Do small towns make you happy?

Date: Wed, May 14, 2014 at 5:59 PM

It's factual.  View this email in your browser Howdy Friend, Only a few factors go into making people happy. Looks to me like small towns are the best place to try.   At the AMIBA Conference last week, I heard about research into what makes people happy. Turns out, about 50% of your happiness depends on genetics. So you can't control that. About 10% of your happiness is attributable to your circumstances, like your job, where you live, how much money you have. The remaining 40% comes down to deliberate actions you choose to take. Those actions include things like:  Making connections with other people Staying connected to nature Building your mastery and loving what you do Living a balanced life Look how much of this could be easier in a small town: You can more easily make human connections You're closer to nature just outside of town You can more easily create a balanced life where you aren't caught in the rat race of keeping up to afford that high cost of living. Opportunities for doing what you love and achieving mastery are arguably easier in a small town.  All of this depends, really, on you. You can make more deliberate actions toward happiness no matter where you live. My point is that small towns are great places to be happy if that's what you want to do. Read more about the happiness research here. Keep making your town better, Becky  PS - I'd love your help. A reader asked for ideas on how to get visitors to stop in your small town. I started the brainstorming here, and I could sure use your ideas.