Some ways to become happier Be OptimisticOptimism is important to our happin ess — We can see our glasses as half full, or half empty. We can hope for the best, and expect that things will turn out well, or we can dread what might go wrong, and worry about our future. Happiness research shows that worry is the number one enemy to happiness, and as we become more optimistic, we become happier.Basic Emotions and Moods WorkPsychologists have published findings suggesting that one's entire emotional experience can be understood in terms of six basic, or universal, emotions. These six emotions are happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust. One principle reason emotions researcher Paul Ekman describes these six emotions as basic and universal is that, unlike with other emotions, people in any part of the world who see a photograph of a person expressing these six emotions can readily identify the emotion. All other emotions are theorized to be comprised of various distinct combinations of our six universal emotions.Of These six, happiness is pleasant, sadness, fear, anger and disgust are generally unpleasant, and surprise is neutral, leaning toward the unpleasant side. Since these emotions, and the moods they create when sustained, will ultimately determine our happiness, we should strive to minimize the five unpleasant emotions, and to maximize happiness. In theory, becoming happier is just that easy.Psychologists have also determined that we can choose our emotions by choosing to evaluate the situations and circumstances of our life in certain ways. This process is called cognitive appraisal, and has been used very successfully by cognitive-behavioral therapists to help clients overcome de...
