Say what?

I just made the connection this morning.  Over the weekend, I went to a screening of the documentary, happy. It was all about the science of happiness and included fascinating social science and brain science research. Including the fact that when you do something nice for someone else, physiologically, it’s the equivalent of a shot of dopamine in your brain.  More dopamine means more pleasure and a feel good experience.

One of the principles I teach around networking is “Give first, before asking for anything.” It’s what all successful networkers do.

Ergo, networking effectively = increased happiness

I’ve found this to be true from my own experience.  Just this morning, I offered to connect two friends together, one in Seattle and one in NC, who share a passion for public health.  Same thing happened last week. I introduced a friend in DC with an interest in creating more effective homeschooling curriculum to my neighbor who homeschools her five children.  It made me happy to think about the good that could come out of these connections.

Other interesting tidbits from the movie, happy:

• 50% of happiness is based on your genetics.  This was determined through studies on identical twins.
• 10% of happiness is based on your situation (e.g., where you live, what you do for a living.)
• That leaves 40% unaccounted for–an area that researchers believe is under your control.
• So what else do researchers say about the 40%?  In addition to giving to others, they say close relationships and gratitude count for a lot.

Yesterday on Valentine’s Day, I spent the better part of the day baking raspberrry bars and espesso walnut brownies, making hand-writtern cards, and delivering treats and Valentine’s Day wishes to my parents and two of my siblings.  This was in addition to the treats and cards for my sons and husband and some pretty nifty e-cards that have the look and feel of high-end stationary to my in-laws.  And you know what? It felt really good. I was happy.

These are simple things you can do for others in your personal life.