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Happiness is a state, not a trait; in other words, it isn’t a long-lasting, permanent feature or personality trait, but a more fleeting, changeable state.Happiness is equated with feeling pleasure or contentment, meaning that happiness is not to be confused with joy, ecstasy, bliss, or other more intense feelings.

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These two ages of your life are proven to be the most happy years of one's life. This is because at age 23, you are done with your education and looking forward to your career and new opportunities.

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Revealed: The two surprising ages when we're at our HAPPIEST (and why it's bad news if you're in your middle years)

London School of Economics and Political Sciences carried out research

Surveyed 23,000 adults aged 17 to 85 to identify happiest ages

Happiness is at its height at the ages of 23 and 69, but bottoms out in middle age

From sweet 16, to the milestone 21st birthday, to life supposedly beginning at 40, there are all sorts of theories about the age that signifies you're in you're prime.

But now researchers have pinpointed the two ages in adult life when you're likely to be at your happiest - and they might well surprise you.

According to experts from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, happiness peaks at the ages of 23 and 69, My Domaine reported.

To draw this conclusion, researchers questioned 23,000 volunteers, aged 17 to 85, and found that happiness goes in a U-shape, bottoming out in middle age and peaking again at the other end of the spectrum.

Typically, 23 is an age when many people have finished third level education and are looking forward to starting their careers and earning a real income for the first time, with all the freedoms that brings.

At the age of 69, a lot of people will be ready to enjoy retirement and have the stresses of raising a family behind them.

But it isn't all bad news for those in the middle, as separate research has identified some crucial steps to take to ensure you're getting joy out of life at any age.

The advice was produced by Vanessa King, author of 10 Keys To Happier Living and the campaign group Action For Happiness and uses the acronym Great Dream.

9. ACCEPTANCE

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The two surprising ages when your happiness peaks during adult life

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London School of Economics and Political Sciences carried out research Surveyed 23,000 adults aged 17 to 85 to identify happiest ages Happiness is at its height at the ages of 23 and 69, but bottoms out in middle age From sweet 16, to the milestone 21st birthday, to life supposedly beginning at 40, there are all sorts of theories about the age that signifies you're in you're prime.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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I can connect to the way lots of people believe money buys happiness to the Great Gatsby. Gatsby thought that money would get him his way to happiness but in the end it did not. Gatsby thought that money would get him Daisy because he knows that Daisy can only be with someone wealthy and that she dwells materialistic things. Gatsby continually wants to impress people with his money but in the end we all see that none of it worked out.

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Managing exceptions is a very big part of being happy. When people don't expect the best out of everything and believe in realistic things. Another thing is setting unrealistic standards. One that doesn't say "I am going to marry rich or I am going to be rich when I am older"  or something along these lines, you will most likely be less happy. People who obsess over materialistic things instead of things that will mentally make you happier, will make you more stressed and less happy. People who consider every new opportunity tend to be more happy because new adventures create adrenaline rush and helps one make the most out of every situation. The biggest thing is to be self aware. One who is self aware is able to improve themselves for the better and are able to fix things that come in their way.

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Dr. Erik Reis
Peak-Performance Leadership Consultant Read full profile

We have two ears and one mouth for a reason-effective communication is dependent on using them in proportion, and this involves having good listening skills.

The workplace of the 21st century may not look the same as it did before COVID-19 spread throughout the world like wildfire, but that doesn't mean you can relax your standards at work. If anything, Zoom meetings, conference calls, and the continuous time spent behind a screen have created a higher level of expectations for meeting etiquette and communication. And this goes further than simply muting your microphone during a meeting.

Effective workplace communication has been a topic of discussion for decades, yet, it is rarely addressed or implemented due to a lack of awareness and personal ownership by all parties.

Effective communication isn't just about speaking clearly or finding the appropriate choice of words. It starts with intentional listening and being present. Here's how to improve your listening skills for effective workplace communication.

Listen to Understand, Not to Speak

There are stark differences between listening and hearing. Listening involves intention, focused effort, and concentration, whereas hearing simply involves low-level awareness that someone else is speaking. Listening is a voluntary activity that allows one to be present and in the moment while hearing is passive and effortless.

Which one would you prefer your colleagues to implement during your company-wide presentation? It's a no-brainer.

Listening can be one of the most powerful tools in your communication arsenal because one must listen to understand the message being told to them. As a result of this deeper understanding, communication can be streamlined because there is a higher level of comprehension that will facilitate practical follow-up questions, conversations, and problem-solving. And just because you heard something doesn't mean you actually understood it.

We take this for granted daily, but that doesn't mean we can use that as an excuse.

Your brain is constantly scanning your environment for threats, opportunities, and situations to advance your ability to promote your survival. And yet, while we are long past the days of worrying about being eaten by wildlife, the neurocircuitry responsible for these mechanisms is still hard-wired into our psychology and neural processing.

A classic example of this is the formation of memories. Case in point: where were you on June 3rd, 2014? For most of you reading this article, your mind will go completely blank, which isn't necessarily bad.

The brain is far too efficient to retain every detail about every event that happens in your life, mainly because many events that occur aren't always that important. The brain doesn't-and shouldn't-care what you ate for lunch three weeks ago or what color shirt you wore golfing last month. But for those of you who remember where you were on June 3rd, 2014, this date probably holds some sort of significance to you. Maybe it was a birthday or an anniversary. Perhaps it was the day your child was born. It could have even been a day where you lost someone special in your life.

Regardless of the circumstance, the brain is highly stimulated through emotion and engagement, which is why memories are usually stored in these situations. When the brain's emotional centers become activated, the brain is far more likely to remember an event. And this is also true when intention and focus are applied to listening to a conversation.

Utilizing these hard-wired primitive pathways of survival to optimize your communication in the workplace is a no-brainer-literally and figuratively.

Intentional focus and concentrated efforts will pay off in the long run because you will retain more information and have an easier time recalling it down the road, making you look like a superstar in front of your colleagues and co-workers. Time to kiss those note-taking days away!

Effective Communication Isn't Always Through Words

While we typically associate communication with words and verbal affirmations, communication can come in all shapes and forms. In the Zoom meeting era we live in, it has become far more challenging to utilize and understand these other forms of language. And this is because they are typically easier to see when we are sitting face to face with the person we speak to.

Body language can play a significant role in how our words and communication are interpreted, especially when there is a disconnection involved. When someone tells you one thing, yet their body language screams something completely different, it's challenging to let that go. Our brain immediately starts to search for more information and inevitably prompts us to follow up with questions that will provide greater clarity to the situation at hand. And in all reality, not saying something might be just as important as actually saying something.

These commonly overlooked non-verbal communication choices can provide a plethora of information about the intentions, emotions, and motivations. We do this unconsciously, and it happens with every confrontation, conversation, and interaction we engage in. The magic lies in the utilization and active interpretation of these signals to improve your listening skills and your communication skills.

Our brains were designed for interpreting our world, which is why we are so good at recognizing subtle nuances and underlying disconnect within our casual encounters. So, when we begin to notice conflicting messages between verbal and non-verbal communication, our brain takes us down a path of troubleshooting.

Which messages are consistent with this theme over time? Which statements aren't aligning with what they're really trying to tell me? How should I interpret their words and body language?

Suppose we want to break things down even further. In that case, one must understand that body language is usually a subconscious event, meaning that we rarely think about our body language. This happens because our brain's primary focus is to string together words and phrases for verbal communication, which usually requires a higher level of processing. This doesn't mean that body language will always tell the truth, but it does provide clues to help us weigh information, which can be pretty beneficial in the long run.

Actively interpreting body language can provide you with an edge in your communication skills. It can also be used as a tool to connect with the individual you are speaking to. This process is deeply ingrained into our human fabric and utilizes similar methods babies use while learning new skills from their parents' traits during the early years of development.

Mirroring a person's posture or stance can create a subtle bond, facilitating a sense of feeling like one another. This process is triggered via the activation of specific brain regions through the stimulation of specialized neurons called mirror neurons. These particular neurons become activated while watching an individual engage in an activity or task, facilitating learning, queuing, and understanding. They also allow the person watching an action to become more efficient at physically executing the action, creating changes in the brain, and altering the overall structure of the brain to enhance output for that chosen activity.

Listening with intention can make you understand your colleague, and when paired together with mirroring body language, you can make your colleague feel like you two are alike. This simple trick can facilitate a greater bond of understanding and communication within all aspects of the conversation.

Eliminate All Distractions, Once and for All

As Jim Rohn says, "What is easy to do is also easy not to do." And this is an underlying principle that will carry through in all aspects of communication. Distractions are a surefire way to ensure a lack of understanding or interpretation of a conversation, which in turn, will create inefficiencies and a poor foundation for communication.

This should come as no surprise, especially in this day in age where people are constantly distracted by social media, text messaging, and endlessly checking their emails. We're stuck in a cultural norm that has hijacked our love for the addictive dopamine rush and altered our ability to truly focus our efforts on the task at hand. And these distractions aren't just distractions for the time they're being used. They use up coveted brainpower and central processes that secondarily delay our ability to get back on track.

Gloria Mark, a researcher at UC Irvine, discovered that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds for our brains to reach their peak state of focus after an interruption. Yes, you read that correctly-distractions are costly, error-prone, and yield little to no benefit outside of a bump to the ego when receiving a new like on your social media profile.

Meetings should implement a no-phone policy, video conference calls should be set on their own browser with no other tabs open, and all updates, notifications, and email prompt should be immediately turned off, if possible, to eliminate all distractions during a meeting.

These are just a few examples of how we can optimize our environment to facilitate the highest levels of communication within the workplace.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Effective communication in the workplace doesn't have to be challenging, but it does have to be intentional. Knowledge can only take us so far, but once again, knowing something is very different than putting it into action.

Just like riding a bike, the more often you do it, the easier it becomes. Master communicators are phenomenal listeners, which allows them to be effective communicators in the workplace and in life. If you genuinely want to own your communication, you must implement this information today and learn how to improve your listening skills.

Choose your words carefully, listen intently, and most of all, be present in the moment-because that's what master communicators do, and you can do it, too!

More Tips Improving Listening Skills

Featured photo credit: Mailchimp via unsplash.com

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What Makes People Happy? 20 Secrets of "Always Happy" People

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Dr. Erik Reis Peak-Performance Leadership Consultant Read full profile We have two ears and one mouth for a reason-effective communication is dependent on using them in proportion, and this involves having good listening skills.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Obviously a very famous saying is-money buys happiness. It is a proven fact that richer people are happier than the poor. But there is a story behind it. Once someone can meet their basic needs, they can start satisfying higher needs. This continues on and on and your needs get very high. Then when you are at your limit of how much money you can make, and you can't reach any more needs you become unhappy.
Another big part of money affect happiness is related to social status. Everyone nowadays thinks that the more money someone has, the more respect that person receives.

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The Effect of Income on Happiness

Are you satisfied with how much you make? Does earning MORE make you happier?

Pay check after pay check, most of us wish the digits would go up so we could have more on the table; do more, buy more. Our consumer society has wired us to believe that the higher our income, the stronger our buying power, the more privileges we have, is directly related to how happy we are. Remember the expression Keeping up with the Joneses?

In the pursuit of happiness, as soon as we graduate from college, or when we're old enough to earn a living, our focus turns to how we can earn a decent income. We find a job or start a money making scheme. Once we're earning an income that's enough for our basic needs, we then strive to earn more than what we're currently making. We aim for promotion, or work harder, until we reach the next level of income. It doesn't stop there. It goes on and on as our needs and lifestyles change.

In the Maslow's hierarchy of needs, once you can afford to meet your basic survival needs - first food, then shelter - you can start satisfying higher needs such as security and self-esteem. It's hard to think of self-development when you're hungry, and everyone around you is living the good life. We obviously need resources to be able to go up the hierarchy, and address our deeper emotional and intellectual needs.

But once we're past meeting the basic survival needs, how much more income do we require, to find happiness and fulfillment?

Mechanisms by which income affects happiness

There are two major mechanisms which explains the impact of income to our happiness - adaptation and social comparison.

Adaptation mechanism says that if you're given a one-off increase in your income, your happiness temporarily increases - until you get used to it then you begin to aspire for more. At first, when you're earning a meager income, your focus is on buying yourself your daily needs. As your income increases, so does your standard of living. You purchase goods of higher quality. You begin to want better products and services - a better car, a bigger house, etc. Very rarely are we satisfied with what we have, if we see that there are better things available.

In the social comparison mechanism, people evaluate their income by comparing it to other people. This is where the keeping up with the joneses mentality comes from. Here, we evaluate our happiness by how much more we have as compared to other people. Although you already have a nice house, a good car, or the latest gadgets, if your neighbor has better stuff, you will cease to be contented with what you have. And you will blame the disparity and your discontent on your income. You say to yourself, I must earn more.

Facts on How Income Affects Happiness

Here are what studies say about the link between our income and our happiness:

The happiness of people living in poverty increases when they're given a higher income. It eases their burdens and helps them escape from poverty. But once they experience freedom from the deprivation, the link between their increased income and happiness starts to dissipate.

Richer nations tend to be happier than poorer nations. In our society, the richer people are generally happier than the poor.

In the Easterlin paradox study of 1995, despite the growth in the income in the past decades, people's self-reported level of happiness and satisfaction didn't improve.

In the USA, the average income increased by 300% from 1970 to 1990 but the Americans' sense of well-being didn't improve with the increase in their pay checks.

Amidst the significant increase in income, people have been focused on strengthening their purchasing powers rather than on personal improvement. For example, a janitor at present can be considered richer than a doctor three decades ago, but he is still a janitor.

According to Sonja Lyubomirsky, the author of The How of Happiness, the set point of your happiness level is determined by several factors, which include genetics, your individual circumstances - such as your looks, income and marital status - and by the things or activities you choose to do to make yourself happy.

Is Your Happiness Dependent on How Much You Earn?

Consider the increase in your income ever since you started earning. Did it result to an increase in your level of happiness? Are you happier now than you were before? Or is there an unnamed need that is still begging to be satisfied? Happiness is highly relative, and it depends on the standard and meaning you give to it. Understanding what makes you happy can help you determine how to use your income to improve your overall well-being.
If you look closely into happiness, it can be divided into two subjective aspects of well-being: life evaluation and emotional well-being.
Life evaluation is your assessment of what you believe you have in life, which includes your income. This is where the belief that 'money can buy happiness' enters the scenario. Your income is what enables you to buy things for yourself and your loved ones, from the basic survival needs, to unnecessary wants and luxuries. You measure your success and happiness by what you can afford to buy with your income.

Emotional well-being is more about the quality of your life. This is satisfied by the activities you engage in, not for monetary reasons, but for your own emotional satisfaction and personal growth.

The studies show that although your income can give you a comfortable life, it doesn't guarantee happiness. Some data even shows the contrary. People with high income usually have dysfunctional relationships, because their time is spent at work rather than with their loved ones.

The important thing to remember is that money is just a means to help you achieve happiness. You can use it to pay for a vacation with your loved ones, or enroll yourself in that class you've always planned to attend, keep your family safe in a comfortable house, and other activities that enrich your life and contribute to your growth. That's all your income is good for. It is NOT the end in itself.

The happiness we get from the acquisition of things is momentary. Oftentimes, what makes us really happy to be alive, are the things that money can't buy.
Read more about how you can increase the Happiness in your life: The Benefits of Social Support to Happiness
People with few social ties are two to three times more likely to suffer from major depression than people with strong social bonds.
Internal Locus of Control Psychology
The most successful people, in work and in life, are those who have what psychologists call an internal locus of control - the belief that their actions have a direct effect on their outcomes.
Why Does Exercise Make You Happy?
Exercise has been proven to be just as helpful as an antidepressant medicine. And the effect is much more lasting.

Find golden "nuggets" and inspiration for changing your life or getting new perspectives on things at Life Potentials.
References:

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Are you satisfied with how much you make? Does earning MORE make you happier? Pay check after pay check, most of us wish the digits would go up so we could have more on the table; do more, buy more.

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A lot of people struggle to enjoy their work. Some people cannot find a way to enjoy their work. Your work has to challenge you. If you don't have new challenges everyday and things you can keep busy with. Without keeping busy and learning new things, you will get bored easily. You should make yourself feel successful by making sure you are making progress. If you are

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Research shows you need these 5 things to be happy at work

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There is a mountain of evidence of what makes people truly happy at work.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Kids haven't been realesed to the real world yet. They find joy in playing outside, getting read bedtime stories, playing with friends, and eating snacks. You can see it is completely different than what adults find happiness in.

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Sometimes kids feel so wise. Or at least incredibly clear-minded and perceptive. Say for instance my husband and I are, um, debating over something at home, an interjection from them-"Mommy and daddy, you should say sorry to each other for not being nice!"-can stop us cold. Or I'll hear them arguing with a friend when suddenly one comes up with a solution: "Hey! Why don't you take a turn and I take a turn. And then it will be fair!"

So I'm turning to the wisdom of kids for today's post, and asked several of the kids in and around my life: what does happiness mean to them? Read on to find out their sweet answers and take away the simplicity of happiness in our own lives.

"Being with my family and playing with my friends and nice and sunny days. And when my dad comes home from work and I like to cuddle him." -Annika, 6 years old

"Ummmm....playing happy. And playing in the playground. And playing with your friends outside happy." -Desmond, 3

"Happiness is what you feel when you, um, make a new friend, get a new pet or see family you haven't seen in awhile. Or getting a toy you really, really, really want." -Sabrina, 8

"A carnival. A roller coaster because you feel like you're driving the Batmobile." -David, 6

"Happiness to me means getting video game time, TV time, the books I want...It's when you feel good about something, joyful, when you want to dance sometimes...Fridays make me happy, especially long weekends. And that's about it." -Phoenix, 10

"Happiness pretty much means peace. Like the whole world is peaceful and you are so excited." -Keegan, 8

"I know what it means. It means you hug everybody and squeeze everybody. And that's all." -Ty, 5

"Happiness is something that people really like and is really happy. Like flowers, hearts and happy faces, and fairs. And of course being on my Nintendo DSi. Because I really like being on my DSi. But the part I don't really like is that mom always tries to get me off my DSi." -Olivia, 6

"It's like friendship and teamwork, and just enjoying yourself!" -Aidan, 10

" It means if you're happy you can let a friend come over. Happiness feels happy!" -Annabelle, 6

"Having and being with my family and friends. Happiness is about being nice and spreading love all around the world." -Rachel, 7

"Going home for dinner makes me happy. So does getting snacks before bedtime. Happiness means joy." -Cooper, 6

"Happiness means showing your teacher how many things you can count. Saying how you can spell your name. Doing all the things you can do. Or when someone gets you something you want to eat." -Henry, 3

"Hot wheels." -Jordan, 4

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We ask kids...what does happiness mean to you? - Chatelaine

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Sometimes kids feel so wise. Or at least incredibly clear-minded and perceptive. Say for instance my husband and I are, um, debating over something at home, an interjection from them-Mommy and daddy, you should say sorry to each other for not being nice!-can stop us cold.