Hooray ... Happiness is back on the horizon!
If one listened closely, this could easily have been the mantra of those attending AMDA’s 2023 session “Enhancing Leadership for Women in PALTC: Reclaiming Happiness in Our Lives”. Designed to inspire and ignite a resurgence of energy, optimism, and joy among 2023 annual conference attendees, ‘Happiness’ was the star of the day. Although battered and bruised by the persistent impact of Covid-19 over the past three years, a sense of light, hope, and happiness was palpable among presenters and attendees alike, inspiring them through the discussion and into the future as they returned to their respective leadership roles in PALTC.
As a construct, “happiness’ is somewhat ambiguous and hard to define precisely, although the concept incorporates a ‘range of positive emotions.’ According to Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky, a positive psychology researcher at the U.C. Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, happiness is defined as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.” Equally important to the understanding of happiness as a lived experience are social, cultural, and family-focused influences. Obviously, happiness is not a “one size fits all” concept or experience, which contributes to its complexity, mystery, and charm.
Researchers at the Greater Good Science Center consider happiness to be one of the fundamental keys to wellbeing and provide a host of resources on this and numerous other topics at their website. Take a break and enjoy the fun .. it is well worth the time and effort.
It is our hope that CALTCM members and friends will spend a few minutes tiptoeing through the GGSC Happiness content, including the online happiness quiz, 170 podcasts, videos, recommended books and suggested activities.
As a start, consider accessing the May Happiness Calendar which can easily be hyperlinked to your own digital calendar. Once done with a click, the Happiness Calendar will auto-populate short daily suggestions for easy-to-do activities that will likely contribute to increased happiness.
Moving forward, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this resource. Take care, be well and enjoy each day!