novella
Active Member
Two new books, discussed in this week's New Yorker, look at what happiness is, how to get it, and what some of the myths are.
Most intriguing is the notion that anyone who's not in serious pain or dire poverty can experience the same 'happiness level' as the richest, most attractive person. In fact, there's some degree of anecdotal evidence that a person's default level of happiness is genetic, particularly something not linked very much to material circumstances.
I thought of this today because of the thread on children's work experience. Apparently voluntary work and how much 'flow' you experience when you're either working or doing other things is directly linked to reported levels of happiness. A poor person who really gets into her garden or cooking bean soup and volunteering at a local hospital is probably going to be happier more often than a wealthy executive who spends a lot of time on planes, in hotels, in meetings, and 'relaxing' (doing nothing).
Sort of common sense and certainly true from experience, but it's nice to see it in print!
Oh, 'equilibrium' refers to the phenomenon in which any big change (winning the lottery, crippling car accident, buying the dream house) will only have a temporary effect, and the person will soon settle back into the level of happiness they'd been experiencing most of the time before the event, even if they have a billion dollars or no legs. Flow, or getting mentally and emotionally absorbed in your work, is what makes the biggest difference.
A link to the article: (it may only be up for a week or so)
http://www.newyorker.com/critics/content/articles/060227crbo_books
Most intriguing is the notion that anyone who's not in serious pain or dire poverty can experience the same 'happiness level' as the richest, most attractive person. In fact, there's some degree of anecdotal evidence that a person's default level of happiness is genetic, particularly something not linked very much to material circumstances.
I thought of this today because of the thread on children's work experience. Apparently voluntary work and how much 'flow' you experience when you're either working or doing other things is directly linked to reported levels of happiness. A poor person who really gets into her garden or cooking bean soup and volunteering at a local hospital is probably going to be happier more often than a wealthy executive who spends a lot of time on planes, in hotels, in meetings, and 'relaxing' (doing nothing).
Sort of common sense and certainly true from experience, but it's nice to see it in print!
Oh, 'equilibrium' refers to the phenomenon in which any big change (winning the lottery, crippling car accident, buying the dream house) will only have a temporary effect, and the person will soon settle back into the level of happiness they'd been experiencing most of the time before the event, even if they have a billion dollars or no legs. Flow, or getting mentally and emotionally absorbed in your work, is what makes the biggest difference.
A link to the article: (it may only be up for a week or so)
http://www.newyorker.com/critics/content/articles/060227crbo_books
