Give a Hug for Happiness

Hugs have a long and honorable tradition, going back to the day the caveman first squeezed his wife and discovered that no ketchup squeezed out. Since then, he found that his wife makes an awesome teddy bear, and he can always squeeze a rhinoceros when he wants ketchup for his hotdog (which gave him the necessary motivation to go hunting when his wife asked him to).

Hugs remain an important part of our daily happiness, but some cultures raise better huggers. For instance, North Americans exchange way too few hugs, depriving themselves of an abundant source of warmth and comfort.

So for a little motivation to increase your happiness, here are the top five reasons to hug somebody today:

Save on your heating bills (good for the environment, too!).

Keep your shnookums from eating that extra piece of double-fudge choco-blaster cake.

Hugging sure beats crying.

Love makes the world go 'round, hugs help you gather it in.

The warm glow of a good hug lasts for hours.

So go forth and hug somebody. No, not the parking lot attendant. It's too cold this time of year for that. But hug someone who wants to be hugged, and see if you might just bump each of your happiness up a notch.

About The Author

This motivation first appeared in A Daily Dose of Happiness: http://thehappyguy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html Get the best Daily Doses in a free ebook: http://www.thehappyguy.com/l/daily-motivation-inspiration.php, or visit David Leonhardt's home page on happiness: http://www.thehappyguy.com.

Info@TheHappyGuy.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Happiness is contagious, research finds - Los Angeles Times

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Aussie Company Hypnotizes Users Into Creating Wealth, Love and ... - PR Web (press release)

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Survey: Couples have more happiness, less sex after they stop working - MSNBC

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Charity is necessary for happiness, speakers say at Rome conference - Catholic Weekly

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SGA surveys students#39; happiness, stress levels - Johns Hopkins News-Letter

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/4-0fd=Rurl=http://www.jhunewsletter.com/news/2008/12/04/NewsFeatures/Sga-Surveys.Students.Happiness.Stress.Levels-3571264.shtmlcid=0ei=Oe04Sb3oFqDM8ATv4qSgCQusg=AFQjCNHdyDrXcNF1zhmKloQ3-B63M_VFTASGA surveys students#39; bhappiness/b, stress levels/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fJohns Hopkins News-Letter,nbsp;MDnbsp;-/font nobr57 minutes ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Stephanie Delman In the hopes of obtaining honest information from undergraduates about their levels of overall bhappiness/b, their academic stresses and b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Study: Happiness Is So Contagious, You Could Catch It From a Stranger - Health.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://news.health.com/2008/12/04/new-study-finds-happiness-is-contagious/2/cid=0ei=Oe04Sb3oFqDM8ATv4qSgCQusg=AFQjCNHR8vcVwj2q1ktjEcJVBuTMAP4qZQStudy: bHappiness/b Is So Contagious, You Could Catch It From a Stranger/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fHealth.com,nbsp;NYnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The study found no relation between the bhappiness/b of coworkers. This suggests, the authors write, “that the social context might moderate the flow of b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Happiness Is a Warm Gun - Dallas Observer

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.dallasobserver.com/2008-12-04/news/happiness-is-a-warm-gun/cid=1277342163ei=Oe04Sb3oFqDM8ATv4qSgCQusg=AFQjCNHZKgRNpYTQ07B2bumDUhXBm3nJoQbHappiness/b Is a Warm Gun/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fDallas Observer,nbsp;TXnbsp;-/font nobrDec 3, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Patrick Williams Draw, pardner: How many times has this happened to you? You#39;re out doing the grocery shopping, picking up the dry cleaning, etc. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Spread Christmas Happiness for friends - Salisbury Post

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-0fd=Rurl=http://www.salisburypost.com/Area/120308-Christmas-Happinesscid=1277104321ei=Oe04Sb3oFqDM8ATv4qSgCQusg=AFQjCNF2NIwfKJrBLg_CA8Ikh3Qvj7GvogSpread Christmas bHappiness/b for friends/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSalisbury Post,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobrDec 3, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Today#39;s Christmas bHappiness/b contributions include one from eight friends — Martha, Lonzo, Phyllis, Ted, Sylvia, Gary, Beth and Terry. b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Joy, or just happiness? - Azle News

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.azle-news.com/news/get-news.asp%3Fid%3D9268%26catid%3D5%26cpg%3Dget-news.aspcid=0ei=Oe04Sb3oFqDM8ATv4qSgCQusg=AFQjCNFUtQ58ZFWm_d6d9pk8AVSdCo9iEQJoy, or just bhappiness/b?/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fAzle News,nbsp;TXnbsp;-/font nobr17 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1bHappiness/b at Christmas time is something that can be bought. Whether we have all we need and then some, or we’re the beneficiary of a grateful, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Economists appraise Bhutan#39;s happiness model - San Francisco Chronicle

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff%3D/c/a/2008/12/03/MN3C14CTN5.DTLcid=0ei=Oe04Sb3oFqDM8ATv4qSgCQusg=AFQjCNF1aAMVfxBNBs8mLSayl0_yP9BQ2QEconomists appraise Bhutan#39;s bhappiness/b model/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fSan Francisco Chronicle,nbsp; USAnbsp;-/font nobrDec 3, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1quot;bHappiness/b is very serious business,quot; Bhutan Prime Minister Jigme Thinley said. quot;The dogma of limitless productivity and growth in a finite world is b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Happiness - Google News

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