“Please describe one of your happy memories.” This was the question we asked participants in the Happiness Research Institute’s 2018 study called The Happy Memory Study—a massive global study around happy memories. We were not searching for any particular memory, so we asked people simply to write down the first happy memory that came to mind.
I was overwhelmed by the response we got. The Happy Memory Study is, as far as I know, the biggest global collection of happy memories to date.
One pattern that emerged was new experiences. 23 per cent of the memories were novel or extraordinary experiences such as visiting a country for the first time. So make sure to make plans to visit new places – be it an exotic destination or the park across town.