Want to be Happy? Keep Busy

[NJCher]

I loved this article so much I read it a couple times.


Better busy than doing nothing, scientist proves
The secret to happiness is keeping busy, research has found.


By Stephen Adams
Published: 3:00PM BST 30 Jul 2010

Keeping the mind occupied with tasks - no matter how meaningless - staves off negative emotions, the study found. However, the bad news is that humans seem hard-wired to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christopher Hsee, a behavioural scientist at Chicago University.

In a study 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or at a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar.

Two-thirds (68 per cent) chose the lazy option.

Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put.

Prof Hsee concluded keeping busy helped keep people happy. He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy implications.

More at the link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7918752/Better-busy-than-doing-nothing-scientist-proves.html


Cher