Explainer | How to be happy: 10 principles of happiness, and why being happy can let us live longer
- After decades of research, bestselling author Florian Langenscheidt has come up with 10 principles of happiness
- From enjoying small moments to learning to forgive and embracing friendship, these tips could help you live longer
Happiness is something we all strive for, especially in times like these. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the global pandemic and the turmoil in its wake, if ever there was a time to choose to be happy, it is now, says Florian Langenscheidt.
The German serial entrepreneur and bestselling author of 1,000 Glücksmomente (1,000 Moments to Be Happy About) and Alt Genug, um Glücklich zu Sein (Old Enough to Be Happy) says many of us have preconceived notions of what will ultimately lead to long-term happiness, be it a promotion, a bigger house or a luxury holiday. But happiness is more complicated, and much simpler, than a list of material desires, he says.
Langenscheidt’s “rare, strange obsession” with happiness started more than 40 years ago, while he was studying philosophy. He read heavily on the subject, but wondered, “Why was it so easy for some people to be happy, and so extremely difficult for others?”
The father of five, based in Berlin, founded an institute for applied research on happiness to find the elusive answers. He has taught at universities and written six books on the subject.
He believes that happiness is linked to physical health, and that it may promote longevity. An analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing from University College London published in the BMJ journal in 2016 backs this up, showing that sustained happiness in older age is linked to a longer life.
Langenscheidt distilled his decades of research into these 10 principles of happiness.