The Ten Keys to Happier Living are based on a review of the latest
research from psychology and related fields. Everyone's path to happiness
is different, but the evidence suggests these Ten Keys consistently tend to have
a positive impact on people's happiness and well-being.
The first five keys (GREAT) are about how we
interact with the outside world in our daily activities. They are
based on the Five Ways to Wellbeing developed by nef as part of the Foresight Project. The second five keys (DREAM) come from inside us and depend on our attitude to
life.
Caring about others is fundamental to our happiness. Helping
other people is not only good for them and a great thing to do, it also
makes us happier and healthier too. Giving also creates stronger
connections between people and helps to build a happier society for
everyone. And it's not all about money - we can also give our time, ideas
and energy. So if you want to feel good, do good!
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Relationships are the most important overall contributor to
happiness. People with strong and broad social relationships are happier,
healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends
provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self worth.
Broader networks bring a sense of belonging. So taking action to
strengthen our relationships and create new connections is essential for
happiness.
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Our body and our mind are connected. Being active makes us
happier as well as being good for our physical health. It instantly
improves our mood and can even lift us out of a depression. We don't all
need to run marathons - there are simple things we can all do to be more
active each day. We can also boost our well-being by unplugging from
technology, getting outside and making sure we get enough sleep!
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Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good news, there
is! And it's right here in front of us. We just need to stop and take
notice. Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our
well-being in all areas of life - like our walk to work, the way we eat or
our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us
dwelling on the past or worrying about the future - so we get more out of
the day-to-day.
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Learning affects our well-being in lots of positive ways. It
exposes us to new ideas and helps us stay curious and engaged. It also
gives us a sense of accomplishment and helps boost our self-confidence and
resilience. There are many ways to learn new things - not just through
formal qualifications. We can share a skill with friends, join a club,
learn to sing, play a new sport and so much more.
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Feeling good about the future is important for our
happiness. We all need goals to motivate us and these need to be
challenging enough to excite us, but also achievable. If we try to attempt
the impossible this brings unnecessary stress. Choosing ambitious but
realistic goals gives our lives direction and brings a sense of
accomplishment and satisfaction when we achieve them.
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All of us have times of stress, loss, failure or trauma in
our lives. But how we respond to these has a big impact on our well-being.
We often cannot choose what happens to us, but we can choose our own
attitude to what happens. In practice it's not always easy, but one of the
most exciting findings from recent research is that resilience, like many
other life skills, can be learned. Read more...
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Positive emotions - like joy, gratitude, contentment,
inspiration, and pride - are not just great at the time. Recent research
shows that regularly experiencing them creates an 'upward spiral', helping
to build our resources. So although we need to be realistic about life's
ups and downs, it helps to focus on the good aspects of any situation -
the glass half full rather than the glass half empty.
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No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insides to
other people's outsides. Dwelling on our flaws - what we're not rather
than what we've got - makes it much harder to be happy. Learning to accept
ourselves, warts and all, and being kinder to ourselves when things go
wrong, increases our enjoyment of life, our resilience and our well-being.
It also helps us accept others as they are.
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People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are
happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They also
experience less stress, anxiety and depression. But where do we find
'meaning and purpose'? It might be our religious faith, being a parent or
doing a job that makes a difference. The answers vary for each of us but
they all involve being connected to something bigger than ourselves.
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