Science says happier people have these 9 things in common

REUTERS/Sean Yong

Everybody wants to be happy.

That's why the science of happiness has taken off in recent years, with the skyrocketing popularity of positive psychology, which focuses on what makes individuals and communities thrive. Researchers have even started to produce reports on happiness around the globe.

At this point, we actually know a fair amount about how certain behaviors, attitudes, and choices relate to happiness.

Most research on the topic can only find correlations - if we absolutely knew that one certain thing made everyone happier, psychologists' jobs would be a lot easier. But researchers do think that as a rough estimate, something like 40% of our happiness is under our own control (with the rest being determined by genetics and external factors). That means there's a lot we can do to control our own happiness.

Here are nine happiness-promoting behaviors that are backed by science.