The Science and Art of Happiness

Recently, I've been reading about happiness and well being.
This article, I thought, worth sharing:

The BNET posting, "Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Happier" by Kimberly Weisul suggests five guidelines to increase happiness consolidated from sixty academic studies.  See what you think.

1. Spend time with the "right" people.
  • Generally not your office mates
  • Avoid small talk - seek out real dialogue instead

2. Spend time on "socially connecting" activities, such as volunteering and spending time with friends.
  • Work doesn't count (see why below)
  • Memory is important, because it helps us take an event that happened in the past and extend its 'worth' into the future

3. Day dream.
  • We often enjoy the anticipation of something pleasurable more than the actual experience that we think is going to be so great

4. Expand your time.
  •  Breathe slowly - only five minutes can significantly 'lengthen' your day
  •  Volunteer - makes it seem like you have more time
  •  Pay people to do the chores you hate - well, if you can afford it

5. Be aware that aging changes the way people experience happiness.
  • Youths tend to equate happiness with excitement
  • As people get older, happiness is associated with feeling peaceful

Of note, this quote...

"Unless your job is particularly fulfilling and your colleagues are your best buds, work is not 'socially connecting' and is generally one of the more unhappy parts of the day."

...Ouch!
Have we fallen into a social slumber around the digital water cooler?
Are we fooling ourselves as to what happiness really is?

If intrigued, you can read more about the 'Economics of Happiness' (it's a PDF).
Here's a taste of what's inside:

"In psychology, "set-point theory" has gained increasing attention in the last decade or so. Each individual is thought to have a fixed setpoint of happiness or life satisfaction determined by genetics and personality."
"In contrast, economics places particular stress on the importance of life circumstances to well-being, particularly one's income and employment situation. The view that money makes you happier finds ringing endorsement in economic theory. The implication is that one can improve one's life satisfaction by getting more money, and that public policy measures aimed at increasing the income of society as a whole will increase well-being.
I shall argue that the accumulating survey evidence indicates that neither of these theories is correct."

 Oh Maslow, oh Maslow wherefore art thou?


P.S.  Thinking of my friends Dave and Amber, whose pursuit of happiness includes becoming Canadian citizens.

Source:  http://canadiancitizenshiptest.net



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