Bad news, a sudden loss, or something unexpected can all leave us in need of ways to improve our mental state and happiness, but how do we do it?

In terms of impact, negative experiences outweigh positive ones in the following contexts: daily life, big life events (such trauma), the results of intimate relationships, patterns in social networks, interactions between individuals, and the learning process. We give greater weight to negative feelings, parents, and criticism than positive ones, and we give more weight to negative information while processing it than positive. What can we do about it?

Many people now consider happiness to be the most important thing in life, and there has been a dramatic increase in the public’s interest in the subject in recent decades. With more and more people interested in finding pleasure, scientists have been eager to determine if this trend has any positive effect on health. It seems to reason that individuals will attract more happiness into their lives if they make it a priority to be happy.

One study examined 8,331 Dutch people as part of the Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences (LISS) panel. Beginning in 2019 and continuing through 2023, the poll asked participants to rate their own happiness and several other well-being markers, such as life satisfaction, positive and negative emotions, and the strength of their relationships.

According to the research, those whose happiness was more highly valued were more likely to be happy overall. In particular, those who prioritized pleasure had fewer negative emotions, more frequent pleasant ones, and better overall levels of life satisfaction. These results are in line with the theory that people can improve their level of contentment and happiness in their daily lives by making happiness a life goal.

The Happiness Route

There are a number of things that can help us through the roughest of times and regain some of the happiness we seek. Here are a few:

1. One method by which people gain personal and social resources while also savoring positive experiences is by sharing them with others. Previous studies have proven that this process, known as capitalization, has significant advantages even in the physical health of patients with cancer.

2. Let happiness be the ultimate aim, not the means to an end. If you want to live a better life, prioritize good proven activities like exercising, spending time with loved ones or friends, or being outside in nature.

We have a trove of research that points to being in nature, utilizing forest therapy, and exercising as all proven to have enormous benefits in our physical and mental health. Exercising has now been shown to increase brain connections and the neurons that flourish to keep us cognitively aware and functioning.

3. Make a list of three to five bullet points detailing all that you are thankful for that day before turning in for the night. Things and people that you are thankful for on any given day are not major life events but rather ordinary occurrences.

4. Keep an optimistic outlook and look for the best in others. The truth is that there are darker sides to life than rainbows and unicorns. Never take the people or things that bring us joy for granted; instead, learn to embrace and cope with everything life throws at us. Everything should be treasured since we never know when it will all be gone.

5. Feel the anger and let it out. Just hold on for a second before you go on. Alternatively, if you are short on time, get over it and deal with your disappointment later.

6. Try out this website for some free inspiration and happiness tools that have been created by an educational psychologist: articulatingyourstrengths.org

7. Find and maintain a purpose in life that provides you with a sense of fulfillment. Without purpose, we can become victims of ourselves; therefore, it is within our grasp—just find it and hang on.

As one 90-something man told a residential housing worker, life is a roller coaster, and you must learn to ride the waves. No one expects you to be a Pollyanna, nor should you be Chief Rain-in-the-Face. So, go forth and prosper.