Things Happy People Have in Common

While I focus mostly on nutrition and related issues, attitude and outlook are also important building blocks of a happy life and a wellness lifestyle.

Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist at the University of California Riverside studies happiness as a "positive psychology", focusing on what gives people a sense of well being rather than on dysfunction. She has identified five things that people who score highly on tests designed to measure their satisfaction and happiness with their life situation.

1. Happy people devote significant amounts of time and effort to family and friends. They prioritize relationships.

2. They practice gratitude, making a deliberate and conscious effort to focus on what is going well in their lives rather than what isn't.

3. They practice optimism, and have more positive and compelling expectations for what their future holds than less happy people.

4. They are physically active people. They get out of the house, they participate in events and sports, and they keep moving.

5. They savor the pleasures of the moment rather than dwelling in the past or worrying about the future.


Another conclusion of Lyubomirsky's research is that our circumstances account for only about 10% of our satisfaction and happiness, while over 40% can be attributed to our outlook and attitude.

I don't know if all these things make a difference or not. But while some of them may cost a bit of time, none cost you much in the way of money.

If you'd like a measure of your own happiness, you can take the Authentic Happiness Inventory questionnaire from the University of Pennsylvania. Its completely free but you will have to register. The results might surprise you.