Is becoming happier as easy as trying to become
happier? The latest research by two US academics suggests it might be.
Writing in The Journal of Positive Psychology,
Yuna L. Ferguson and Kennon M. Sheldon present the results of their recent
experiments into ‘trying to become happier’.
In the first study, two sets of participants
listened to ‘happy’ music. Those who actively tried to feel happier reported
the highest level of positive mood afterwards. In the second study,
participants listened to a range of ‘positive’ music over a two-week period;
those who were instructed to focus on improving their happiness experienced a
greater increase in happiness than those who were told just to focus on the
music.
What seems to have made one group so much happier
than the other in their respective studies was a combination of actively trying
to become happier and using the right methods – in this case, listening to
happy music.
Ferguson and Sheldon’s important findings
challenge earlier studies suggesting that actually trying to become happier was,
in fact, counterproductive. “[Our] results suggest that without trying,
individuals may not experience higher positive changes in their well-being,”
they write. “Thus, practitioners and individuals interested in happiness
interventions might consider the motivational mindset as an important facet of
improving well-being.”
And that’s definitely something worth thinking
about. View the study abstract or download the full study here.
