Moving into a Happy & Healthy New Year
- Justine Roseberry
- Dec 19, 2024
- 2 min read
With the new year coming up, lots of folks are making goals and resolutions to shed some pounds or get healthier. But, many overlook how much happiness can actually impact your health.
Studies show that genetics make up about 50% of your basic happiness level, 10% comes from life circumstances, and the remaining 40% is totally up to you to change. Dr. Robert Waldinger, who leads the Harvard Study on Adult Development, said in a 2021 Harvard Health Publishing article, “This implies that even if you don't consider yourself happy, there is a good chance you have some power to change it.”
Making yourself happier doesn’t have to be hard. In a 2019 Psychological Bulletin, researchers looked at data from 138 studies with over 11,000 people worldwide to see how facial expressions affect emotions. They found that smiling can make you feel happier, even if it’s a fake smile. On the flip side, frowning can make you feel sadder, and scowling can make you angrier.
Just exercising and eating right might not be enough to deal with weight gain. Your mindset is super important for losing weight. We’re often taught that happiness comes after achieving something. But research shows that happiness actually leads to success, not the other way around. Thinking negatively, like wanting to lose weight because you don’t like how you look in certain clothes, can hold you back.
Getting into a positive mindset before starting a diet or exercise plan can make the whole thing more enjoyable and easier to stick with. Being happy releases serotonin and dopamine in our brains, which helps us set and reach goals. Serotonin affects mood, sleep, digestion, and muscle control, while dopamine makes you feel good, helps with focus, and can influence addiction. Boosting these chemicals can help control appetite, impulses, and sleep, which can really affect your weight.
Focusing on negative reasons for losing weight, like feeling overweight or not liking your body, keeps serotonin low and reduces the motivation to tackle challenges. Without goals, dopamine drops too, leading to more depression and possible weight gain.
The key to sticking with a diet and exercise plan is being happy. By accepting our bodies as they are and appreciating what they’ve done so far, we can let go of ego and focus more on how we feel than how we look. When we’re happy with ourselves, serotonin and dopamine go up, making it easier to stick to a plan and succeed.
If you want to live a happy and healthy life in 2025, check out my upcoming 21 Days to Happiness challenge. This self-paced, online program helps you build a happiness routine, change your mindset, and find joy in everyday life.
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