his is just one way of measuring happiness. Research has also suggested that while personal feelings of pleasure are the accepted definition of happiness in Western cultures, East Asian cultures tend to see happiness as social harmony, and in some parts of Africa and India it's more about shared experiences and family.
Author and journalist Helen Russell has been looking at the positive characteristics of a country's population to see what makes them happy and found Japan to be one of the most content. She told the BBC that this was due to their concept of wabi-sabi – "this traditional Japanese concept around celebrating imperfection… it's this idea that there is a beauty in ageing, it's to be celebrated7 rather than trying to disguise it." So, basically, we should be happy with who we are and rejoice in our faults and individuality. That's something to put a smile on our faces!
But if you're feeling down in the dumps because your home country doesn't have a happiness concept to follow, consider some self-help ideas that the BBC programme Hacking8 Happiness has been looking into. These include being virtuous9, finding something to be passionate10 about, enjoying the here and now and being altruistic11 – helping12 others.
However, our pursuit of happiness could make us miserable13 as we try to meet society’s expectations and goals, making us anxious and stressed. Also, having too little experience of negative emotions can make us less adept14 at facing new challenges.
It could happen anywhere at any time. It's often unexpected, but almost never unappreciated. Most people, at one time or another, have been on the receiving end of a random1 act of kindness - that moment of pure altruism2 when a complete stranger stops to offer aid, generosity3 or compassion4. You may even be in a moment of dire5 need. In a sometimes callous6 world where people can be so focused on what they're doing, a random act of kindness can make all the difference.
