The pursuit of happiness has been a human goal long before Thomas Jefferson cited it as an inalienable right, alongside life and liberty, in the United States declaration of independence in 1776. But it is only relatively recently that it has been treated as a scientific pursuit, involving academic rigour.
The difficulty is that happiness is a tricky beast to define. Some people thrive in adversity because they love a challenge, while others only do well if there is the comfort of stability and security. Trying to find the common threads that contribute to a sense of well-being and contentedness across all personality types will be among the tasks for the 60 Emiratis who have been nominated as “chief happiness and positivity officers”.
As we reported yesterday, they will use what they learn during five months of intensive training at the Greater Good Science Centre at the University of California-Berkeley and Oxford University's Mindfulness Centre to implement policies that will instil a culture of those qualities in federal and local government here. The move follows the appointment in March of Ohood Al Roumi as the UAE's first Minister of State for Happiness.
In the 15 years since the UC Berkeley centre opened, it has identified six attributes that are strongly correlated with happiness. These are being grateful, staying physically active, practising kindness, having strong social connections, being mindful and opting not to harbour grudges.
This supports the findings of American author Dan Buettner, who visited Japan, Sardinia, California and other so-called “blue zones” where people live far longer than usual. The common elements he identified across these very diverse cultures were not smoking, putting family first, being physically active every day, interacting with friends and eating healthily.
None of these factors should come as a surprise, but knowing what attributes will instil a general sense of contentedness and well-being might make us better at applying these principles to promote a resilient, adaptable and happy population.
