Positive psychology may backfire in online challenge
Can you think of 100 things that make you happy?
One of the latest social media trends that’s been taking up space in Facebook newsfeeds and Instagram accounts is 100 Happy Days, a worldwide social media campaign that challenges participants to publish a new photo each day of something that makes them happy.
The challenge was started by Dmitry Golubnichy, a 27-year-old living in Switzerland, who believes that being happy is a choice, and everyone can be happy by appreciating the little things in life. The idea is that as the pace of life has increased, people become preoccupied with busy schedules and do not take the time to enjoy the moment they are in.
“The ability to appreciate the moment, the environment and yourself in it, is the base for the bridge towards long term happiness of any human being,” the website states.
The challenge is supposed to help people notice what makes them happy every day, boost their mood, receive more compliments from other people, and become more optimistic.
While it seems important to take the time each day to practice gratitude for the positive things in life, a University of Guelph professor has suggested that keeping up the practice for 100 consecutive days may actually cause the opposite effect.
Professor Jamie Gruman, from the Department of Management, is a founding member and chair of the board of directors of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association, and recently spoke to CBC news about the 100 Days of Happiness Challenge.
According to Gruman, undertaking the challenge may breed unrealistic expectations of consistent happiness that can actually detract from the goal of long-term happiness.
“I think the main reason it’s probably not going to be as effective for a whole bunch of people is because it’s a hundred days, and that’s a long time to be focused and disciplined,” Gruman told CBC news.
Due to a lack of time to commit to the project, 71 per cent of people have reportedly quit the challenge.
“I think that people can fall off the wagon and feel bad about that, and so maybe cutting back on the number of days might be an effective thing to try,” Gruman suggested.
Katherine Budinsky, a fourth year Biological Science student at University of Guelph, recently joined the project. She has been posting pictures on Instagram and Facebook, and has enjoyed the enthusiastic response.
Budinsky explained that striving to be a positive person does require effort, especially as a student during this stressful time of the year.
“Some days nothing in particular makes the day good, and some just aren’t happy days at all. But I think that’s the point of the project, [that] when I’ve had a bad day I’m forced to go out and find something to make me happy,” Budinksy explained.
“I’ll buy flowers or make cookies or watch my favourite movie or go out for coffee, so at least something nice happened that day, and it does make me happier.”
However, not everything that contributes to happiness can necessarily be represented in a photograph. In addition, there have been studies that have indicated that social media can contribute to unhappiness, because we tend to compare our lives to others and feel inadequate.
Maybe we shouldn’t be aiming for happiness all the time – or even for 100 days.
What we can take away from the challenge is that practicing mindfulness and being more aware of the little joys in everyday life can promote a more positive outlook.