Strangers May Cheer You Up

I remember working in the Financial District of San Francisco in the late 1980s. I was stopped at a stoplight and a strange woman approached me and said, "I hope this isn't being too forward, but I have to tell you that you look just fantastic in that suit." Okay...it may not have been those exact words but it was somewhat along those lines. It made me feel so happy for the rest of the day. I guess it made me happy for years and years (for that matter) because I still remember the moment. To this day, when a stranger gives me a random complement it does seem to mean more.

On Friday there was an article in the New York Times about the Christakis-Fowler study. This team of physician and social scientist at Harvard Medical school had previously published studies that concluded that obesity and quitting smoking are socially contagious. The new study in the Times on Friday concluded that 'Strangers may cheer you up'.

"There's a kind of an emotional quiet riot that occurs and takes on a life of its own, that people are unaware of," said Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis.

The article continued to report that a next-door neighbor's joy increased one's chance of being happy by 34 percent. This neighbor has to be seen regularly and be in physical and temporal proximity. The researchers found that Happiness has a shelf life. I thought that was funny given my recent blog entry about Happiness.
Social contacts were less important to happiness than some one's personal circumstances. It was advised that it is better to spread your happiness to people you know (because you will affect others they know and so forth).

Professor Fowler intentionally puts on his favorite song to soothe his mood when he gets home from work. This will make him happy and pass it on to his family (and everyone they know).

In a separate study of 1,700 FACEBOOK profiles. It was discovered that people smiling in their photographs had more FACEBOOK friends and that many of those friends were smiling. This leads me to the stranger I candidly photographed above on a New York City street. I am curious to know what you think? He is reading a book against a wall. Is he happy? Is he wishing someone will stop and say, "I read that book...good one!" Or is he just waiting on the sidelines for a friend. I would love to read a comment from you with your imaginative idea of the stranger pictured above. Or better yet...do you recall a stranger saying something nice that had an impact on you? Tell me if a stranger has ever cheered you up.