The pursuit of happiness can be good for our health and well-being | Opinion

We have a need for physical distancing to quell the spread of COVID-19. Yet some people are translating this to mean social distancing. Many experts, including former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, point to a potential “social recession” rising from this separation because of increased feelings of loneliness.

Research shows that human connection is a powerful tool to combat the collective trauma and stress associated with the pandemic. Research also points that relationships are the greatest indicator of happiness. Therefore, happiness is important and worth our attention given its positive effects.

It is no longer acceptable to continue to ignore the negative impacts of mental, emotional and social ills, and costs of ignoring well-being. We have accepted the damaging and systemic effects of anxiety, stress, alienation and loneliness for too long. We’ve focused on external results associated with stressors instead of investing in internal solutions that can positively affect our mental, emotional, physical and social well-being as well as improve work productivity and performance.

In fact, It is dangerous to ignore well-being. Research shows that increasing feelings of happiness even strengthens our immune system, clearly imperative during a time of an illness without a cure.

In addition, we need to operate at optimal levels in order to develop solutions to the real and important problems that we are facing as a global community. We are tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of systemic racism, gender disparity as well as growing levels of suicide, food scarcity and political tensions.

Well-being and strengthening our internal workings — building resilience, creating positive mindsets and fostering optimism — is rooted in reality; and that means to intentionally look at what is going right, not just what is going wrong. Happiness researchers say that taking the time to notice the good allows for the good to appreciate and grow.

This is the ripple that we must foster. Humans are not naturally hardwired to pay attention to the good because of our evolutionary negativity bias. We need to look out for danger in order to survive, but we do not need to be happy to survive. We can get by if we only notice the negative parts of life, however, this is not a true reflection of reality and we will not thrive. We need to grow and thrive to overcome the ills — physical, relational and emotional — that our communities face. We are anxious, angry and afraid.

We can do better; we need to do better. In taking a scientific approach, led by social scientists — in particular those who study positive psychology and economics and who apply these principles to improving well-being on the individual and collective levels —can guide us through this global trauma. Researchers and thinkers such as Dr. Martin Seligman, Dr. Fred Luskin, Dr. Kelli Harding, Dr. Robert Emmons, Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, Lord Richard Layard, Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar and others, have developed evidence-based tools that, when practiced over time, create new neural pathways that increase physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, thereby also increasing resilience.

By cultivating resilience, we can better navigate the challenges of life, particularly in an ever-changing environment filled with stressors. We can even experience post-traumatic growth: the positive changes that people often report in the struggles after traumatic events. Through this growth we not only can become more resilient, but also happier.

In order to thrive, we have to dedicate time to evidence-based habits that will create new mindsets. Because of our brains’ neuroplasticity, we can do that. When we do, we experience significant positive results. The positive impacts stemming from investing in well-being initiatives and policies are far reaching.

There is significant research on the positive effects in the workplace. According to Harvard Business Review, innovation increases threefold, productivity increases by 31 percent, and positive organizations achieve 10 times more employee engagement. According to Gallup, a highly engaged workforce has a 41 percent reduction in absenteeism, 21 percent increase in productivity, and between 24 percent and 59 percent less turnover.

On a policy level, countries are beginning to place well-being onto their agendas, and into their budgets, to go beyond GDP to define the nation’s success. In 2019, New Zealand introduced well-being into the country’s budget. The same year, the European Commission passed the Beyond GDP initiative to “develop indicators that are as clear and appealing as GDP, but more inclusive of environmental and social aspects of progress.”

We must move away from zero-sum thinking and move toward creating win-win scenarios. We have the tools to change, improve and grow. The time for a paradigm shift is now.

Karen Guggenheim is a frequent speaker on post-traumatic growth and a wellbeing advocate. After losing her husband suddenly, she went on to co-found WOHASU® and the World Happiness Summit®, at which experts in the science of happiness and well-being help people learn practical tools for a happier life.