iHappiness

Money can’t buy you happiness’. We’ve heard that so many times and we know it’s true. But if money can’t buy it, and we all want it, then how do we find it?

There’s plenty of research being carried out by serious scientists. Dr Martin EP Seligman is Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He’s been looking at what really makes people feel happy, and some of his results may be surprising.

We can tap into a list of 24 key signature strengths, and these contribute to a set of six core ‘virtues’, that are surprisingly common across languages, countries and cultures. If you build up your stock of these virtues, your feeling of general happiness will grow.

Get to know the Big Six virtues, described by Dr Martin Seligman of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and use them to grow your own happiness.

The Big Six

Wisdom: using skills and knowledge wisely

Courage: having the will to achieve despite difficulties

Humanity: appreciating and looking out for other people

Justice: behaving justly and strengthening the community

Temperance: doing a little of what you fancy but having some restraint and self control

Transcendence: understanding that the world is bigger than the individual.

Every day, you can try out a new idea and go back to revisit earlier ones. Find the free iHappiness iphone application here at iHappiness

Each suggestion comes with a note on how the strength you are tapping into boosts one of your strengths.