Happiness movements join forces in Singapore on 24 March 2013

The International Day of Happiness may be over, but happiness continues to spread globally with The Happiness Effect (THE) movement.  In Singapore, the happiness movement gains momentum with THE movement combining forces with The Morning Greeters (TMG) to spread positive vibes across the country. 

The Happiness Effect Movement (THE) movement was launched on 20 March 2013, in conjunction with the United Nation’s International Day of Happiness.  This global movement aims to reach a million people in 100 days from 20 March to 27 June 2013.  Each day for 100 days, the world is invited to take 1 action a day to make someone happy, and to spread these acts of happiness through videos, photos, tweets, and stories.  THE movement is in its third day, and has already reached 20 countries online. 

The Morning Greeters (TMG) was initiated to spark off a cultural change towards a closer, more inclusive and vibrant Singapore. The movement focuses on bringing back the simple habit of greeting and smiling at fellow residents, starting with an Island-wide Run in 2013 where TMG runners jog or run in different parts of Singapore, deliberately greeting strangers along their run.  TMG seeks to spread this positive habit to the workplace, schools, and other parts of Singapore over time.

The two movements, founded by a group of students and a group of social entrepreneurs from Singapore respectively, came together to collaborate in spreading positive vibes throughout Singapore and beyond.  The collaboration will kick off with 24March (this Sunday) being adopted as a combined “Greetings Day”.  The Happiness Effect (THE) movement will invite people globally to greet everyone they meet that day.  On that same day, The Morning Greeters (TMG) will be having their morning run at Yishun Park in Singapore, sharing their greetings and positive vibes along the way.  Pictures, videos and greetings will be shared through both TMG and THE movement social media platforms. 

‘How you start your morning can really affect the rest of your day.  The simple act of voluntarily greeting someone with a big smile can put yourself and the other person in a great mood. This will have ripple effects throughout the day for everyone,’ said Mr Adrian Phoon, final year Marine Engineering student and one of the co-founders of TMG.

Ms Angela Lam, founder of THE movement said, ‘The Happiness Effect refers to how happiness spreads like ripples with a multiplier effect.  By greeting and smiling at strangers, The Morning Greeters are in fact planting positive seeds and spreading The Happiness Effect, in their own way.  It is obvious that we are working towards a common cause, and can collaborate to positively touch more people.’

Spreading greetings is one of the actions in the 100 days of THE movement.  THE movement kicked off with a day of smiles, where people globally were invited to smile, make others smile, thank others for making them smile, and to share their photos, videos, tweets and comments online.  The second day was a day of gratitude, where people were invited to focus on things and people that they were grateful for, and to express and share their gratitude.  On the third day, people were encouraged to say “I Love You” to their loved ones.  These actions are selected from the free Happiness Manifesto or public suggestions.  

Singaporeans are invited to join TMG at their happy morning run at 7.15am at Yishun Safra on Sunday morning. 

For more information, please visit www.thehappinesseffect.com or www.facebook.com/tm.greeters.