Ten keys to happier living
The Ten Keys are explained in more detail below. Ea
ch has a related question to help us think about
how our activities and attitudes affect our well-be
ing and the well-being of the others around us.
GIVING
Do things for others
Caring about others is fundamental to our happiness
. Helping other people is not only
good for them and a great thing to do, it also make
s us happier and healthier too. Giving
also creates stronger connections between people an
d helps to build a happier society for
everyone. And it's not all about money - we can als
o give our time, ideas and energy.
So if you want to feel good, do good!
Q: What do you do to help others?
RELATING
Connect with people
Relationships are the most important overall contri
butor to happiness. 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 se
nse of belonging. So taking action to
strengthen our relationships and create new connect
ions is essential for happiness.
Q: Who matters most to you?
EXERCISING
Take care of your body
Our body and our mind are connected. Being active m
akes 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. We don't all need to run marathons - th
ere are simple things we can all do to
be more active each day. We can also boost our well
-being by unplugging from
technology, getting outside and making sure we get
enough sleep!
Q: How do you stay active and healthy?
APPRECIATING
Notice the world around
Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good new
s, there is! And it's right here in front
of us. We just need to stop and take notice. Learni
ng 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.
Q: When do you stop and take notice?
TRYING OUT
Keep learning new things
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. There are
many ways to learn new things - not
just through formal qualifications. We can share a
skill with friends, join a club, learn to
sing, play a new sport and so much more.
Q: What new things have you tried recently?
DIRECTION
Have goals to look forward to
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 unnece
ssary stress. Choosing ambitious but
realistic goals gives our lives direction and bring
s a sense of accomplishment and
satisfaction when we achieve them.
Q: What are your most important goals?
RESILIENCE
Find ways to bounce back
All of us have times of stress, loss, failure or tr
auma in our lives. But how we respond to
these has a big impact on our well-being. We often
cannot choose what happens to us,
but we can choose our own attitude to what happens.
In practice it’s not always easy, but
one of the most exciting findings from recent resea
rch is that resilience, like many other
life skills, can be learned.
Q: How do you bounce back in tough times?
EMOTION
Take a positive approach
Positive emotions – like joy, gratitude, contentmen
t, inspiration, and pride – are not just
great at the time. Recent research shows that regul
arly experiencing them creates an
'upward spiral', helping to build our resources. So
although we need to be realistic about
life's ups and downs, it helps to focus on the good
aspects of any situation – the glass
half full rather than the glass half empty.
Q: What are you feeling good about?
ACCEPTANCE
Be comfortable with who you are
No-one's perfect. But so often we compare our insid
es 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. Learning to accept ourselves, w
arts and all, and being kinder to
ourselves when things go wrong, increases our enjoy
ment of life, our resilience and our
well-being. It also helps us accept others as they
are.
Q: What is the real you like?
Meaning
Be part of something bigger
People who have meaning and purpose in their lives
are happier, feel more in control
and get more out of what they do. They also experience
less stress, anxiety and
depression. But where do we find 'meaning and purpo
se'? It might be our religious faith,
being a parent or doing a job that makes a differen
ce. The answers vary for each of us
but they all involve being connected to something b
igger than ourselves.
Q: What gives your life meaning?
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