Tomorrow, July 10, 2009 marks the first ever International Happiness Day.  Organized by a diverse group of faculty, practitioners, and enthusiasts, the effort’s goal is to get people focused on happiness.

Why is it in important to focus on happiness?

• Intentionality matters.  David Pollay writes that “it’s up to us” to pursue happiness.
• Happiness is contagious.  Research shows that knowing someone who is happy makes you 15.3% more likely to be happy yourself.
• The science of happiness is evolving.  The recent World Congress on Positive Psychology was the springboard for the 51% challenge.  Enable flourishing.

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Five ways to celebrate international happiness day:

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Brag.  No, seriously…. participating in the Your Happiest Moment contest by sharing a picture of you at your best.

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Do something for yourself. Is an old grudge dragging you down?  Still caught up in something from months, or even years ago?  Confront the past grudge with accuracy and honesty with the Letting Go of Grudges exercise developed by Dr. Martin Seligman.

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Do something with others.  Meetup groups about the science of happiness are growing quickly.  HappierPhilly gets together in two weeks.  HappierDC has 80 members.  Emiliya Zhivotovskaya leads the the 400-person strong Happiness Club NY.  Lionel Ketchian’s HappinessClubs.com lists opportunities for seniors, teens, and everyone else to get involved on a local level.

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Discover your strengths through the free VIA Strengths Assessment on happier.com or through other groundbreaking tools like the Realise2

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Have a happiness party.  For instructions, visit the 5,000 person+ happiness day group on facebook.

Any other suggestions for how to celebrate International Happiness Day?  Feel free to leave comments!

happier.com is a personal trainer for your happiness. With more than a dozen tools and tests to help you measure, track and improve your happiness, you can trust the happier.com experts to help you reach your goals. Exclusive videos and a popular blog mean there’s something new to learn every day. Download the free iPhone application or find what you’re looking for with the Positive Psychology Practitioner Directory. happier.com is on Facebook, LinkedIn, and twitter and has meetup groups in Washington, Philadelphia, and Portland, with more planned. Click here for a social media press release from our launch.