The Happiness Quiz

Let’s see how much you know about what makes you happy –

1. What is the one most important factor of sustainable happiness?

A. Enough Money

B. Positive relationships with friends and family

C. Success Rate

D. Age and Beauty

Right answer – B. Positive relationships with friends and family

80 year long study done by Harvard found that the most important predictor of happiness and wellbeing was the quality of our relationships.

2. Money makes you happy when –

A. Spent on shopping luxury items

B. Spent on purchasing the luxury car you always wanted to have

C. Spent on a trip with family and friends

D. All of the above

Okay so this answer is pretty much subjective.

But research has found that “Happiness is derived from spending money to foster relationships with family and friends, enhance our competence on a skill of hobby, gain autonomy”

Right answer – C. Spent on a trip with family and friends

3. Wellbeing is the result of pursuing goals that –

A. Make you rich

B. Make you famous

C. You set becuase of social pressure

D. Resonate with your true self and give your life meaning

Right answer – D. Resonate with your true self and give your life meaning

Cantor and Sanderson (1999) reported that wellbeing was lowered when people sought relatively self centred goals related to physical attractiveness, fame and wealth.

4. Which of the following interventions can produce a long term increase in your levels of wellbeing?

A. Gratitude. Remembering Three Good Things that happened each day

B. Optimism. Writing about your Best Possible Self

C. Strengths. Using signature strengths in new and different ways for a week.
.

.
Right answer – A. Gratitude. Remembering Three Good Things that happened each day

Martin Seligman and his colleagues tested interventions to see which had a lasting impact on wellbeing.

Three Good Things exercise led to increase in wellbeing levels for even after 6 months.

Then was Using Signature strengths in a new and different way for a week

The Best Possible Self intervention produced largest immediate increase in wellbeing followed by gratitude exercise.

5. One heated argument or negative, hurtful comments can erase how many of positive acts ?

A. 5

B. 1

C. 10

D. 20

.
Right answer – D. 20

Research has found that one cruel and thoughtless act or comment can wipe out entire month of affection and tenderness

6. Happiness leads to Success.

True or False.

Right Answer – True.

Sonja Lyubomirsky and her colleagues found that Happiness is not just a result of success, but also an important cause.

7. Which of the following activity can instantly give you significant boost of happiness?

A. Shopping

B. Helping someone

C. Playing games

D. Reading

Right answer – B. Helping someone

When Martin Seligman was asked about what should patients in depression do that can make them happy instantly he said “go and find someone who needs you help and help them”

8. Which of the following can you continue to do everyday to be happy?

A. Plan your activities in the day, Choose freely what you want to do

B. Get your chores done and complete the work you were assigned

C. Go to the party because all your friends are going

D. None of the above

Right answer – A. Plan your activities in the day, Choose freely what you want to do

Research found that – Autonomy or the freedom to choose things you want to do, was highly correlated with wellbeing.

I really hope you enjoyed this Quiz.

I have tried my best to inform you about all the facts and findings of research through this quiz. All the information was taken from the book Positive Psychology. The science of Happiness and Flourishing. By William Compton and Edward Hoffman.

Please let me know your feedback. What did you like, what you didn’t. What would you like to know more about

All your thoughts are welcome! ❤️

November 21, 2020 2

What’s the best way to respond to good news?

Let’s say your girlfriend tells you that she has been promoted at work.

How would you respond to it?

Will you say –

A. That’s good. Congrats!

B. But now you will have to work extra hours, have you thought about how to manage everything?

C. What’s for dinner?

D. Wow! That’s amazing! Congratulations!! Did your boss like the project you made a week ago? Tell me more about it. Let’s celebrate!

Okay so if you are being honest, maybe you’ll say something from A B and C.

The D option is mostly used by girls and their best friends! Am I right ladies?

(When you tell your girl that you’re promoted or something she’s gonna get really excited and insist you to tell the whole story – what happened, how you felt, everything! And then maybe you’ll end up celebrating all night)

Okay I don’t want to be biased here. But in my experience I haven’t received such type of response from my boyfriend or the boys friends that I have. But girls?! Oh the girls! They always say something like that.

You’re still not getting why am I talking about this are you?

Imagine you are telling your best friend or family member or your cousin about your promotion at work.

Which of the above reaction would you like them to give?

How will you feel when they say “good. congrats!”?

Maybe okay. Not so good.

How will you feel when they tell you about the new challenges or problems you might be facing?

That’s such a turnoff. You were so excited and now it’s ruined. Maybe you won’t feel like sharing good news with this person again (unless of course they play a major role in your life). But still a major turnoff.

How will you feel when they ignore what you are saying completely and talk about something else?

Ouch. Who does that? Definitely not telling you next time.

And how would you feel if they get all hyped up and enhance your mood, encourage you to relive the experience and tell them about it. When you see that spark in their eyes that they are really interested and genuinely happy for you, that will make your day.

No doubt. That’s the best response anyone can give. (I am telling you everything from now on. You’re my best friend! 😉 )

Okay so why am I talking so much about how to respond? Why does it matter so much?

It does.

Take a look at this research –

The work of Shelly Gable, a psychologist at the University of California–Los Angeles, has shown that how we respond to positive events, such as a person sharing his or her accomplishments with us, is a better predictor of relationship success than how we respond to negative events

She has shown 4 ways we respond to accomplishments –

A. That’s good. Congrats!

This is passive constructive response.

B. But now you will have to work extra hours, have you thought about how to manage everything?

This is active destructive response.

C. What’s for dinner?

This is passive destructive response.

D. Wow! That’s amazing! Congratulations!! Did your boss like the project you made a week ago? Tell me more about it. Let’s celebrate!

This active constructive response. (ACR)

ACR creates what Fredrickson and Joiner call “upward spirals” of positive emotions—extending the sharer’s enjoyment beyond the discovery or event itself, and building positive capacity so that the relationship will be better able to weather negative events.

– From the book – Joy of leadership (by Tal Ben Shahar and Angus Ridgway)

So research has found that how you respond to good news of eachother strengthens the relationship. And ACR, active constructive response is the best one to give.

Try next time giving such ACR feedback to your friends, colleagues or even family member’s good news.

Have you noticed this before?

That if someone responds to your good news with the same excitement and enthusiasm and is eager to listen and celebrate with you, you feel closer to that person emotionally.

I have definitely felt so before. (~~That’s the reason I adore my friends so much…~~)

But anyway,

Tell me about your experience. Will you try this? Lemme know what you think about it.

August 31, 2020 9

Things to understand

It’s true. When there are so many unhappy people around us, so many disasters going around.. you might feel guilty for being happy.

Tbh these days when I study positive psychology and it includes concepts of happiness and wellbeing I feel weird. Like why am I doing this? I’m not even in the mood of thinking about wellbeing when I’m seeing problems all around me.

But then I realised, positive psychology is not just about feeling happy emotions all the time.

When you are feeling low, you’re facing real problems and feeling like you are stuck in dark cave of hopelessness, positive psychology helps you accept your situation, believe that you can get out of this and helps you actually deal with the situation in a helpful way.

That made me get back to studies. Plus, it also encouraged me to apply all the interventions that I’m learning about in my daily life and benefit from that.

When you feel low, you don’t really want to do anything. Your attention is focused at one particular negative thing and you simply ignore everything positive that’s around you.

When we feel negative emotions our immediate response is fight or flight. We narrow down our focus. For human beings to survive this is necessary.

But at the same time there are benefits of feeling positive emotions.

When you feel better not only you take other things into consideration, you are more likely to contribute to others happiness.

We all know that we can’t give what we don’t have. What about happiness then?How could you make others happy when you are feeling low?

Again there’s nothing wrong with feeling low. I understand. These are tough times. We all are going through a lot. It’s okay to feel sadness, anger, grief. It’s completely natural. It’s human.

Take your time. Recharge. Refill yourself with love and care.

But remember you are not hurting anyone by being happy. In fact, research has proven this – you are much more likely to contribute to others happiness when you yourself are happy and grateful.

Take care guys!❤️

July 12, 2020 20