Self-acceptance could be the key to a happier life
05 Mar 2014 | Action for Happiness
** Survey of 5,000 reveals people's 'happy
habits'**
Happiness is more than just a feeling; it is something we can
all practise on a daily basis. But people are better at some 'happy
habits' than others. In fact, the one habit that corresponds most
closely with us being satisfied with our lives overall -
self-acceptance - is often the one we practise least.
5,000 people surveyed by the charity Action for
Happiness, in collaboration with Do
Something Different, rated themselves between 1 and 10 on ten
habits identified from the latest scientific research as being key
to happiness.
Giving was the top habit revealed by those who took the survey.
When asked about Giving ('How often do you make an effort to help
or be kind to others?') people scored an average of 7.41 out of 10,
with one in six (17%) topping 10 out of 10. Just over one in three
(36%) people scored 8 or 9; slightly fewer (32%) scored 6 or 7; and
less than one in six (15%) rated themselves at 5 or less.
The Relating habit came a close second. The question 'How often
do you put effort into the relationships that matter most to you?'
produced an average score of 7.36 out of 10. And 15% of people
scored the maximum 10 out of 10.
The survey also revealed which habits are most closely related
to people's overall satisfaction with life. All 10 habits were
found to be strongly linked to life satisfaction, with Acceptance
found to be the habit that predicts it most strongly. Yet
Acceptance was also revealed as the habit that people tend to
practise the least, generating the lowest average score from the
5,000 respondents.
When answering the Acceptance question, 'How often are you kind
to yourself and think you're fine as you are?' people's average
rating was just 5.56 out of 10. Only 5% of people put themselves at
a 10 on the Acceptance habit. Around one in five people (19%)
scored an 8 or 9; Less than a third (30%) scored a 6 or 7; and
almost half (46%) of people rated themselves at 5 or less.
Treating our bodies to regular physical activity is another
proven happy habit. Yet the survey revealed that this is another
habit that often gets overlooked. The average answer to 'How often
do you spend at least half an hour a day being active?' was just
5.88 out of 10, with 45% of people rating themselves 5 or less.
Professor Karen Pine, a psychologist from the University of
Hertfordshire and co-founder of Do Something Different, said:
"Practising these habits really can boost our happiness. It's
great to see so many people regularly doing things to help others -
and when we make others happy we tend to feel good ourselves too.
This survey shows that practising self-acceptance is one thing that
could make the biggest difference to many people's happiness.
Exercise is also known to lift mood so if people want a simple,
daily way to fee happier they should get into the habit of being
more physically active too".
Dr Mark Williamson, Director of Action for Happiness, said:
"Our society puts huge pressure on us to be successful and to
constantly compare ourselves with others. This causes a great deal
of unhappiness and anxiety. These findings remind us that if we can
learn to be more accepting of ourselves as we really are, we're
likely to be much happier. The results also confirm us that our
day-to-day habits have a much bigger impact on our happiness than
we might imagine".
To support participants who want to boost their happy habits, Do
Something Different and Action for Happiness have also created a
new Do Happiness programme,
which sends people regular small positive actions (Do's) to help
them practice the habits that science shows tend to make people
happy.
How can we practise the self-acceptance
habit?
Here are three positive actions that people can take to increase
their levels of self-acceptance:
- Be as kind to yourself as you are to others. See your mistakes
as opportunities to learn. Notice things you do well, however
small
- Ask a trusted friend or colleague to tell you what your
strengths are or what they value about you
- Spend some quiet time by yourself. Tune in to how you're
feeling inside and try to be at peace with who you are.
Where did the happy habits come from?
The happy habits included in the survey are based on the Ten Keys to Happier Living framework, developed
by Action for Happiness based on an extensive review of the latest
research about what really affects mental wellbeing. Together the
Ten Keys spell GREAT DREAM, as follows:
-----ENDS-----
Contacts:
Action for Happiness: info@actionforhappiness.org
Professor Karen Pine: karen@dsd.me
Note to Editors:
The Happy Habits survey was launched online on 14th
February 2014 via social networks. These data are drawn from the
first 5,000 participants to complete the Happy Habits survey
between 14th and 21st February 2014. The
survey tool can be found here: http://dsd.me/happy-habits-quiz/
The survey questions asked correspond to the Ten Keys to Happier
Living and are shown below with the average score out of ten
from the 5,000 respondents.
|
Key
|
Survey Question
|
Average score
|
|
Giving
|
How often do you make an effort to help or be kind to
others?
|
7.41
|
|
Relating
|
How often do you put effort into the relationships that matter
most to you?
|
7.36
|
|
Exercising
|
How often do you spend at least half an hour a day being
active?
|
5.88
|
|
Appreciating
|
How often do you take time to notice the good things in your
life?
|
6.57
|
|
Trying out
|
How often do you learn or try new things?
|
6.26
|
|
Direction
|
How often do you do things that contribute to your most
important life goals?
|
6.08
|
|
Resilience
|
How often do you find ways to bounce back quickly from
problems?
|
6.33
|
|
Emotion
|
How often do you do things that make you feel good?
|
6.74
|
|
Acceptance
|
How often are you kind to yourself and think you're fine as you
are?
|
5.56
|
|
Meaning
|
How often do you do things that give you a sense of meaning or
purpose?
|
6.38
|
A final question posed was: 'Overall, how satisfied are you with
your life nowadays?' The average score was 6.49, compared to a
national average of 6.34 reported in the UK National Values survey
2013.
Do Happiness
The six-week Do Happiness programme, developed jointly by Do
Something Different and Action for Happiness is available at dsd.me/dohappiness. It
espouses the Giving principle by donating one free place for every
one purchased, to someone who cannot afford the £15 programme fee
and over 500 people have benefited from a free place to date.