don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

What is happiness? How does one find that which our Declaration of Independence states is, along with life and liberty, "endowed by the creator?" While most of us have a pretty good idea about the nature of "life and liberty" and how to pursue these rights, how we might best go after, secure and sustain happiness seems a bit trickier. 

Well, let's clear things up. For starters, let's agree (with Merriam-Webster) that happiness means "a state of well-being and contentment, joy and a pleasurable or satisfying experience." There has been a lot of research devoted to the dynamics of happiness lately, which recalls the words of Bill Vaughn: "Money won't buy happiness, but it will pay the salaries of a huge research staff to study the problem." Among the findings is that there is an adaptive capacity innate in humans. We all share a range for happiness -- extremes in life (for example, a spinal cord injury on the downside, winning a lottery on the upside) affect happiness little over a period of a year or less. Within this time frame, the injured and the lottery winner revert to original happiness ranges. (Kevin Voigt, "Pursuing Happiness," Wall Street Journal, 11/5/04.) The latter assessment about lottery winners would not have surprised Ben Franklin, who wrote "Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants." On the other hand, my sense is the less of it one has the more of it one wants, also. (Maybe this applies for reasons other than happiness, such as a desire for a decent meal!)

"What other notions have emerged from varied studies on happiness," you might ask? Well, glad you did, or might have. Here are a few key findings from assorted "happiness" studies:

• Happy people have traits in common (from the Black Dog Institute in Sydney).  These include an attachment to causes larger than themselves, optimism, resilience, a focus on the future, openness to new ideas and ample relationships considered meaningful. 
  
  
• An inverse connection to rising wealth has been noted (University of Southern California). Happiness, counter-intuitively, does NOT increase with higher incomes. What does do the trick is a job that provides fulfilling challenges of an ongoing nature. Figure out what you love to do and a way to get paid for doing it and you'll be set, happiness-wise. Unfortunately, many seem attached to these sentiments on a bumper sticker: "Anyone who says money can't buy happiness just doesn't know where to shop." I prefer a similar idea that Josh Billings expressed two centuries ago: "The happiest time in a man's life is when he is in the red hot pursuit of a dollar with a reasonable prospect of overtaking it."
  
  
• Certain behaviors contribute to happiness (India Institute of Technology). These include live simply, have a mission, open-mindedness, flexibility, a quest for self-improvement, big dreams and enthusiasm.

Happiness is an enduring theme in wellness; in previous essays I have related wellness to theories of happiness, offered tips for happiness, described varied paths to it and explained how one country has gone so far as to promote and measure happiness.

All of this research wisdom leads to the questions posed in the title of this piece. My sense is there is no single way to happiness, not even a wellness lifestyle. In fact, I don't believe there is any such thing as happiness in the sense of an enduring state. All we can expect, in ample measure if we can manage the qualities noted throughout this essay, is a continuous, recurring series of happy moments. During such times, we feel well and contented, joyful and pleasurable. uch is the dictionary description of happiness quoted earlier. Essentially, as Frankl and Yalom and others have insisted, happiness ensues from good works, it cannot be pursued for its own sake. 

However, since so many people are focused on money as the key to happiness, I'll conclude with this: "Money doesn't always bring happiness. A man with ten million dollars is no happier than a man with nine million dollars." (Anonymous)

Be well, and always look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the MENTAL DOMAIN under the skill area of emotional intelligence. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

 Send e-mail to Don Ardell