We are as happy now as we have been at any time during the past 30 years, according to the General Social Survey from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Here are the latest findings:
• Women are happier than men are, although the gap is getting smaller.
• Money can buy a little more happiness – but just a little. “Happiness is greater among those with greater incomes, but the relationship is not as strong as many might think,” says Tom Smith, the Center’s director. “The poor are less happy, but the well-to-do are only a little happier than middle-income folks.”
• The happiness life curve is U-shaped, meaning people are happiest when they are very young and very old, and are least happy around age 40 (the bottom point of the U).
• Marriage adds to happiness.
“Some people who seem to have all the raw materials for happiness – looks, money, success, and love – seem perpetually glum. Some of the most exciting research in psychology is found in a field called positive psychology, a discipline that aims not just to relieve suffering but also to increase happiness. For the past six years, Martin E. P. Seligman, PhD, and his colleagues have been working to unlock the secrets of living the good life. Seligman, founding director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Authentic Happiness, has found that the key to happiness appears to lie in our internal qualities and character strengths, not in external events. What’s more, he says, we can use these qualities – work with them and enhance them – to make ourselves happier over the long run.” – Prevention Magazine
“The happiest people surround themselves with family and friends, don’t care about keeping up with the Joneses next door, lose themselves in daily activities and, most important, forgive easily.” – Chris Clevenger, via AP
Being happy all of the time is almost impossible. You certainly can’t be happy with an unfortunate circumstance or from losing a family member or a close friend. Happiness and spreading cheer certainly has its time and place. However, on a general basis, there’s always something for which to be grateful, and something that can make us laugh and spread a smile! Go ahead – smile! And then pass it on!
With that in mind, here are some quotes to make you smile. Some of these should be a daily attitude, and some of them are just plain funny and sure to put on a smile on your face:
Attitude
• “If you see a friend without a smile; give him one of yours.” – Old Proverb.
• “Smile. It’s the key that fits the lock of everybody’s heart.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
• “What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.” – Joseph Addison
• “Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
• “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo F. Buscaglia
• “Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” – Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Just funny
• “Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life.” – Spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign
• “We have to stop and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?” – Lee Iacocca
• “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.” – Jim Carrey
• “A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don’t have a top for it.” – Jerry Seinfeld
• “A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.” – Steve Martin
• “Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?” – Phyllis Diller
• “When I die, I want to die like my grandmother, who died peacefully in her sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in her car.” – Unknown
Some information from www.prevention.com.