10 Scientific Ways to be Happy

Raman Nepali, a man of amazing energy and exuberance, was over at NepalBuzz’s offices, to talk to us. We share our offices with many technology companies, and the focus of his talk was teamwork. Specifically, on how to work together to achieve something that is not possible by any one person working individually.

Our coach for the day got us started with a story of migrating swans that fly in a formation. The unique formation they fly in lets them fly much higher, and much faster than they would be able to individually. When any individual swan who is at the outside of this formation gets tired, s/he is swapped out for a swan inside the formation, where they can rest. This helps them to fly continuously, without taking breaks, ensuring all of them reach their destination faster!

The point was hard to miss, but just to drive it home, we looked at videos of teamwork in action.

While the session started out with a focus on teamwork, it eventually turned out to be much more than that. Raman took us through a journey that gave us insights into how to live a fuller life, be happy, and spread the happiness. With infectious energy that filled the whole room, our beloved coach quickly got us all on our feet, doing all sorts of gestures with our hands.
By the end of two hours, we completed a lot of different actions, including dancing, meditation, clapping, and pumping ourselves up by saying YES WE CAN a whole lot of times.

A group of people who are usually at their desks, with faces frozen tight in concentration, tap, tapping away were suddenly smiling, laughing, dancing, and basically losing themselves in the experience of something positive, refreshing and wholly invigorating. Everybody looked, HAPPY.

Least we forget the main messages in all the fun we were having, our coach also inspired us with stories of other people all over the world, who had overcome great odds to do amazing work. One of these inspirations was Stephen Hawking.
Closer to home, he narrated the story of Jhamak Ghimire, who kept being told by her parents that she was a burden and that it would be best for everybody if she just dropped dead. There were some inspiring words from her: “If other people look down on you, the worst thing to do to yourself is start looking down on yourself too.”

We also watched videos of people doing amazing things. In the span of two hours, people were energized, re-invigorated, inspired, and much much happier. We were left with a formula of ten scientific ways to be happy. Even if only a few people took this happy formula to heart, the world became a slightly happier place.

Thank you Mr. Raman Nepali!