Happiness is Contagious

Have you ever been going about your business, feeling pretty content, and then someone sours your mood with sad thoughts or mean behavior? I know I have gone from high to low in about ten seconds because of those negative Nancys! Luckily, happy actions can change one’s mood as well and just as quickly. In other words, cheerfulness is contagious and that’s something worth taking no precautions over—spread it! Being happier can actually make others happier!
 
Oh yeah, and this “emotional virus” (what researchers are calling it) packs a punch: the result of catching said “virus” has the ability to linger in its happy state for up to year! Other studies link happiness to better health, so in that respect, this is a chronic “ailment” you definitely want to have. It’s funny to attach statistics and measurements to something as subjective as happiness, but you probably don’t need numbers to prove that the theory is true.
 
Think about the last time you were in a really happy mood, were making everyone around you laugh or when you told a feel-good story. How did everyone else around you react? Or think about how smiling at someone, even a stranger, can sometimes result in a smile right back. Consider your mood’s effect on your family members, who probably share your household and interact with you on a daily basis. Do you all tend to have similar moods?

Now if only this worked with other things in life...like wealth. Anyone walk by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and immediately feel richer? [MSNBC]

—Alicia Kachmar