Sunny Friends Can Change Your Life

Key takeaways:

• Social lives affect our lives;
• Good friends bring good influences;
• Sunny friends bring ‘sunshine’ and light up our lives;
• Good to have a few sunny friends in our social lives, so we have sunshine when we need it.

Humans are deeply social animals. Long-term research in the US showed that humans, unlike many other animals, are eager for acceptance from the society. This acceptance affects how we feel as a member of the society, and most of the time, also affects our self-esteems. Interesting research results also showed that one is more likely to smoke, if his/her friends also smoke; same for drinking habits, gambling tendency, weight control success, and even life choices.

Although long-term studies in the US showed this interesting results, it does not mean that you will become a millionaire if you have a millionaire-friend. You are just more ‘likely’ to become a millionaire because of the influence your millionaire-friend brings to you, I suppose. You still need to do some rights things in order to become a millionaire. I suppose that you must be able to learn something from your millionaire-friend? ^_<

In my recent coaching career, I have found some evidence to validate the above statement. I totally agree with the idea that friend’s influence is significant to our lives.

No one is always happy but some people tends to be ‘happier’ more often than others. You must have some friends or colleagues who are like this. I call them: ‘sunny friends’. They are those people who I’d like to coffee with when I need ‘happiness therapy’. Having a short coffee conversation with these sunny friends would give me a good happiness therapy and lighten up my life.

This ‘happiness therapy’ is so important for me because it often makes me feel like what I am worried about is no big deal. Although the coffee conversation with sunny friends is not about ‘fixing’ my issues, these sunny conversations do make me feeling happier and with more energy to get back to the ‘battle field’.

I have my ‘happiness therapy’ on weekends when I do triathlon training with my mates. An increasing important happiness therapy for me is to swim at Manly Beach with my kids and my triathlon mates’ kids on Sundays. This brings a lot happiness to our kids and also brings me strong family and social bonds. Sunday swims at Manly reset my life to a happy ‘state’.

I also have some sunny friends that I occasionally see. They are so sunny that I’d stop over a city during my overseas trips just to see them! They bring me happiness and gratitude to appreciate such friendships in my life.

Do you have some sunny friends? If you do, then go out with them and enjoy a lazy Sunday brunch or afternoon tea. If you don’t, then try to make some. Happiness therapy is essential to mental health and we all need that to thrive in our lives. Some research in Japan revealed that the social bond with (sunny) friends is the secret to longevity! Enough motivation to make sunny friends? ^_^

Dr. C. Richard Wu @ REEAConsulting.com