Happiness
Happiness is the best investment that people can make and its search can be divided into components to achieve it, said Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, a specialist in Positive Psychology at Harvard.
During his keynote address at the 6th 360 Happiness Forum in Mexico, organized in Monterrey by the Tecmilenio Institute of Happiness Sciences, he detailed the 5 key elements in the perception of happiness.
In CONECTA we present these components and how to cultivate them, according to the conference "In search of happiness" given by Ben-Shahar.
Spiritual wellness
For Ben-Shahar, spiritual well-being is the ability to have mindfulness and be present in the here and now.
According to Tal, some research has shown that through meditation the brain undergoes positive changes and even the immune system is strengthened. He claimed that you can get the same benefit from meditating for 10 minutes as you can for longer.
"Mindfulness can be carried out daily in the actions that we carry out, for example, we can have mindfulness when eating," he said.
Physical well-being
This element deals with the mind-body connection, and that one of the factors that most affects people is the relationship between stress and rest.
"Stress is not the problem, the lack of recovery after being stressed is," said Tal, who mentions that it is essential to take multi-level breaks.
He also listed 3 types of rest which must be done constantly:
Micro: It consists of taking breaks of minutes or hours, in which he recommends walking, going to the gym or dancing.
Mezzo: It's resting overnight or even taking a few days off.
Macro: A clear example of this type of rest is vacations, whether they last for weeks or even months.
"It is necessary to recover mentally and physically, no matter how you do it, the important thing is that you rest," he said.
Intellectual well-being
Ben-Shahar stated that to achieve intellectual well-being it is necessary to achieve a deep understanding of the things we do, see and read.
As an example, he mentioned the ability of his grandparents to run a business, without having a specialized education in the same and attributed it to the reading of the Bible that they carried out in a conscious and analytical way.
According to the speaker, the ability to appreciate what surrounds the human being, such as nature or art, is one of the factors that increase intellectual well-being.
Relational well-being
Relationships play a very important role in happiness since, according to Tal, one of the factors that negatively impacts happiness indices is the lack of quality interpersonal relationships.
"One of the main factors is the value of virtual relationships over real ones," he said.
He further stated that happiness levels have a more lasting impact when investing in others than when looking for one's own benefit.
Emotional well-being
Ben-Shahar stated that the human being cannot reach his potential until he accepts that he is human with flaws and mistakes.
Among his recommendations, he stated that learning from religious rituals is beneficial, since the routine helps to establish and achieve goals such as going to the gym, or meditating.
He stated that to meet goals that seek happiness, these must be broken down into small actions that are carried out constantly so that they are part of a daily routine that generates well-being.
"When we surrender to life is when we win on the road to being happy," he concluded.
Tal Ben-Shahar is an author, lecturer, and professor of one of Harvard University's most popular classes, "Positive Psychology." He is president of the Advisory Council of the Institute of Happiness Sciences.
He also offered the workshop "Creating rituals of positive change" and talked for about an hour with students.
The 6th 360 Happiness Forum was held on November 2 and 3 at the CINTERMEX facilities, where there were exponents of international stature such as:
James Pawelski, Director of Education at the Center for Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, and his wife, Suzann, a writer and consultant on wellness and happiness.
Caroline Miller, expert in GRIT, successful goal achievement method, and
Meik Wiking, director of the Institute for the pursuit of happiness in Denmark, among more guests.