The Happiness Equation

Once upon a time I had a substitute teacher who often wrote this aphorism on the chalkboard: "Today can be the happiest day of your life."

But today — June 19 — officially should be. There’s even a scientific formula to prove it! (Doesn’t just the thought of it make you happy?)

His formula is: O + (N x S) + Cpm/T + He.

We’ll translate: Cliff Arnall, a psychologist with the U.K.’s National Health Service and a Cardiff University lecturer, devised the formula. He gave values to each symbol and added being outdoors (O) to nature (N) multiplied by social interactions (S), added memories of childhood summers (Cpm) simply divided by the temperature, then added excitement about holidays (He), which is British for “vacations.” Once Arnall plugged variables into his formula, he came up with June 19 as the day of the year with the best probability of making a person feel happy.

"People's minds are on the credit crunch — but that doesn't take away from the equation's primary factors, which are spending time with people you love and being outdoors in the warm weather,” Arnall, 44, told the U.K.’s The Telegraph.

"The most important things you can do to be happy are free. People may be less able to afford other leisure activities but it's free to walk in the park or paddle in a stream.”