Discover How You Can Be Happier
Updated: Apr 21
Written by Georgina Smith, Founder, Share-A-Table
Georgina, Founder, is a global adventurer, experience designer, and firm believer that the right conversation at the right moment can change your life. Share-A-Table is my way of making those moments happen for you.
The New York Times just published deep research (which in fact started in the 1930s) on what makes us happier and how small changes can make a remarkable impact on our happiness, using simple, low-cost interventions, available anywhere, anytime, no expensive subscriptions or downloads required.
Yes, you may believe, oooh, come on, that the list includes everything we’ve heard before: devote your time to journaling, practice gratitude, do real yoga, breathing exercises or breathwork, meditate, exercise, cut the carbs, eat more dark chocolate (70% and above), or sup at a deep red.
Yet what they've discovered, in fact proven, promises to keep your attention for more than a nanosecond and fill your heart with more health and wellness than your oat/almond matcha latte or protein-packed breakfast (post-fast, of course). Yes, even if your smartwatch is twitching and flickering on full green. This "consistent and constant change" amounts to far more in terms of happiness (and wellness) than what your watch dial is now bleeping, and worth more in terms of health benefits than the fact that you’ll nail today’s ‘data’ goal.
Their research proved that all the above activities will only move the needle so far, yet will not necessarily make you happier overall. So, yes, please grab that croissant and full-fat flat white (cow's milk) while you read on.
We wish to clarify what we mean by happiness
What we mean is that deep, joyful, quiet, and stable cheer that makes you inwardly smile and glow, each and every time. It also quietly makes you feel super grateful you’re spinning around on planet Earth (despite all the current messy bits). And yes, you will notice much more natural beauty and be far kinder.
What their research reminds us is something we all intuitively know, and especially, when we feel its silent absence.
What makes us truly happy is: "Strong, long-term relationships with spouses, family, and friends built on deep trust, not achievement, not fortune, or fame..." This is what guarantees to predict our well-being and our true sense of happiness.
Their research states that those who are actively more socially engaged (even if you’re an introvert) are profoundly happier. And a tip here: if your goal this year includes more social activities or deepening your social network, and if you have, in fact, taken steps toward that goal, it was proven that you’ll be happier a year later.
What’s more (and sorry for the Share-A-Table plug), we are working with the intention to make you thrive locally and therefore be happier: in fact, even fleeting social interactions could improve happiness.
What does that mean if you dine out or share-a-table with strangers?
You ask? How is that a deep social relationship? Well, that is certainly a very good question. Again, back to the research:
Yes, we all suffer from the social awkwardness of reaching out and speaking with strangers, "yet we are, in fact, far happier when we make ourselves do the very deed that feels so awkward." I believe it gives us social confidence (in a natural way); we have a greater sense that we belong (exactly where we’re standing) as we are both seen and heard because we’ve captured someone's attention (albeit briefly).
Yet also, and especially, because we learn something new
We give ourselves the "chance to possibly learn, as each and every time it holds the promise of unexpected insight.” And in today’s world, back to the smartwatch and smart devices: we are simply not getting that unexpected insight because everything we read or see seems a copy or a mirror of something we have (just) seen before. It is then amplified across ‘our’ different media sets, from LinkedIn to Insta, or whichever social app you flip between. And what binds it all together? Those pesky bots and algorithms that follow you around until you are literally bored, bored of yourself, your thoughts, your world.
So yes, this great journalist closes the article stating that:
Start small tomorrow
If you could do one thing tomorrow to improve your happiness, make it this. Have a heartfelt conversation with someone. It could be a deeper chat with a loved one or an open exchange with a new acquaintance. The rewards and unexpectedness will surprise you. And yes, at Share-A-Table, we make it easier for you to have those exact types of conversations, with people you don't know yet, hence you're guaranteed to learn something new and be surprised by the unexpected!
To close, it is with our great pleasure to invite you to Share-A-Table with us.
Read more from Georgina Smith
Georgina Smith, Founder, Share-A-Table
From Melbourne to Amsterdam, Georgina Smith has lived, traveled, and designed unforgettable event experiences across the globe. She knows firsthand that one serendipitous connection can change everything. That's the magic she's bottling with Share-A-Table, a platform built on being in the right place, at the right time, with the right people.
