‘You can be happy in life by trying to think so’

 
 - TOI. 11th Sept 2013

 Want to be happier? Then try to be so! Scientists have found that actively trying to be happier can actually make you happy. Two US academics, Yuna L Ferguson and Kennon M Sheldon, in a study published in The Journal of Positive Psychology, described experiments they conducted into ‘trying to become happier’. In the first study, two sets of participants listened to ‘happy’ music. Those who actively tried to feel happier reported the highest level of positive mood afterwards. In the second study, participants listened to a range of ‘positive’ music over a two-week period; those who were instructed to focus on improving their happiness experienced a greater increase in happiness than those who were told just to focus on the music.