Editor’s Note

It hasn’t been an easy start to the year, what with our power utility’s dismal prospects and its impact on the economy — and the knock-on effects of that. But this week, perhaps because of the beautiful sunny weather around the country and the sheer force of our optimistic will, I felt the general doom-and-gloom vibe lift a little.

A solo dance in the morning does wonders for the mood. And even though leaping about like a fool in the bathroom or garden or garage, music turned up loud enough for the neighbours to complain (just make sure your portable speaker is charged), may feel silly, you do feel great for the rest of the day.

I recently discovered that Yale offers a free happiness course and, unsurprisingly, it teaches that four of the best ways to rewire your brain towards happiness are diet, meditation, sleep and exercise. That’s why many of this year’s trends listed in the main feature are geared in this direction. Laurie Santos convenes the course. She says you can give yourself a little shot of happiness by striking up an impromptu conversation with a stranger.

She also says we’re happier when we make plans with other people, more resilient and effective when we help or get help from others and, yes, we’re generally happier if someone talks to us in the parking lot than if we walk into the office in silence. She suggests generosity makes us happy — we gain more long-term subjectively rated happiness if we give cash to other people rather than spend it on ourselves.

The main obstacle to our happiness, says Santos — the ultimate happiness buster — is hedonic adaptation, that over time we get used to any new situation; a lottery win, a new possession or finding love, and our emotions return to baseline. “Happiness is like a leaky tyre,” she says. “You’ve got to put some effort into reinflating it.”