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I will try to create more happiness and less unhappiness in the world around me

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Action 51

Create a local Happy Cafe

Emporium

Set up a Happy Cafe in your local community, where like-minded people can meet to share ideas about happiness and wellbeing.

Why do it?

We humans are, above all, a socialspecies - and the most striking finding from all of the research on happiness is the vital importance of our relationships with other people.

Setting up a HappyCafe involves finding a local venue which can act as a hub for like-minded people to connect, relax and share inspiration together on a daily basis. These local connections hold the key to happier lives and a happier society.

Where to start

Our Brighton Action for Happiness group led the way by creating the very first Happy Cafe.

So the best place to start is to see what they've done in Brighton and see if you could create something similar in your local community.

If you'd like to find out more about how you could start a Happy Café near you, please contact Stan Rosenthal via email at: stanr@btinternet.com.

Resources

POSTER #2: RELATING

Connect with people

Relating 200

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Happiness is contagious

Our happiness influences the people we know and the people they know.

Research shows that the happiness of a close contact increases the chance of being happy by 15%. The happiness of a 2nd-degree contact (e.g. friend's spouse) by 10% and the happiness of a 3rd-degree contact (e.g. friend of a friend of a friend) by 6%.

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Together we're stronger

Having a network of social connections or high levels of social support has been shown to increase our immunity to infection, lower our risk of heart disease and reduce mental decline as we get older.

Not having close personal ties has been shown to pose significant risks for our health.

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Happier people live longer

Happiness doesn't just feel good. A review of hundreds of studies has found compelling evidence that happier people have better overall health and live longer than their less happy peers.

Anxiety, depression, pessimism and a lack of enjoyment of daily activities have all been found to be associated with higher rates of disease and shorter lifespans