Make Someone Happy

Sure, gifts are nice and all, but how do you really make someone happy?

The GNH formula is a great place to start. That’s “gross national happiness,” as developed by Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuck back in the ’70s.

It’s rather fascinating (see the video below, if you want to know more), but the gist is that:

More money does not equal more happiness. Social, environmental, and economic wellbeing do.

So, how do you do you go about this realistically in your everyday life? Bhutan Prime Minister Jigme Thin explains it like this:

Socially

Think better thoughts. That’s all it takes to start making things better.
Note three things you’re grateful for, every day. Try it. You’ll discover new joys in unexpected places.
Give: You’ll get more out of it than they will. In the process, it will make things better for everyone.

“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.”—Saint Basil

Economically

Happiness before success. We’re taught to believe happiness comes after success. Truth is, happiness make you more productive and more successful.

“Your brain at positive is 31 percent more productive than at negative, neutral or stressed … The hormone dopamine that permeates your system when you are positive also turns on all the learning centers in the brain.”—Jigme Y. Thin

It’s all about balance: Sure, money is important, but so are meaning and connection.

Environmentally

Think ahead. Leave the world a better place than you found it. Be cognizant of what we’re bequeathing (materially and morally) to our kids.
Be contagious. Scientifically, human happiness is contagious by a degree of three. That’s because we’re genetically programmed to be social animals. So when you’re happy, you make three other people happy!