One of the keys to lasting happiness is found in the pie chart theory, presented by research psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky. This theory shows that fifty percent of individual variations in happiness are governed by our genetics and another ten percent comes from life circumstances. That final forty percent is determined by and how we engage with life, by how intentional we are with our thoughts, actions, and goals.
How can we increase and maintain our personal happiness?
This article gives a comprehensive overview of the book “The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting What You Want in Life.” by Sonja Lybomirsky. She asserts that humans have the most control over that last 40 percent of their happiness. Lyubomirsky shows how lasting happiness is not in changing your situation, enhancing your appearance, or in a new relationship, because the benefits of those changes wear off. In her book, Lyubomirsky identifies 12 strategies to help you realize that happiness and nurture its growth over a lifetime.
Here are three action steps that you can take:
- Choose activities that truly engage you. Seek out challenging experiences that activate core elements of who you are. This could be in a creative outlet, a new or favorite hobby, or one or two meaningful goals to pursue. Whatever you choose, let it be something that brings you delight and fulfillment, absorbing you completely.
- Practice forgiveness. Giving your focus to anger and resentment leaves you drained and perpetuates negative thoughts and behaviors that diminish happiness. Try journaling in which you work on releasing the anger and bitterness towards people and situations where you have been hurt or wronged.
- Nurture relationships. Choose one of your relationships to strengthen, investing time and energy into healing, affirming, and enjoying it. Fostering closer relationships helps to bring a sense of belonging with others, this can heal and protect against loneliness which effects your happiness.