Secrets of everlasting smiles

Academics are trying to define happiness. Photo/File

Do you remember, or have you ever experienced, real gutsy happiness?

You know, the kind where you spring out of bed in the morning and can't wait to get into the day. Where you have moments of enthusiasm and joy dispersed in your week and you think: "Isn't it great to be alive!"

There are those who seem to keep on smiling no matter what life throws at them, finding pleasure in the smallest of things.

If you who find people like this just really annoying, you'll be happy to hear that the US Food & Drug Administration agency has approved a depressant drug for the annoyingly cheerful. Despondex is the first drug designed to treat the symptoms of excessive perkiness.

Of course it's a joke, and you can see the story online, but for those of us who want to achieve greater happiness in life then read on ...

I confess that I used to be one of those annoyingly happy people described above.

Case in point: In my mid-20s I was walking along the Bondi coastal walkway with my partner John, now husband, 21 years older than me, and I remember saying: "This is the best day - I love it. I love walking here with you, I love the sea, I love the sun - isn't it just the most brilliant, best thing to be alive and basking in the gloriousness of life?"

Annoyingly cheerful? John replies: "Yeah, it's a nice day."

I exclaim: "What do you mean, it's better than nice, it's STUPENDOUS ..." And on I went.

I clearly remember John saying: "Those sort of feelings seem to dampen down with age."

I would have never believed it until it happened to me. I made it to my mid-30s and, indeed, those feelings damped down and I felt powerless to bring them back.

That is until I found the relatively new field of positive psychology, the scientific study of what enables individuals and communities to thrive.

Over the past few decades, academics have been defining happiness and studying whether people can become happier.

So, is it possible to become happier? So far the science says, unequivocally, "yes" - but you have to work at it.

The sceptics might ask - Where does happiness get you in life?

Well, studies show that happiness opens us up to new possibilities, and helps us to think more creatively.

It has, of course, been shown to be an antidote for depression and happy people tend to be healthier, more resilient, more successful, live longer, and recover quicker from physical ailments.

Happy people also have a positive impact on their workplace, their community, schools and families. So much so that economists are now studying subjective wellbeing, with the OECD producing a document - Guidelines On Measuring Subjective Wellbeing.

The Happiness Journey will be a series of Chronicle articles bringing together the best techniques, activities and strategies to increase your happiness.

It will take some work, and your first piece of homework is to ask yourself: "What is happiness?" and "What would make me happier?"

Many of us don't have a clue about what contributes to real long-lasting happiness and so we look for happiness in all the wrong places.

I plan to steer you in the right direction - log on to www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu to find out how happy you are right now.

Next week I start to unravel the emotion of happiness and start you on the Happiness Journey.

Learning about happiness is not a spectator sport; you have to participate in the activities to notice an effect.

Kristen is a Wanganui mother-of-two with a masters degree in applied psychology and is currently studying for a PhD in positive psychology. Questions or queries - email kristenhamling@me.com