SCIENTISTS REVEAL THREE KEYS TO HAPPINESS DETAILS IS GIVEN BELOW.
Explanation:
1. YEARNING FOR MYSTERY
In the years since, they have repeated that study dozens of times, all over the world, with the same results. One exception is among teenagers who prefer the urban scenes with city lights and things to do over scenes of nature, but Kaplan says they grow out of that stage. "One of the first things we realized is that even among nature pictures, there's some that people prefer very much to others," says Kaplan, who spoke for both he and his wife during the interview. "It turned out that those were the photos where you could learn more if you walked into the scene."
A trail leading around a tree and disappearing in the distance beckons to the viewer to come in, look around, and learn something. That makes it a much more enticing photo.
"We hadn't realized that landscape architects had figured that out 50 years earlier," Kaplan says.
A picture with a little mystery is preferable because "people want to explore, and they want to find things out," he says. Conversely, if they can't understand what's going on, they become very angry. So the pictures told the story of a very basic need among all persons
2. IS TAKING CONTROL A MISTAKE?
But for that little adventure to be helpful, Kaplan says, a person needs to believe that his or her life can make a difference. Nothing is more irritating, or frustrating, than the feeling of helplessness, so if you want to make a difference you've got to take control, right?
Not necessarily, the Kaplans believe.
Taking control sometimes can be a bad mistake.
"There's a tremendous number of times when people want things to be under control, but they don't want to control them. That's a tremendous responsibility," Kaplan says.
"So gradually we came to the realization that what people want to do is participate. The opposite of helplessness is being heard. It's playing a part. It's being engaged in the action. Not being ignored." Only then will it be possible for your life to make a difference.
In a series of studies, the couple demonstrated that an office window that overlooks a natural scene helps people relax, thus fighting off one of the primary threats to competence, mental fatigue. Both energy and job enthusiasm rose among people who had a chance to glance out the window occasionally and see something, even if it was only a single tree.
Nature, the Kaplans suggest, is competency's greatest ally.
NATURAL HEALING
It even helps when trying to deal with a potentially fatal illness. One of their studies involved cancer patients.
"The first thing they wanted to do when they got their diagnosis was take a ride in the country," Kaplan says.
The study found that spending 20 minutes outdoors each day helped the patients cope with the "mental fatigue" of dealing with all the issues that come along with the cancer.
But wouldn't a debilitating disease like cancer be so overwhelming that it would wipe out the three conditions the Kaplans feel are so important? Aren't things like health, love, and even an adequate income also extremely important?
Of course, Kaplan says, but their findings lay the foundation for dealing with all those other issues.
You've got to feel competent, think you can make a difference, and understand what's going on to handle any crisis. And for starters, take a look out the window occasionally.
