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Nov 2011  |  By Susan B. Noyes  |  Comments

What’s Your Happiness Score? (And How To Improve It)

How happy are you?  In “Thrive: Finding Happiness The Blue Zones Way,” (National Geographic Society, 2010) Dan Buettner presents lessons learned from four of the world’s happiest geographic areas, and gives recommendations for how each of us can live happier lives.

Several significant polls helped Buettner determine the “happiest places on earth.”  One of them—the World Values Survey—suggests that on average economically stable, healthy, and highly educated people tend to be happier.

This would imply that our community should earn a relatively high score. However, other factors Buettner finds to be important predictors of happiness are not necessarily part of our North Shore culture.

If possible, please take a few moments to comment below on why you gave yourself the score that you did, and what changes might lead you to a happier life in the future.

In general, Buettner believes that the following recommendations will produce the happiest life:

• Set reasonable goals for your life
• Spend six hours each day interacting with people you like
• Live in a community where other people are already thriving
• Live near other people of your social and economic status
• Find a job that you love without worrying too much about the salary
• Find a hobby that fuels your passions
• Set your life up so that you are physically active each day (includes walking and biking to work and for errands)
• Take six weeks vacation no matter what
• Meditate, pray or nap daily
• Call your mother

Please check our January issue of Make It Better magazine to learn the North Shore Happiness Rating. Thank you for helping us determine it.