ManifestingWellBeing.com

Ed Diener, Ph.D. is one of the most well respected researchers in the field of positive psychology. As a member of the International Positive Psychology Association, this summer I had the good fortune of hearing Dr. Diener speak during a teleclass about his new book,  Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth  which he co-wrote with his son, Robert Biswas-Diener. During his call Dr. Diener’s shared information from his new book. This included an overview of the benefits of being happy. Some of these include:

Social Benefits – happy people are likely to be more social, self-confident and warm

Work Success – happy people tend to be rated more highly by their supervisors, perform better on the job and make more money.

Health and Longevity- happy people have a stronger immune system and in a study of nuns, the happier nuns lived longer than the less happy nuns

Societal Benefits -happy people tend to volunteer more, be more peaceful and more cooperative.

For a delightful interview of Ed Diener and his son Robert Biswas-Diener by writer Gretchen Rubin, see Gretchen’s blog post of her Happiness interview with Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener

Gretchen is writing a book called The Happiness Project which will be published in late 2009.