Who we spend time with is the most influential decision we can make to influence our happiness. This is one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcast episodes. Tune in to learn more.

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness, I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and as we close out this podcast, we invite you to join our happy mail email community, where you’ll continue to get happiness and kindness content delivered straight to your inbox. We think it’s the happiest email in your inbox. You can join at www.katiejefcoat.com

Today, I share one of my biggest takeaways from writing 668 daily happiness podcasts. The most influential decision we can make to determine our happiness is who we spend time with.

Social connection is the cornerstone of happiness and life longevity. So, of course, this has to be one of my biggest takeaways.

Science indicates that people mispredict their own happiness when engaging in social connection. So, you might think a random social connection at the coffee shop won’t make you happier, but your intuition is just wrong about that most of the time. And this can be a smile, exchanging pleasantries; it doesn’t have to be this big thing.

But even more interesting is that your intuition is wrong if you think it doesn’t increase the effect of the other person’s happiness too. We think we’re annoying, or the person will think I’m a weirdo for chatting them up in line, but the science indicates that’s just another way our brains, our intuition, are just playing tricks on us and getting it wrong.

If we want to improve on the happiness scale, the research is overwhelmingly clear, one of the best and easiest ways is to improve social connection. Be present in real life, talk to a stranger, call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while.

Social Psychologist Nick Epley says, "Social connection can be almost anything, from making eye contact with another person, or smiling at another person to being in a long term romantic relationship with somebody. And it turns out that social connection across this entire spectrum tends to be pretty darn good for people.”

What is really fascinating about Epley’s work is that he’s looked at these tiny micro-connections, even with strangers, that can happen on the daily which can be as small as when people smile at one another.

You could be excited to hear this and be thinking this is so easy for you; you will start right away..

But for others, it seems easier to grab the remote to Netflix and Binge. If you are more of an introvert, I will invite you to take one step. Make a phone call to someone you enjoy, but it’s been way too long since you’ve talked on the phone or seen them in real life. Listen to the voice on the other side of the line. Be present and intentional in that conversation. You will quickly feel those bursts of happiness.

The insight is simple today. Social connection matters when it comes to happiness in the human species. We were not designed to walk through life alone, and when we choose those social connections wisely, our happiness is magnified.

Remember, kindness is contagious.

Life is heavy enough; we shouldn’t have to search for happiness. Get the exclusive happiness email, delivered with a smile twice a month to your inbox. https://www.katiejefcoat.com/email

And, let’s connect on social at @everydayhappinesswithkatie and join the community on the hashtags #IntentionalMargins and #everydayhappinesswithkatie on Instagram

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