What makes you satisfied? Possibly a excellent night time’s sleep, or a ravishing meal with buddies?
I’m the director of the Happiness Lab at Drexel College, the place I additionally train a route on happiness. The Happiness Lab is a suppose tank that investigates the components that give a contribution to other folks’s happiness.
Regularly, my scholars question me one thing alongside the traces of, “Dr. Z, tell us one thing that will make us happier.”
As a primary step, I counsel them to spend extra time out of doors.
Reaching lasting and sustainable happiness is extra sophisticated. Analysis at the happiest international locations on the planet and the puts the place other folks are living the longest, referred to as Blue Zones, displays a not unusual thread: Citizens really feel they’re a part of one thing higher than themselves, akin to a neighborhood or a town.
So in the event you’re dwelling in a city like Philadelphia, the place, by the way, the long-lasting pursuit of happiness rate used to be ratified within the Declaration of Independence, I consider city citizenship – this is, forming an identification along with your city environment – must even be to your checklist.
The Greek island of Ikaria within the Aegean Sea is a Blue Zone well-known for its citizens’ longevity.
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto by the use of Getty Pictures
Protection, social connection, good looks
Carl Jung, the famend Swiss psychoanalyst, wrote widely concerning the courting between our inner international and our exterior surroundings.
He believed that this courting used to be the most important to our mental well-being.
More moderen analysis in neuroscience and useful imaging has printed an infinite, intricate and sophisticated neurological structure underlying our mental belief of a spot. A lot of neurological pathways and useful loops develop into a fancy neuropsychological procedure right into a easy realization: I’m satisfied right here!
For instance, a cheerful position must really feel secure.
The rustic of Croatia, a vacationer haven for its good looks and culinary delights, could also be some of the most sensible 20 most secure international locations globally, in line with the 2025 International Peace Index.
The U.S. ranks 128th.
The provision of excellent foods and drinks may also be a significant component in developing a cheerful position.
Then again, in line with American psychologist Abraham Maslow, a pioneer within the box of certain psychology, the chance for social connectivity, experiencing one thing significant and having a way of belonging is extra the most important.
Moreover, analysis on satisfied puts means that they’re gorgeous. It must now not come as a wonder that the happiest puts on the planet also are drop-dead stunning, such because the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mauritius, which is the happiest nation in Africa, in line with the 2025 International Happiness File from the College of Oxford and others.
Glad puts incessantly supply get entry to to nature and advertise energetic existence, which is able to assist relieve pressure. The citizens of the island of Ikaria in Greece, as an example, some of the authentic Blue Zones, show top ranges of bodily job and social interplay.
A map of 28 satisfied puts in Philadelphia, in accordance with 243 survey responses from Drexel scholars.
The Happiness Lab at Drexel College
Philly Happiness Map
I requested my undergraduate psychology scholars at Drexel, a lot of whom come from different towns, states and international locations, to pick out one position in Philadelphia the place they really feel satisfied.
From the 243 scholar responses, the Happiness Lab curated 28 Philly satisfied puts, in accordance with how often the puts have been recommended and their accessibility.
Philadelphia’s founder, William Penn, would most likely approve that Rittenhouse Sq. Park and 3 different public squares – Logan, Franklin and Washington – have been incorporated. Those squares have been essential to Penn’s imaginative and prescient of landscaped public parks to advertise the well being of the thoughts and frame via offering “salubrious spaces similar to the private garden.” They’re gorgeous and approachable, serving as “places to rest, take a pause, work, or read a book,” one scholar instructed us.
Puts such because the Philadelphia Zoo, Penn’s Touchdown and the Philadelphia Museum of Artwork are “joyful spots that are fun to explore, and one can also take your parents along if need be,” as any other scholar described.
The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, a historical library with eclectic programming, feels to at least one scholar like “coming home, a perfect third place.”
Some scholars discussed satisfied puts which can be much less identified. Those come with tucked-away gardens such because the John F. Collings Park at 1707 Chestnut St., the rooftop Cira Inexperienced at 129 S. thirtieth St. and the James G. Kaskey Memorial Park and BioPond at 433 S. College Ave.
The James G. Kaskey Memorial Park and BioPond in West Philadelphia is an city oasis.
M. Fischetti for Consult with Philadelphia
My scholars mentioned those are small, surprising spots that supply a very good alternative for a quiet, non violent damage, to be provide, whether or not loved by myself or with a chum. I checked them out and I agree.
The scholars additionally discussed puts I had by no means heard of even if I’ve lived within the town for over 30 years.
The “cat park” at 526 N. Natrona St. in Mantua is a quiet little park with an eclectic persona and quite a lot of pleasant cats.
Mango Mango Dessert at 1013 Cherry St. in Chinatown, which is a often recommended happiness spot a few of the scholars on account of its “bustling streets, lively atmosphere and delicious food,” is an ideal pit prevent for mango fans. And Maison Candy, at 2930 Chestnut St. in College Town, is an informal bakery and cafe “where you may end up staying longer than planned,” one scholar shared.
I to find that Philly’s satisfied puts, as observed in the course of the eyes of school scholars, generally tend to provide an area for citizens to take day out from their day to pause, reset, calm down and really feel extra hooked up and involved with town.
Happiness principals are common, but our personal trips are very non-public. Philadelphians around the town can have their very own checklist of satisfied puts. There are in reality no proper or improper solutions. Should you don’t have a non-public satisfied house, simply get started exploring and you’ll be shocked what you’re going to to find, together with a brand new sense of happiness.
See the total Philly Happiness Map checklist right here, and talk over with the showcase on the W.W. Hagerty Library at Drexel College to be told extra.
