June 28, 2024
“Happiness is a warm puppy”. Charles Schulz. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is written into the Constitution of the United States of America.
In the February 27, 2006, issue of The New Yorker there was an article on pursuing happiness. It turns out that by nature we have been hardwired to emphasize the negative. Survival depended on being wary. The curious and unwary could be eaten by bears or tigers. “Call no man happy until he is dead” was a popular Greek saying. According to many psychologists, once we are out of poverty, the most important determinant of happiness is our “set point”, our natural level of happiness, which is largely a matter of genetics.
Of course, we have no control over our set point. Those of you who have more than one child know that children do seem to be wired differently. Same parents, same conditions and yet siblings can be so different.
However, we can control our attitude. “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen made quite the impact on me. We also can decide how much volunteer work we are willing to do.
Ready for the secret to happiness? Here it is: “Happiness is equal to your set point S, plus your life conditions C, plus a bit of volunteer work, V. H = S + C + V”. If you want a copy of the article, let me know.
“Happiness is hard to put into words. It’s also harder to source, much more mysterious than anger or sorrow, which come to me promptly, whenever I summon them, and remain long after I’ve begged them to leave.” David Sedaris
Category : General 