We all know that happiness has a ripple effect. But according to recent research, not in the way we usually think.

The well known Framingham Heart Study, although initially looking at heart disease over time, is uncovering some unexpected findings. What they found is that happiness spreads dynamically – meaning we don’t just attract happy people, but we spread happiness like… well… like an infection. Infectious happiness.

They found that if one person is happy, it affects not just that person’s friend, but it spreads to three degrees of separation meaning their friends, friend’s friend. And it goes on from there, but just like a ripple, it gets weaker in its effect the further out it goes. Not everyone in the chain needs to know each other. It could be a neighbor, a friend, a relative. Longitudinal studies (studies over years) shows that clusters of happiness develop, which show that an infusion of happiness is what has the effect, not that people just associate with other happy people. They also found the effect goes away over time unless the happiness bug gets reintroduced.

Interestingly, they found that obesity also spreads in this same kind of way. Where does obesity fit in? The same researchers saw that obesity had similar patterns of separation. There were some relationships that were affected differently, but the point is – it is clearly demonstrated we are all interconnected on levels deeper than we can see or are conscious of. Both on emotional/mental and physical levels.

It is not a big leap to suggest and believe that this dynamic process of far-reaching ripples, of whatever we do and how we are in the world, affects everything, not just happiness or obesity. We all have an effect and are responsible for one another’s well-being in a very deep and intimate way. We are truly a global collective.

So, it is a good time to reflect and help create the world you want to see – you have the power in you every moment of every day.

Mahatma Gandhi once said: “I believe in the essential unity of all people and for that matter of all lives. Therefore, I believe that if one person gains spiritually, the whole world gains, and if one person falls, the whole world falls to that extent”