Learning to be happy in tough economic times

The state of the economy may be out of people's hands, but their happiness isn't, according to a group of researchers meeting at an international conference on happiness Thursday.

Over the last decade, studies have shown that people who think optimistically and have strong relationships tend to be happier, they say.

"Rather than just wanting to boost happiness, people want to build resilience to get through difficult times," Sharp, who will lead a panel on happiness at work at the upcoming conference, told CNN.

The big trend is that people are getting happier, he says. "We know that most people are happy, so people know happiness is possible and more or less in their own hands."