A Guest Blog for International Day of Happiness by Cheryl Rickman

March 20 is International Day of Happiness and this year's theme is “Happier Together”, focusing on what we have in common, rather than what divides us. In The Happiness Bible, wellbeing author Cheryl Rickman explores what we can do to widen and deepen our connection with each other.

Community Matters

Today, with social media becoming all-consuming, we are more connected than we have ever been, in a virtual sense; but in reality, studies have revealed that many people still feel alone. All the more reason to make an effort to increase real-world connections. As well as forging strong bonds with those we are especially fond of, it’s important to build “bridging connections” to unite different groups within a community.

"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman."
—Simone de Beauvoir

Every year in March, we celebrate Women's History Month, a month dedicated to highlighting the achievements of women throughout history and their contributions to contemporary society. 

It's safe to say that we wouldn't be where we are today without the incredible women who pioneered inventions such as computer software, stem cell isolation, telecommunications technology, and even the board game Monopoly.

A fresh new year has arrived and with it the opportunity for exciting new experiences in the year ahead.

Last year we made it our New Year’s Resolution to spread happiness, and this year our goal is to learn something new. To help us get started we turned to Charlie Burton and his new book GQ How to Win at Life, which is filled with expert advice on everything from food to fashion and from politics to parkour.

This small but mighty book is filled with achievable New Year’s Resolution ideas and is where we found inspiration for the first segment in our Learn Something New in the New Year blog series: learning a new language.

The Foreign Service Institute’s James Bernhardt and Catherine Doughty — whose words of wisdom are included in GQ How to Win at Life — are experts in learning new languages quickly, as they regularly assist American diplomats in becoming fluent in new languages, sometimes over the course of just a few months.