Being Happy... Even When You Don't Travel?

We often read testimonies from travelers who have given up everything to travel to the other side of the world, travel for a long time, even for life, or settle abroad to lead the ideal life. Sounds dreamy? This type of life and radical change may suit some people, but not everyone or at all times in our lives. Traveling makes us happy, we know that, but... what if, even while staying at home, we could also be happy?

We are constantly hearing about the merits of traveling. And that's normal: there are so many of them, and they are so powerful. Yes, it's not a myth: traveling makes us happy! And returning from a trip often means experiencing depression...

I won't go into all the details again here, but traveling can be a wonderful way to progress in terms of personal development, or even be a therapeutic experience, whether for oneself or for your couple. Traveling helps us grow... faster!

Faster?

A little phrase we often forget: because, yes, traveling helps us grow... but staying at home is not necessarily synonymous with stagnation or regression. We can also grow, even at home: good news!

And if we are going to grow, could we also try to be happy?

Where is happiness? Far, far away at the end of the world? On the continent across? In the neighbor's garden?

What if the secret to happiness wasn't to seek it elsewhere, but to find it within ourselves? To discover that little seed that just needs to sprout, blossom, grow, and flourish inside us.

But if this seed of happiness is within us, how can we explain that travel helps us so much to develop it? Why is travel considered by many travelers as a path to happiness?

Several reasons lie behind this notion of another world and the movement of travel. If you missed the article where I explain all this, or if you want a little refresher, it's right here: Why Does Travel Make Us Happy?

Many philosophers and psychologists assert: happiness is within us! For some, it is a state of mind. For others, a choice of life, like glasses that allow you to see life in rose-tinted glasses. Or even a muscle to be exercised, a skill to cultivate...

And the positive aspect of all these approaches is that we can be the artisans of our own happiness! Recently, I discovered this TED talk (you know how much I love them, I've already presented you with a few, like here or there)... about the Happy Planet Index (HPI)!

The idea behind this HPI? That our happiness is not incompatible with the planet's, as it seems to be the case today. On the contrary! For a happy planet, we need, on one hand, happy people and, on the other hand, a low ecological footprint.

To support his theory, Nic Marks shares the results of several major studies on happiness. All converge on the idea that possession and material comfort, beyond a certain point, do not lead to happiness; indeed, they can be counterproductive.

The good news is that he shares with us 5 very simple gestures that have a significant impact on our level of happiness... and that cost us nothing and can be applied wherever we are!

But before I tell you more, here is the video of this beautiful conference. Don't hesitate to watch it in full: there are a few graphs that are worth a look. And personally, the country that scores the highest on the HPI is a country I can't wait to discover!

Because I found this passage so important while being so simple and accessible to everyone, I wanted to set down in black and white the results of this study > (welfare program) conducted for the UK Government's Agency for the Sciences.

So, what are these 5 things you should do every day, whether traveling or at home, to be happier?

We are not talking here about virtual connection, bolstered by social networks, but human connection. Feeling connected to those we love is the greatest indicator of happiness!

The results of many other studies, such as one examining the notion of Gross National Happiness, support the same idea: it's not where we live, our age, gender, physical appearance, income, or health that most determines our level of happiness, but our deep friendships and long-term relationships.

Other studies are aligned with this by demonstrating that our capacity for empathy, and therefore connection to others, is one of the predominant factors for both our happiness and our success, whether professional or personal. As demonstrated by this positive psychology researcher. And empathy also greatly influences our brain's elasticity and plasticity. In short, to stay young at heart, let's stay connected!

So, don't forget to check in with your loved ones and set aside quality time with those you cherish. Relationships require daily work. They need to be nurtured, maintained, and grown.

Simply put: move! This is one of the reasons why traveling makes us so happy... But it's not always necessary to go far! Moving means putting on music at home and dancing, going out for a nice walk (and it's even better for your health and mood if it's in nature), doing sports. In short, making your body vibrate! Because we are not just gray matter: our activity has a direct effect on our physical and mental health.

Try taking a walk every day, even if it's just for 20 minutes, and you will quickly see the impact on your well-being. And you will soon become addicted to this new lifestyle, especially if shared. We started this ritual as a couple very quickly when we began living together, and we had left it aside for a few months (partly due to my energy drop from mononucleosis). We recently resumed our daily walks, and it does wonders for both of us!

In our daily lives, we tend to be on autopilot. We move along the tracks of habit and pay no more attention to what surrounds us. Partly due to fatigue, but also due to a desire for efficiency: we redistribute our energy to what we think is important. For example, thinking about the day's goals while having breakfast or moving forward on the way to work.

Little by little, we wear out our capacity for wonder. Try making a journey that you go every day, but this time accompanied by a young child, and you will see everything you miss! There's a good chance your journey will take you three times longer, but also that you will notice a thousand details that have escaped you until now. The strange shape of a cloud, a snail leaving its trail on the sidewalk, a bird hidden in a tree, the smell of the bakery next door, the first flower bud, the odd color of a house's facade, the bizarre look of a bush...

Being attentive can mean being conscious of what we are experiencing inside (emotions), what we feel through our bodies (sensations), and what surrounds us in the external world (perceptions). Some call it >.

Being physically active and maintaining our capacity for wonder is great. But it's even better when we add curiosity to the mix! Continuing to learn doesn't necessarily mean taking formal classes with a textbook and a teacher. It can happen in many different ways in daily life. Trying a new recipe, picking up a musical instrument you learned in childhood, trying out a new activity (whether it's sporty or creative), watching a documentary, reading...

It can even simply happen through the course of a conversation: everyone has different skills and knowledge. Some, depending on the field, will be less or more than yours. A discussion can thus be an opportunity to learn more about a topic or share your knowledge with your interlocutor. A chance to do two things at once: connecting with others and learning!

Why does giving make us happier? For some, it may seem obvious, for others a paradox or even nonsense. But cultivating altruism, empathy, and compassion has a direct positive effect on our happiness. By acting in accordance with our values and moral code, by doing a good deed, we are biologically encouraged by a reward mechanism in our brains.

Ultimately, thinking of others is a bit selfish since it benefits us too! And it's not hard to see the link between generosity and feeling more connected to others... which reinforces the first point on the list: the loop is complete!

Sometimes, we imagine that the only solution to being happy is to escape from a life that doesn't please us. To give everything up, leave, start over from scratch, wipe the slate clean... This can make some dream, while others may feel scared. And then, once back from a big trip, we sometimes fall back into an environment we hoped to leave without making real changes in our lives.

If radical change is sometimes a good idea, what if we started with small gestures?

Often, it doesn't take an overhaul to increase our well-being and happiness. Conscious awareness followed by a few adaptations and concrete actions is a wonderful way to take your life and happiness into your own hands.

So, whether you feel happy, very happy, not happy enough, or downright unhappy... what if you decided to apply these 5 gestures to your daily life?

Feel free to share your feedback with me; I'm very curious to hear from you!

And if you're interested in the topic, let me know! I have plenty more ideas on happiness, both in travel and at home, to share with you.

To continue reading

The second part of this article: coming soon to the blog! After the trip: the post-trip blues and How to cope with the post-trip blues Why does travel make us happy? 10 really essential things to take when traveling What if we stopped? The therapy through travel