The Secret Of Happiness

"The happiness industry is a good idea, but should be based on science. It is very easy to give people different recipes that will solve your life. This is something that has been going on for thousands of years. Each healer, every rabbi, each motivational speaker, every employee and every taxi driver has an opinion about happiness. Now what are the right and wrong opinions? There is only one way to find out: through science, "begins by explaining Dan Gilbert to Spanish newspaper 'El Pais' after the conference" Happiness: What your mother did not tell you, "which took place in Madrid.

Author of a best-seller, speaker and social psychologist, Gilbert also has done several tests and research on the happiness of nature in his laboratory at Harvard. One of its goals is to try to demystify preconceived ideas on this issue showing that contrary to popular belief is not guaranteed to win the lottery will bring us more happiness.

"Our brain gives us wrong information about how happy or unhappy we will be in the future," says the psychologist during the first conference that took place in the cultural center CaixaForum in Madrid. "If we question how happy we would be if we stay blind, most people would answer that we will be unhappy for a long time or for the rest of our lives. But if we measure the level of happiness of visually impaired people, we find that they are perfectly happy. "

During the lecture "Happiness: What your mother did not tell you," the expert also notes that the fact that we were married, have children, a good job and a stuffed account does not always translate into more happiness. According to research carried out, married people are happier than single, but there is a counterpart. Divorce - which is seen by many people as something negative and that brings unhappiness - is also able to provide moments of joy and a happier life.

"Humans devalue their own resilience: do not realize how easy it is to change your view of the world when something bad happens. They always tend to exaggerate how unhappy will face the adversities of life, "he says.

So but what brings effectively more happiness? "Trying to be happier is how to lose weight. There is no secret to  

lose weight : just eat less and exercise. With happiness is the same. If we do every day, religiously, certain things, our level of happiness will increase. "

Have sex, get exercise, listen to music and spend time with friends and family are some of the daily activities that contribute to ride a smile.

"We are the most social animal on the planet, so it should not be surprising that most of our happiness comes from the social relations", concludes.