'Happiness can be learnt.' Laughter and happiness Professor explains how
Nope, we're not all born happy. It's a choice and a feeling that can be learnt, says Laughter and Happiness Professor Shareen Richter.
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Lester Kiewit speaks to Shareen Richter, TEDx speaker and best-selling author, about International Happiness Day.
Today (20 March) is International Happiness Day!
Established by the UN General Assembly in 2012, it aims to make people around the world realise the importance of happiness.
What is happiness?
Richter says, 'Happiness can be learnt and cultivated to improve a person's life'.
As a happiness and laughter professor, Richter's day-to-day involves cultivating happiness and teaching its implementation to those who seek it.
"Everything that you do in life has to have a conscious effort and needs work. We think that happiness is something we should just have. That when we wake up, we should just be happy. And when we're not, we have an expectation of why is this happening, or woe is me. But happiness is definitely something that can be worked on, learnt and cultivated to improve a person's life."
- Shareen Richter, Laughter and Happiness Professor
Can you think yourself happy?
The short answer is... no.
"You can't think yourself happy. You can't say 'I'm so happy today' but inside you're not. The brain can't tell the difference between real and simulated laughter. But when we do laugh, the brain releases a whole pharmacy of drugs like endorphins, serotonin and dopamine... into our body and we actually feel better... And when we feel better, it's a lot easier to change the way we think. Whereas, when you're feeling very sad, anxious or depressed, it's not so easy to change your thought process."
- Shareen Richter, Laughter and Happiness Professor
How do nations define happiness?
Studies show that there's been a shift in happiness levels among younger generations, says Richter.
"They take into consideration things like the health care system, the education system, care for the elderly. There's a lot of factors that come into play with this. So far, research shows that in North America and Sub-Saharan Africa, the happiness levels of the young population are declining quite rapidly."
- Shareen Richter, Laughter and Happiness Professor
Laughter in the workplace
When you laugh at work, people may think you're fooling around and not taking work seriously.
But happiness should be considered when thinking of improving positivity and work culture, 'because people are the most important commodity of any organisation', says Richter.
"Happiness is the most underrated performance-management tool... When people are happier, they have more energy, they are more motivated, they have greater engagement with peers and coworkers, they enjoy the environment they work in, they're more present."
- Shareen Richter, Laughter and Happiness Professor
"One of the biggest issues facing companies today, is something called presenteeism, which means, 'I'm here but I'm not really here'. Your mind and everything else is somewhere else and you're not giving 100%... or thinking out of the box, or creating a positive workplace culture. You're just here doing what you have to do, to get through the day, in order to get paid."
- Shareen Richter, Laughter and Happiness Professor
Overall, happiness is a daily choice, according to this professor.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.