Associated Press recently cited a British medical journal paper that concludes happiness is "contagious"...they sounded surprised to find that good cheer can be and is passed "even to total strangers"...
It may have been a British medical journal, but the study was done by American researchers. And no, they weren't following people in sunny California, but in Framingham, Mass. This report was part of a 20 year study on the heart.
Co-author of the study and professor at Harvard, Nicholas Christakis says, "Happiness is like a stampede"
Your happiness depends on your actions and according to the study the behaviors, thoughts and actions of people you don't even know. I agree--if you let it! You do have a choice about it, after all. You can live unconsciously and be happy because of other people...or you can create your life deliberately and be happy regardless of other people.
In other words, choose to be happy and you be the light, the contagion, if you will! Let others become happier because of your example. If you run across unhappy people, you can repell that energy!
That being said, it is a great idea to surround yourself with happy people. According to this study, each "happy friend" you have boosts your chances of being happy by 9%. Have grumpy friends drops your chances--fortunately not quite as much, by 7%.
Guess the song was right: Don't Worry, Be Happy!
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