Part One - The Background & Research Basics
This is for anyone that wants to make a positive change to their lives as we move forward into a new year filled with so much uncertainty.
Utilising Action For Happiness’ 10 Keys Programmes as the new year begins, or anytime you begin to read. Considering the places that you call home, work, social areas and, out in your local community
All explained through; Giving, Relating, Exercising, Awareness, Trying, Direction, Resilience, Emotions, Acceptance and Meaning.
This three Part Series breaks down the keys and, gives you some practical, easy to follow examples of how to improve your life and happiness, based on practical, simple ideas with a significant amount of research undermining the foundation of this programmes creation.
A supportive community of 150,000 people using the Action for Happiness app alone to access daily actions and, inspiration certainly think it can. Through the pandemic their daily posting of positive quotes in beautiful colours, real thought plus passion to help others and, the monthly calendars with daily tasks to keep us on track have been maintained by many.
MIND, Relate and Netmums are three groups who work in partnership with the Action For Happiness Team which showcases how fantastic and trustworthy these resources are.
Exploring The Keys
What is it that makes us happy? Some of the research suggests that happiness is achieved by looking tab these three distinct areas; Income and Environment, Activities and Relationships and Income/Environment.
Action For Happiness report that the following are of upmost importance when aiming to address all 10 keys;
Do things for others
Connect with people
Take care of your body
Live mindfully
Learn new Things
Have goals to look forward to
Learn how to bounce back
Look for what’s good
Be comfortable with who you are
Be a part of something bigger.
You may look at the list and something jumps straight out at you. There may be one or two things on the list that resonate with you, that you feel are missing. Could a focus on these really make a difference? As many will set New Year Resolutions this could give you some real guidance and support to actually stick to them!
Some of the great phrases/quotes/images will make a fantastic vision board, showcasing what is personal to you could really help. Reminding, supporting and encouraging you to reach your own personal goals. Like a new years resolution but on a grander scale. Looking deeper and deeper into your life to really assess and focus on what you as an individual really need/want to change in the long term. These aren’t quick fixes and should be taken one step at a time.
These aren’t just aimed at a happier home life either but also encompass work, family and friends and being part of your local community. Let’s take each in turn and see what we can do!
There are so many resources available through Action For Happiness but we want to look beyond this and show you alternatives, because one size really doesn’t fit all! So we’ll start with the research outcome for each area and, then venture into some options. Often you can find scenarios in your life where one or more of the keys will be utilised and therefore hitting your goals becomes easier to manage.
Giving - ‘Our generosity is hard-wired to the reward mechanisms in our brains. When we give our time, energy and kindness to others it not only helps them, it's also great for our wellbeing too'.(https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living)
Relating - ‘People with strong and broad social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationships with family and friends provide love, meaning, support and increase our feelings of self worth. Broader networks bring a sense of belonging’.(https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/connect-with-people)
Exercising - ‘Our body and our mind are connected. Being active makes us happier as well as being good for our physical health. It instantly improves our mood and can even lift us out of a depression’.(https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/take-care-of-your-body)
Awareness - ‘Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life - like our walk to work, the way we eat or our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future - so we get more out of the day-to-day’. (https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/live-life-mindfully)
Trying - ‘Learning affects our well-being in lots of positive ways. It exposes us to new ideas and helps us stay curious and engaged. It also gives us a sense of accomplishment and helps boost our self-confidence and resilience’.(https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/keep-learning-new-things)
Direction - ‘Feeling good about the future is important for our happiness. We all need goals to motivate us and these need to be challenging enough to excite us, but also achievable. If we try to attempt the impossible this brings unnecessary stress’.(https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/have-goals-to-look-forward-to)
Resilience - ‘All of us have times of stress, loss, failure or trauma in our lives. But how we respond to these has a big impact on our wellbeing’. (https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/find-ways-to-bounce-back)
Emotions - ‘Positive emotions - like joy, gratitude, contentment, inspiration, and pride - are not just great at the time. Recent research shows that regularly experiencing them creates an 'upward spiral', helping to build our resources’.(https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/look-for-whats-good)
Acceptance - ‘No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insides to other people's outsides. Dwelling on our flaws - what we're not rather than what we've got - makes it much harder to be happy’. (https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/be-comfortable-with-who-you-are)
Meaning - ‘People who have meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do’. (https://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living/be-part-of-something-bigger)
Taking Things Further Through Action For Happiness
If you feel that this is something that could work for you as an actual all around programmes then there are many options that you can take, different and more varied/accessible support mechanisms and resources. These include;
The Action For Happiness Book by Vanessa King is available from both Amazon & Hive.
Action For Happiness Webinars can be accessed via the Events Page. Watch live over Zoom or catch up later via the Website.
10 Days of Happiness Programme designed to help people through the pandemic.
Toolkit For Schools as well as the Children’s book are great for school and home.
Happy Cafe Network support those who want to share their journey online or in the community.
Monthly Calendars all have a clear focus. Something on each day to get you reacting to one of the ten keys. Previous calendars have included focus on self care, new ways, and optimism.
Podcasts
The Downloadable App both in Apple and Android is easy to download and great to have in your pocket to help you when you are out and about.
You might find this strange but The most important one of all is Are You Unhappy? This is a great resource if you or someone you know is really struggling mentally and how to access help.
This should give a clearer understanding of the programme. Next time we’ll look in more depth at the first five keys, showing you real life scenarios and ways to manage them effectively using various resources and activities including the Action For Happiness Calendars.
Action For Happiness
The 10 Keys Explained
Happier Living Book
Events
The 10 Keys Guidebook
Toolkit for Schools
Cafe
Calendars
Downloadable App
Feeling Unhappy Resource Page