Sharing the love really is the route to happiness

SURE not too bad, could be better, I've been worse.' Few of us readily respond to how are you with 'I'm great', 'doing good' or you might be lucky to get an 'OK', 'fine' or a 'grand'.

Being negative comes naturally to the human race and it's something that we tend to feed and allow to fester.
Smiles, it's said, are infectious but our love of negativity goes back to caveman times so spreading the love is an ongoing challenge -- but it can be done, one smile at a time.
Galway psychologist Dr Malie Coyne tells of studies that have found that for every upsetting or negative event the body needs five positive ones to counteract it.
People are being fed a constant stream of negativity, whether it be on the news or on social media, and it's extremely tough for the brain to focus on the positive.
We're addicted to watching perceived perfect lives of others on social media accounts and feed the negativity by looking at our perceived imperfect lives.
Life is busy and it's hard for our body and mind to keep up. Most of us are on auto-pilot, running on the mind treadmill in search of perfection or increased happiness while forgetting all the good things that we already have.
It might seem bizarre but we need to make a conscious effort to be positive, according to Dr Coyne. It's not about having to go about with a permanent Emoji-like smilie face all day long or hug random people on the street, but trying to begin the day with a positive focus can be as good an emotional boost as a bowl of porridge is for your diet.
Valentine's Day can be all about the flowers and chocolates as indicators of how much you love or care for someone and maybe we should channel some of that to loving ourselves a bit more.

Read the full feature in this week's edition of The Tuam Herald