Today’s post does not claim to be original. If it did, I could probably be sued for plagiarism—especially if I were making money off this website. But I am not. I am simply giving an enthusiastic endorsement for the best book I have ever read (other than the scriptures themselves) on how to achieve real happiness. It is by Brigham Young University professor Hank Smith and is entitled simply Be Happy.
Actually, I misspoke. I have not, in truth, read the book. But my wife and I listened to it as an audio book during our November drive to the Northeast—the trip which gave rise to my post on Exploring America’s Holy Land. Smith one minute had us laughing uproariously and the next minute admiring the depth of his research and the profundity of his conclusions. It is a short book—only 130 pages. Though the author has a doctorate, he writes in language designed to appeal to anyone ten years of age or above. His book sells for $10.99 at Amazon—or $10.44 in in the Kindle edition and $16.99 as an audio CD. And no, I do not get a commission!
My purpose in this post is simply to whet your appetite with a brief summary of chapter 1 from the Be Happy book, entitled The Science of Happiness. I invite you to buy the book itself and get the rest of the story.
Smith cites studies which find that our genetic makeup is responsible for fifty percent of our happiness. We can’t do much about that. The same studies show that our circumstances account for ten percent of our happiness. That leaves forty percent which comes from things we can control. He then gives ten simple, scientifically validated steps we can take to maximize our happiness. They are:
1. Be Around People Who Are Happy
The author states, “Being around people who are happy is the number-one way to be happy yourself. It’s also the number-one indicator of a person’s happiness levels. Why? Simple: happiness is contagious! And unlike the stomach flu, it’s something worth catching.”
2. Spend Money on Other People
Smith concludes: “As it turns out, money really can buy happiness—just not in the way you thought. Dozens of studies have shown that when you take a little of your hard-earned money and spend it to make someone else happy, magical things happen to your own level of happiness.”
3. Cut Down on Screen Time
Study after study confirms that whether we are dealing with ninety-inch tv’s or three-inch phones, excessive screen time has damaging effects on brain structure and function. Scientists aren’t sure why. But screen time has been correlated with depression and anxiety and even shrinkage of brain matter and insensitivity to loss.
4. Talk to People. In Person.
This simply means to have deep, in-person conversations with the important people in your life. Naturally, there are times we need to phone, text, or communicate via Skype or Facebook. But, Smith asserts, “Happy people emotionally connect with other people in real life. Emotional connections with others really help the brain. And the best way to emotionally connect is to talk, face-to-face. Go for a hike, go for a walk, go to lunch—it doesn’t matter where you go, just talk to another human being. It will make a difference in your happiness.”
5. Laugh!
“Happy people laugh,” Smith tells us. “If you want to be happier, laugh. A lot.” He points out that children, on the average, laugh over three hundred times a day. Adults do so only fifteen times per day.
He reminds us that we need to make sure the laughter is appropriate. We would not want to make fun of sacred things, find humor in crude things, or laugh at another person. “But laughing at yourself and your own awkwardness … is perfectly okay. And if you’re out of practice, check out some funny movies or talks or books, or go get a shake with the funniest person you know.”
6. Listen to Uplifting Music.
Smith cites a study in which volunteers were divided into two groups. One group spent an hour a day for three months listening to uplifting music of their choice. The other group got an hour-long massage every day for three months. At the end of the study, those who listened to the uplifting music had the higher increase in their happiness level. He does concede that even better would be to get to listen to the music and have the massage!
7. Exercise and Eat a Healthy Diet.
Studies find that happiness has little, if anything, to do with body size or shape. But it has much to do with getting regular exercise. And it has a lot to do with eating nutritious foods and avoiding excess sugar, empty calories, and those substances banned in Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants—tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine.
8. Go Outside a Lot.
No one is certain whether people become happy because they go outside or whether they go outside because they are happy. But studies are clear that the two are correlated.
9. Get Enough Sleep.
“Happy people get enough sleep,” Smith tells us. While not everyone needs the same among of sleep, happiness and success in life depend upon getting enough. Once we’ve determined how much we individually need, we need to figure out how to get to bed earlier, if necessary.
10. Tune in to the Spiritual.
Smith reminds us that there is a big difference between being spiritual and being religious. Just being busy in church activities doesn’t guarantee an increase in satisfaction. But meditation and prayer are almost certain to raise our happiness level.
Smith suggests we not try to tackle all ten of these steps at once but to select one and focus on it. We can work on others later.
The above is just an outline from chapter one. But the book itself is much more interesting than the outline, as it contains lots of fun and funny stories to back up each point. And there are six other chapters which are almost as good. In case you needed additional motivation to consider getting the book, they are:
Chapter Two: “Whose Fruit Was Desirable to Make One Happy”: What the Scriptures Teach about Happiness
Chapter Three: Learning to “Accentuate the Positive”
Chapter Four: I Want Patience—And I Want It Now! [Includes a very funny personal story Hank Smith tells about a temporary impasse he and his wife had over a new microwave]
Chapter Five: Don’t Forget Contention—And We’re Still Not Done with Patience
Chapter Six: Depression: Why You Can’t Just “Snap Out of It”
Chapter Seven: Change
So, there’s my sales pitch. I can’t guarantee that the suggestions in this book will make you any happier than you already are. You may be one of those rare individuals who is already as happy as he is capable of being. But if so, I can still promise you will have some happy moments reading or listening to the book. Let me know what you think after you read it!
But, as I mentioned at the outset, I consider Smith’s book only the second best I have read on the subject of how to be happy. The best, in my opinion, is The Book of Mormon. See my post at https://latterdaysaintandhappy.com/why-mormons-should-be-happiest-people-2/ for a list of scriptural passages from that book and other books of scripture, ancient and modern, which clearly teach (1) that God intends for us to be happy here and now—not just in the life to come, and (2) that God loves us enough that He has given us clear instructions on how we can find that happiness.
