Have you seen this video in which a cute toddler is enjoying her very first rain experience? 🙂
Is happiness can be taught and learned?
According to Martin Seligman the answer is YES! 🙂 Seligman is credited as the father of Positive Psychology. He has a systematic theory about why happy people are happy, and he uses the scientific method to explore it. Through the use of exhaustive questionnaires, Seligman found that the most satisfied, upbeat people were those who had discovered and exploited their unique combination of “signature strengths,” such as humanity, temperance and persistence.
Seligman’s conclusion is that happiness has three dimensions that can be cultivated: the Pleasant Life, the Good Life, and the Meaningful Life.
1, The Pleasant Life is realised as the hedonist lifestyle where the pleasure is the primary or most important intrinsic 
good. We appreciate such basic pleasures as companionship, the natural environment and our bodily needs.
Express your heart. People who have one or more close friendships are happier. It doesn’t seem to matter if we have a large network of close relationships or not. What seems to make a difference is if and how often we cooperate in activities and share our personal feelings with a friend or relative.
Cultivate kindness. People who volunteer or simply care for others on a consistent basis seem to be happier and less depressed. Although “caring” can involve volunteering as part of an organized group or club, it can be as simple as reaching out to a colleague or classmate who looks lonely or is struggling with an issue.
2, We can remain pleasantly “stuck” at this stage or we can go on to experience the Good Life. 
This can be achieved through optimal psychological state that people experience when engaged in an activity that is appropritely challenging to one’s skill level, often resulting in immersion and concentrated focus on a task.
This can result in deep learning and high levels of personal and work satisfaction. Csikszentmihályi calls this state as FLOW. We can experience FLOW during several actions like running, dancing, writing an article….. about happiness.
So keep moving, be active. Regular exercise has been associated with improved mental well-being and a lower incidence of depression.
3, The final stage is the Meaningful Life, in which we find our life and our days meaningful. This stage usually appears in religious practice and happiness. 
Spirituality and prayer also provide people with an opportunity to engage in a meditative act. Meditation has been shown to have a strong link with well-being because it calms the body, reduces stress and anxiety, and also supports positive thinking. The cultivation of “sacred moments” in daily life, whether through journal-writing or daily spiritual exercises, has been associated with reduced levels of stress and an increase in psychological well-being. Finally, both spirituality and organized religion can help provide people with perspective, hope, and a deeper sense of meaning. By believing in something greater than themselves, it may help them stay positive in times of sadness, and foster resilience in its role as a coping strategy.
Seligman’s theory is outstanding. It reconciles two conflicting views of human happiness:
the individualistic approach (1) , which emphasises that we should take care of ourselves and develope our own strengths and the altruistic approach (2), which tends to downplay individuality and emphasizes sacrifice for the greater purpose.
