Last night I went to an event at the St Martins Lane Hotel hosted by Butterkist. In the last 12 months they launched new flavours and the latest news is that Butterkist branding has been refreshed so the packs have a fresh new modern look. Did you know that Butterkist is a British Company and all the popcorn is made in Pontefract! I am sure it was the American style branding that had led me to believe it was American but I am delighted that it is ‘ours’.
We started by trying all the new flavours… The Salted Caramel and the Yoghurt Popcorn were so so good! Butterkist are mostly famous for the Toffee Popcorn but their ‘Cinema Sweet Popcorn’ actually won a blind taste test out of all the sweet popcorns on the market!
After the taste testing, there was a half hour talk by the ‘Doctor of Happiness’ Andy Cope. He delivered fascinating facts and figures that he had learnt over his 12 year PHD on the subject of happiness.
A survey of 1500 adults by Butterkist revealed –
- The average adult feels happiness 8 times per day, 432 times a year.
- Early forties is the happiest we will ever be with 41 being pin pointed as the best year of our lives.
- Only 16% of those polled said work made them happy.
- More than 8/10 said they would choose a night in with loved ones over a raucous night out.
- The average adult considers five people in their life to be very good friends.
- Family, friends, hobbies and interests were among the things that made Brits happy with family coming top for 7/10 surveyed.
What Makes Us Unhappy?
Repetition – we become habituated and fixated on order & routine.
Busyness
Exhaustion (usually from busyness)
News (24 hrs a day dripped to us)
Weather (i.e. drizzle)
Facts on Happiness
Alot of people have destination addiction and think they will be happy when they get there i.e. married, on holiday, the new job but we have to be content in the moment.
The Danes have mastered this with the popular Hygge movement where they slow down and enjoy simple pleasures and live in the moment.
We are alive on average 4000 weeks so ‘getting through’ 3 weeks until you go on holiday is a waste of a lot of your life!
Andy spoke of ‘Mood Hoovers’ who zap your happiness and are always grumbling. This made me laugh so much as it is easy to be negative and not appreciate what you have.
Ideas
Barbecuing in the garden whilst the children play
Movie night with the family (sharing Butterkist Popcorn!)
Reading a story to your children, enjoying the moment
A sing song in the car
Feet up with a glass of wine after a long day
Box set with a loved one
Having a dance in the kitchen
Playing cricket in the park
Going on a bike ride together
This made the kids happy this morning!
How Do We Become More Happy
Rewire your brain and PRACTICE.
If you are happy, it will wear off on those around you, who will then pass the happiness vibe to others so by you being happy in the morning at breakfast for example, your kids will be happier and their teacher will be happier as result and when they get home they will pass this happiness to their loved one.
This could change the world!!!
In this digital age it is imperative to share happy moments and spending time together.
Hope you have enjoyed reading this, I have loved sharing what I learnt. Hope you have a fantastic weekend and feel really happy!
This post was written in collaboration with Butterkist but all opinions are my own!
No Comments