PsyNet
Effective Ways to Enhance Happiness (11):
Taking care of Your Body
We have so far introduced different exercises recommended by Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky in her book, "The How of Happiness". In this issue, we introduce the last happiness-enhancing exercise, "Taking Care of Your Body".
Physical Activity
The multiple benefits of physical activity for health were confirmed by many research studies, such as reduction of anxiety, stress and risk of numerous diseases, and improvement of the quality of life and sleep. Psychologists believe physical activities make people happy by enhancing sense of mastery and control, offering a positive distraction from worries and rumination, and providing opportunities for social contacts.
Meditation
Numerous studies have shown that regular mindfulness meditation has multiple positive effects on a person's happiness and positive emotions, physical health, cognitive abilities and moral maturity.
For meditating, sit comfortably with back straight, close your eyes and focus on your breath. Beginners may find their mind wandering all the time; just let your thoughts pass and shift your attention to your breathing.
Acting like a happy person
The third way to become happier is a surprisingly straightforward one - simply acting like a happy person. Pretend you're happy by smiling, being involved in life, and being energetic and enthusiastic. This wisdom was supported by the "facial feedback hypothesis", which suggested that you would feel happy with physical manifestation. In other words, your face and other physical expressions send signals ("feedback") to your brain, informing it that you're experiencing a particular emotion and leading you to feel it.
DC&S' yardstick for happiness
Director of Crime and Security (DC&S) Lo Wai-chung believes healthy body and mind are the keys to happiness. "Taking care of our body is the foundation, on which nurturing our mind is particularly important because this is the real source of true happiness."
Mr Lo pointed out that everyone has a personal yardstick for measuring one's own standard and those of other people. If comparison points to a positive result, we would feel happy. Otherwise, we would be upset. Therefore, the key to happiness is the ability to flexibly adjust our yardstick standard.
"If the standard is set too high, we would be upset with even a small flaw, put too much stress on ourselves and compromise our resilience to cope with setback. As we set our own standard, why not remain less obstinate for perfection, and adjust the standard to a moderate and more realistic level. By raising our standard step by step, we would be more relaxed and confident."
Mr Lo describes himself as "an optimistic person always in a good mood". His life conviction is: "Always keep your mind open, otherwise even achievement and high social status would not make you happy." He fully appreciates the power of positive thinking, and believes "every cloud has a silver lining".
"When we've down we would easily get trapped in negative thinking. Adjust our yardstick and broaden our perspectives. We would find we're not doing too badly after all. Reflect on our mistakes, learn a lesson, and then release ourselves from the negative emotions of shame and frustration." Accepting that human being sometime do make mistakes, Mr Lo turns his attention to positive things, enabling him to recover quickly from setback.
Mr Lo also hopes his positive attitude would inspire the people around him, whose happiness would, in turn, bring him more happiness, thus creating a cycle of happiness. His management philosophy centres on harmony and trust. His yardstick for his subordinates is both reasonable and humane. For instance, he is generous with praises for those who have come up with good performances. He forgives those who have made mistakes unintentionally, and even helps them adjust their own yardsticks to emerge from frustration.
Some people may consider such "humane management" not aggressive enough and prone to being exploited. Indeed, Mr Lo knows what is human nature. A strict and demanding style of management would bring short-term results, but Mr Lo focuses on a longer-term result - officers' professionalism, passion for work and psychological well-being. "If you treat people with all your heart, their responses would be far beyond your expectations. They would get the job done and get more job satisfaction." Setting a reasonable yardstick standard for oneself and others would bring spiritual satisfaction and resilience.
