special happiness and well-being
Today the main sources of well-being are associated with what was lost during the health emergency: health, quality of life, family and friends. Several experts analyze what this change implies.
4/3/2023
On November 27, 2022, Óscar Rodríguez suffered facial paralysis while landing at the Paris airport. The medical diagnosis attributed it to a high level of stress and some internal pathologies. After several tests, the specialists concluded that it would take him approximately a year to recover mobility in his face. Against all odds, she recovered in less than a month.
“Neuroscience has shown that where you focus your thoughts, emotions and feelings are going to see the results. When I was diagnosed with paralysis, I began to say daily: I am going to solve this very quickly and I took it with a very good attitude.
I did therapy and exercises, but always smiling, dancing and keeping the movement in the body. Later, when I published my videos on the networks, my friends wrote to me offering their support and all this created an environment of happiness which was reflected in the welfare of my physical health,” said Óscar.
A possible scientific explanation for this case is related to what Sonja Lubormirsky, an expert in positive psychology from the University of California, calls the happiness levels. These depend 50 percent on genetics, 40 percent on self control, and only 10 percent on life circumstances. In other words, 40 percent of happiness is due to the things that human beings do intentionally for their own benefit, such as taking care of their physical and mental health.
Óscar, who is also CEO of Midelafelicidad, a pioneering Colombian company in the transformation of organizational culture, clarified that the reasons that bring happiness they are fleeting and are consistent with small daily actions. “For example, a few years ago happiness was related to money and the acquisition of goods. The purchase of housing and vehicles generated the greatest pleasure. But following the pandemic this changed and the source of happiness is now focused on people, on solidarity, on thinking regarding the other”.
Your argument might explain why in the report of the Global Happiness 2022 people surveyed in more than 30 countries stated that the main sources of happiness in post-pandemic times: physical health and well-being, mental health and well-being, relationship with partner or spouse, feeling that life has meaning and children; followed by living conditions (water, food, housing), personal security, being in control of life, being in contact with nature and having a job.
According to the Global Advisor survey, of the 31 propositions only two are described as a source of greatest happiness by the most: physical health and wellness (54 percent), closely followed by mental health and wellness (53 percent). 16 of the 31 propositions achieved some happiness with an overall average of 80 percent or higher.
On the other hand, almost all the sources of happiness have remained stable since mid-2020, only the items “a new political leadership in my country” and “moving to another country” have experienced the largest increases (both up 4 points).
“Analyzing the results of this survey, we see that the five aspects that are most valuable to people today are directly related to what was lost the most during the pandemic: health, quality of life, family and friends. And when the human being loses what he used to have because we are not usually aware of how lucky we are, we begin to change our priorities. That is why money or professional titles do not appear on that list. Our life has become so fragile and vulnerable that my long-term projects are already three months away,” Rodríguez explained.
The psychologist Cristina Martínez shares this argument and added that “if the pandemic taught us anything, it is to spend more time with ourselves. He cornered us to the point of taking us to a self knowledge necessary to continue advancing, because if a person is not capable of taking an internal look to find out who they are, what characterizes them, what they want, who they want to surround themselves with, where they are going and what their priorities are, it will be difficult for them to set the goals that want to achieve in life. And it is the fulfillment of those individual goals and the collective relationship that contributes to our state of happiness”.
Finally, Rodríguez warned that the happiness is the armor with which people dress every day. “It is the structure of what we are internally and the protection once morest external factors, especially now that the virus is still around, that we are at war, that there are political conflicts and economic problems. In this hostile world, happiness takes on greater value because it is how I deal with circumstances and how I relate to others.
Here the strongest is the one who survives”.