498-The Science of Behavioral Contagions Pt.2

Continuing our conversation about behavioral contagions, this episode of Everyday Happiness discusses how we can use them to increase our happiness and the happiness of those around us.  

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and in our episode yesterday, we discussed what behavioral contagions are and how they spread. Of course, I had to leave a bit of a cliffhanger to kick off today's conversation about utilizing those behavioral contagions for our benefit. What benefit, you ask? Happiness, of course!

 

According to a study performed by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, they “found that social networks have clusters of happy and unhappy people within them that reach out to three degrees of separation." The happiest people tend to be at the center of their social networks, with each happy person bringing greater happiness to the group.

 

So, how can you use this to improve your social circle's happiness?

 

First, I encourage you to look inward, and consider how your emotions are affecting others. By being aware of your emotional processing, you can recognize when a bad mood negatively impacts your group. With this recognition, you can take steps to remove the lousy mood by thinking of something else, sharing your feelings in a positive manner to come to a solution, or, in worst case, removing yourself from the situation.

 

Second, recognize how other people’s emotions are affecting your own. Is your friend’s bad attitude dragging you down? Are you growing feelings of resentment, anger, or annoyance at something that wouldn’t otherwise bother you because they are feeling that? When you recognize how someone else’s feelings are affecting your own, you can take an internal step back and separate yourself from those emotions to keep an unbiased, calm attitude. However, if you are happy and bubbly, go ahead and bask in it!

 

Third, consider what actions you can take to spread positive or happy emotions. Something as simple as smiling at a stranger, sending a kindness card, or cheering for someone can instantly change the atmosphere in the room. When you send out happy, kind signals, other people will reflect them back to you and others. Remember, a simple act of kindness sends a ripple effect out into the world. Why? As I always say, kindness is contagious. Do your part today by spreading a little more happy contagions today with some simple act of kindness! 

 

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Links:  https://onamission.bio/everydayhappiness/

 

Inspired by this article in https://www.edge.org/conversation/social-networks-and-happiness