this doesn't surprise you, I am not sure what will. Apparently Danes burn the highest number of candles per head than anywhere else in the world. A special Danish traditions is hygge. This is basically a term that explains the experience of simply making time to spend with family and friends doing simple things such as sitting around enjoying a hot drink and chatting. Now, this is definitely relaxing, and makes me think - are we happiest when we are most relaxed? I suppose we probably are! So there is another clue on the road to happiness. 

Something that was also surprising (but again, made a lot of sense) is that fact that making one's home beautiful definitely increases an individual's sense of happiness. Danes spend more money on furnuture per capita, and that is not such a bad thing. But it is also important to recognise that it is quality over quantity, and of course clutter can be stressful and leave you feeling overwhelmed. So that means that tasteful items of furniture should make up an ideal living space, with matching interior designs and splashes of colour where necessary. I personally feel that wood is great to have in a home - wooden floor boards are particularly easy to clean and are very attractive to the eye. They are also super nice to walk (or slide) across in socks. 

Wooden floors are awesome!

Another great Danish philosophy is 'happiness at work', or 'arbejdsglaede'. There is actually a term that directly describes this feeling! Such a word has only been documented to date in Nordic languages, which is very unique. It has always been my dream to make my vocation my vacation - well not literally, but you get what I mean. You need to love what you do; it seems like an obvious must in the equation for happiness. Also, don't sweat the small stuff when it comes to things that you can't change in your field of work - we will all be faced with big challenges in life, and it is how we deal with them personally that really determines how we will fare in the long run. 

There are some important things that I would like to add to the this ‘list of sorts’ for the things that are important for happiness.

I definitely think that being grateful for things is such an easy way to be happy. I pretty much always get a real kick out of things like dresses with pockets, riding down a hill with me feet off the bike pedals and dreamy sunrises and sunsets. Simple things are the greatest. 

Often the simple things are best

Doing things for other people also makes you feel super warm and fuzzy. And it is surprising how many simple ways there are to make someone smile. Often it is just something as simple as asking them about how a recent event in their life went. I know that for me, whenever someone asks me how something went yesterday, I feel very happy and blessed that they remembered, and took the time to ask.

I guess that all of these things are really important in finding a sense of happiness, but in the end, it is really you who determines your sense of enjoyment. I am going to finish with a little mantra I adapted from the well-know saying "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants".

           

Trust people. Spend time with people you care about and who care about you.

 Don't be too serious.

Thanks!

Erica xx.