Winter 2015

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You deserve to be By Eileen Heywood I’m feeling happy. Indeed, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my life, for my job and for being asked to share the secrets of happiness, with you, the reader. As a management consultant and professional facilitator with over 15 years’ experience, I have had many opportunities to share the science of happiness. I have seen both from my direct personal experiences, as well as that of others, that simple practices can improve our quality of life. While I work with a diverse range of clients from multiple sectors including education, community services, child protection, mining and health, I consider Early Childhood workers to be part of one of the most noble and important sectors in society. 4 IN THE LOOP
IN THIS ARTICLE I WILL UNPACK BOTH THE CONCEPT AND SCIENCE OF HAPPINESS IN AN AIM TO SHARE INFORMATION AND SIMPLE TIPS THAT WILL ENABLE YOU TO HAVE A MORE MEANINGFUL AND HAPPIER PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE. It can be argued that, as workers involved in ECEC services, we do THE most important work in society: caring for, nurturing, and educating young children. That means we have an obligation to be our best selves. The good news is that when you are happy, and when you consciously practice habits that make you happy, you simultaneously become better at your job and have more fulfilling relationships. What is happiness? So what is happiness? Sonja Lyubomirsky defines happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile. 1 ” I used to suffer from the idea that it is selfish to want to be happy. My research has found that this is not the case. In fact, Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, says that happiness lies within us (it’s not something ‘out there’ that we can get) and is the central purpose of human life. My research has led me to conclude that there is a lot of confusion about what makes us happy – many of us structure our lives around the belief that the new car, the new job or shedding a few kilos will make us happy. Thinking “I will be happy when…” seems to be a trap that many people, including me, fall into. Why is Happiness Important? Happiness is both a complex and simple concept. It’s hard to predict what will make us feel ‘happy’ and often these feelings are fleeting and short-lived. So let’s explore what does give us these feelings of contentment and well-being and why these feelings are more than skin deep. According to the Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at the University of California, Berkeley, studies have found that being happy spills over into many other aspects of our lives. Being happy helps at work Happy people have better work lives, are paid better and are more productive at work 2 . Those who are happier are more likely to be successful at getting a job and once in their job, will be seen more positively by their supervisors. Further, they handle positions of authority better and are less likely to suffer from stress and burnout. Being happy improves your health Happiness is healthy: happy people are less likely to get sick, and they live longer 3 . While happiness does not cure illness it can protect you against becoming ill – and the size of the effect is remarkable. In fact, it is on the same level as choosing not to smoke. Being happy improves relationships Happiness supports our relationships 4 happy people have more friends and are more likely to get married. Indeed, people who get divorced were not only less happy during marriage but also less happy before they got married. One study showed that the most important factor in students who reported being happy and showed the fewest signs of depression were “their strong ties to friends and family and commitment to spending time with them.” 5 Being happy makes you kind Positive psychology research has found that happiness makes people more generous 6 . In all of my research I found a ‘double loop’. An example of this is that being happy makes you more generous to others and being more generous to others also makes you happy. In some fascinating research involving children under two, toddlers showed greater happiness when giving treats to others than receiving treats themselves. Further, children were happier after engaging in costly giving – giving away their own treats – than when giving the same treat at no cost 7 . Happiness makes people more resilient There is no doubt that the ECEC sector has high rates of burnout and staff turnover, so the finding that being happy makes you more resilient has important implications for the sector. Findings in this area of the happiness research suggest that people who are highly self-aware can use positive emotions to effectively increase their ability to bounce back from set-backs and also see these events as useful learning experiences 8 . Happy people see the bigger picture and are more creative ECEC workers need to be creative. When working with children, we are creating a space for them to flourish and it’s helpful for us to draw on our creative side. Positive emotions open up our awareness and help us to see more possibilities – which is very supportive of creative problem solving 9 . Continued next page. WORKFORCE.ORG.AU 5
Page 1 and 2: Winter 2015 YOU DESERVE TO BE HAPPY
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Winter 2015

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