How to Be Happy Every Day: It Will Change the World | Jacqueline Way | TEDxStanleyPark
TLDRThe speaker, a mother of three, addresses the challenges of parenting and the importance of emotional health for a happy childhood, as highlighted by the World Happiness Report. She shares her personal journey of teaching her young son, Nick, the joy of giving through a year-long family project called '365give,' which involved daily acts of kindness. The project's success led to the creation of the 365give challenge, an educational program that empowers children to integrate daily giving into their lives, fostering a sense of community and happiness. The initiative has since impacted over 5,000 children across 25 schools, demonstrating that small, daily acts of giving can create a ripple effect, leading to a happier world.
Takeaways
- 🌍 The World Happiness Report indicates that over 220 million children and 1 billion adults suffer from anxiety, depression, and conduct disorders, highlighting a global mental health challenge.
- 👨👩👧👦 Children learn from observing adults, including their stress levels and struggles with happiness, which can impact their own emotional well-being.
- 🎈 Emotional health in childhood is a strong predictor of a child's satisfaction as an adult, according to the World Happiness Report.
- 🎄 The speaker's father, a doctor, taught her the joy of giving by involving her and her siblings in singing Christmas carols to hospital patients, which brought happiness to both the patients and the family.
- 🧠 Research shows that the human brain and body are wired for giving, with acts of generosity triggering a 'helper's high' due to the release of endorphins and other feel-good hormones.
- 👶 The speaker initiated a daily giving project with her three-year-old son, Nick, to teach him the happiness that comes from giving and helping others.
- 📝 Starting with simple, manageable acts of kindness, such as donating to local shelters or recycling, the daily giving project grew into a habit for Nick.
- 🌐 The 365give blog, started to document the daily giving project, gained international attention and inspired people worldwide to share their own acts of giving.
- 🏫 The 365give challenge was created as an educational program to integrate daily giving into classroom curriculums, empowering children to choose their acts of kindness and make a difference.
- 📈 The impact of the 365give challenge has been significant, reaching over 5,000 children in 25 schools and fostering a sense of community and happiness among participants.
- 💧 Small, daily acts of giving can create a ripple effect, inspiring others to contribute to a better and happier world.
- 📝 Encouraging everyone to start their own list of daily gives, the speaker emphasizes that even small contributions can lead to significant positive change when done consistently.
Q & A
What is considered one of the toughest jobs on the planet according to the speaker?
-Being a mom is considered one of the toughest jobs on the planet according to the speaker.
What does the World Happiness Report state about children and adults suffering from mental health issues?
-The World Happiness Report states that at any one time, over 220 million children and 1 billion adults suffer from anxiety, depression, and conduct disorders.
What is the best predictor of a child becoming a satisfied adult according to the World Happiness Report?
-The best predictor of a child becoming a satisfied adult is through their emotional health in childhood.
What was the speaker's father's profession and how did he involve his family in his work?
-The speaker's father was a doctor, and he involved his family by taking them to his office, which was a hospital, to sing Christmas carols to his patients every Christmas morning.
What is the term used to describe the natural high feeling one gets from giving?
-The term used to describe the natural high feeling one gets from giving is 'helper's high.'
How does the act of giving impact our body's stress hormone?
-The act of giving reduces cortisol levels, which are our body's stress hormone, thus reducing anxiety and stress.
What was the speaker's initial plan for teaching her son Nick about happiness?
-The speaker's initial plan was to teach Nick to give by starting a family project where they would give back to the world every day for one year.
What was the first act of giving that Nick and his mother did together?
-The first act of giving that Nick and his mother did together was donating towels and blankets to a local animal shelter.
What is the name of the blog started by the speaker to share their daily giving adventures?
-The name of the blog started by the speaker is '365give.'
How has the 365give challenge impacted the children involved?
-The 365give challenge has helped children understand how their actions can make a better world, connect them to each other and their community, and make their classroom environment happier.
What is the ultimate goal of the 365give challenge?
-The ultimate goal of the 365give challenge is to create a ripple effect of daily giving that can make the world a better and happier place, one give at a time.
How many children have been touched by the 365give challenge as of the time of the speaker's talk?
-As of the time of the speaker's talk, the 365give challenge has touched over 5,000 children in 25 schools.
Outlines
🌟 The Importance of Emotional Health for Children's Future Happiness
The speaker, a mother of three, discusses the challenges of parenting and the desire for children to have a happy childhood. She highlights a concerning statistic from the World Happiness Report about the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and conduct disorders among children and adults. The speaker emphasizes that children learn from adults' behavior, particularly their stress and struggles with happiness. However, she points out that a child's emotional health in childhood is the best predictor of their satisfaction as an adult. The speaker shares a personal story about her father, a doctor, who involved the family in singing Christmas carols to hospital patients, teaching the importance of giving back and its impact on happiness. She also touches on scientific findings that support the notion that our brains and bodies are wired for giving, which releases endorphins and reduces cortisol levels, leading to a natural high known as 'helper's high.'
🎂 Introducing Daily Giving to Foster Happiness in Children
The speaker recounts her attempt to teach her three-year-old son, Nick, the value of giving by starting a family project called '365give,' which involves giving back to the world every day for a year. Despite initial confusion, Nick becomes excited about the project. They begin with simple acts of kindness, such as donating to an animal shelter and recycling. The daily giving becomes a routine for Nick, and the speaker starts a blog to share their journey. The blog gains international attention, inspiring people worldwide to share their own acts of giving. The speaker shares a few inspiring stories from readers, highlighting the impact of small, daily acts of kindness.
📚 Implementing the 365give Challenge in Schools
The speaker expands on the concept of daily giving by introducing the '365give challenge,' an educational program that integrates daily giving into classroom curriculums. The program is unique because it empowers children to choose how they give and the causes they support. The speaker shares examples of how the challenge has been implemented in schools, with children engaging in acts such as baking cookies for firefighters and fundraising for cancer research. The impact of these activities is profound, as they not only help others but also foster a sense of community and happiness among the children. The 365give challenge has reached over 5,000 children in 25 schools, and its effects are rippling out to families and communities globally.
🌍 Encouraging a Global Movement of Daily Giving
The speaker concludes with a call to action, encouraging everyone to start a daily habit of giving, similar to brushing their teeth. She emphasizes that no matter how small the act, it can contribute to making the world a better and happier place. The speaker envisions a global movement where everyone participates in daily giving, leading to a significant collective impact. She invites the audience to start their list of giving ideas and to look for opportunities in their daily lives to donate, volunteer, or simply be kind. The message is one of optimism and empowerment, suggesting that even a three-year-old can contribute to positive change.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Emotional Health
💡Anxiety and Depression
💡Giving Back
💡Helper's High
💡365give Challenge
💡Ripple Effect
💡World Happiness Report
💡Daily Giving
💡Endorphins
💡Cortisol
💡Volunteering
Highlights
The World Happiness Report states over 220 million children and 1 billion adults suffer from anxiety, depression, and conduct disorders.
Children learn stress and struggle to find happiness from observing busy adults.
Emotional health in childhood is the best predictor of becoming a satisfied adult.
The speaker's dad, a doctor, brought his family to sing Christmas carols for patients in the hospital every year.
Giving back to patients made them and the speaker happy, illustrating the joy of giving.
Researchers have found that our brains and bodies are hardwired for giving, releasing endorphins and oxytocin.
Volunteering reduces cortisol levels, reducing anxiety and stress.
The speaker taught her 3-year-old son Nick to give back daily as a way to be happy.
Nick quickly caught on and was excited to start giving back to the local animal shelter on his birthday.
Daily giving became a routine for Nick, as easy as brushing his teeth.
The speaker started a blog called 365give to share their daily giving stories, which gained a worldwide audience.
People from around the world shared how Nick's story inspired them to start their own daily giving practices.
The speaker and a teacher friend created the 365give Challenge, an educational program that empowers kids to choose how they give.
Over 5,000 children in 25 schools have been impacted by the 365give Challenge.
The challenge has created a ripple effect, inspiring kids to share their giving stories and inspiring others.
The speaker implores everyone to start their own list of daily gives, no matter how small, to create a better, happier world.
If everyone in the room committed to 365 daily gives, that would result in over 700,000 daily acts of kindness.
Starting a daily habit of giving can be as simple as brushing your teeth, and has the power to transform the world.
Transcripts
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