The Hundred Simple Secrets of Happy People [85 0f 100]

85..Get a hobby.

Hobbies are a steady source of interest, providing two essential ingredients in life: consistency and fun.

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Elsa collects old books. She has all sorts of books lining the shelves of her home, some classics, some rare first editions, and some she just likes to page through. For Elsa, collecting books is a source of entertainment and a source of connection to all sorts of people she meets. Every town she visits is a potential source of adventure as she visits antique shops and used bookstores,
looking to add to her collection. What does collecting books mean to Elsa? "It puts me in touch with history, it puts me in touch with other people who I meet and trade books with, and most important, I just like having books around."

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In surveys of thousands of adults, those who had a hobby were found to be 6 percent more likely to rate their lives favorably.

Mookherjee 1997

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The Hundred Simple Secrets of Happy People [84 0f 100]

84..Focus not on the world's tragedies, but on the world's hope.

Many sad things happen in our world, but rather than focusing on them, have hope for the future. Think of the world's potential.
Perhaps the future holds the curing of diseases, the end of violence, the amelioration of poverty and hunger.
The San Jacinto Girl Scout Council wanted to do something fun, exciting, and uniting in their community. They decided to try to create the world's largest friendship circle, a circle of people
holding hands in a celebration of community.
The Girl Scouts invited local residents to join them, and on a Saturday morning at a nearby amusement park, they set up their circle. The mayor of Houston as well as 6,243 other people
participated in the event. The circle stretched out for over a mile, as people joined hands to celebrate the group's message that "friendship conquers hatred." One Girl Scout leader said the day's events were meant to "teach girls and adults that everybody matters, and to value differences among ourselves."
As a nine-year-old scout explained, "It's important to be a friend to everybody because you could hurt somebody's feelings.'
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Over nine in ten Americans are uncomfortable or worried about aspects of the world and of society. The difference between more and less happy people is what they do with that discomfort. Less happy people wallow in the problems they see, while happier people focus on potential improvements in the future.

Garrett 1996

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The Hundred Simple Secrets of Happy People [83 0f 100]

83..Enjoy the ordinary.

You do countless things in the average day that can be labeled as chores or can be relabeled as enjoyable. Walking the dog is something that has to be done, yes, but while you walk the dog you get some pleasant exercise, some time to think, and a chance to see the neighbors and the neighborhood. Enjoy what you do every day.
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We know most days will be regular days. Our lives will include some highlight days that stay with us forever, like family celebrations or personal triumphs, but almost every day this year will be a regular day, with nothing particularly astounding about it.
Yet within these regular days are many opportunities for enjoyment, many of which we don't even think about or really appreciate. Take a moment every day to think about the simple pleasures of your daily life.
Take Lonnie, for example, who recently enjoyed his 103rd birthday. Lonnie sat in a rocking chair on his front porch, gently rocking back and forth as reporters asked him how he felt on this special day. He said he felt great because every day was special to him.

In a study of over thirteen-thousand people, 96 percent of subjects rated their satisfaction with life typically no higher than "fairly positive." The satisfied life was not one of extremes but of steady, generally positive feelings.
Diener and Diener 1995

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