Making Australia Happy

Share this post

  

Our Aussie neighbors have taken the pursuit of happiness to the next level: television! Making Australia Happy features eight volunteers from all walks of life who want to become happier. The catch? They're all from one of Australia's least happy cities, Marrickville, according to Deakin University's well-being index. (We keep hearing about more and more of these indexes; a very interesting trend!) The show's tagline: "There’s no tree hugging, stargazing or standing in circles singing kumbaya. It's an opportunity for eight ordinary Australians to road test the new science of happiness. And to prove that it works."

Guided by three experts, a psychologist, a physiotherapist and a mindfulness coach, the group was given a number of tools to increase happiness over an eight-week period. They worked on physical challenges as well as emotional and social: volunteering, communal dining, and a cool exercise called "pleasure vs. kindness." One week, the participants were given $100 to spend on something that would give them pleasure. The next week, they were given $20 and instructed to spend it on a stranger. Guess which activity brought more happiness?

The participants' progress was tracked weekly using something called the "Happiness 100 Index," essentially a series of tests both physical and psychological that included cortisol (the body's main stress hormone) levels, metabolic markers, brain scans and some good ol' questionnaires.

So, did they get happier? Yes, they did! People's cortisol levels went way down across the group and the brain scans showed positive results as well. Go Australia! Eight more happy people is a big deal. Making Australia Happy's well-rounded website offers a bunch of ideas and activities for creating happiness in your own life; it's a great resource and worth taking a peek at.

Their first series ended last year, but a new season has been announced for 2012 focusing on couples. We're intrigued! Do you think something like this would work in the US, even though we're a lot bigger? What city needs the most happiness help?

About the Author

polly

Comments

Subscribe to our blog