Post by Gifted on Jan 9, 2013 0:57:03 GMT -5
“If we change our formula for happiness and success, what we can do, is then change the way we can affect reality.”
This quote is an interesting one from the speech “The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance” by Shawn Achor. In his speech, he makes the point that instead of looking at happiness as something that can be attained through success, one ought to use happiness and positivity to make one more successful. However, this outlook is fundamentally flawed. At best, Achor is misrepresenting happiness as optimism, and at worst attempting to follow this advice could actually leave one with severe disappointment and a general decrease in happiness overall.
The human brain cannot physically feel what we today consider ‘happiness’ for very long. This is because the brain has ‘hedonic set points’ which establish whether our base mood is positive, negative, or indifferent and will adapt to any situation and return to these set points. A study in 1978 rated the happiness of a control group, lottery winners, and para- and quadriplegics and found no change in the level of happiness experienced by each group. Happiness is simply not a set-in-stone thing, but a fleeting pleasure that is quickly lost and retained again. Yet we as a culture look at happiness as though it was a clear goal which we can achieve, a treasure hidden in some remote cavern that we can keep forever if only we can find it. Achor’s formula also looks at happiness in this way, that it is something we can achieve that will help one be more successful. Furthermore, looking at this tangible happiness as a thing one can keep using Achors’ method, one actually deprives oneself of one of the many ways to attain real, temporary happiness; attaining ones goals.
The entire concept of one’s actions dictating their happiness is actually a fairly recent invention. In ancient times, happiness was considered the same as luck, and was thought to be attainable by only a few. This meant one could not simply ‘attain’ happiness, and in fact, in every European language today, the root of the word for happiness has something to do with luck. In English, for example, the root of the word comes from the Norse and Old English word “hap”, which simply means “luck”. Aristotle and others of his time believed that happiness was synonymous with virtue. This changed in medieval times, when happiness was thought to be completely unattainable on earth under any circumstances, and instead something one would receive in heaven. Our current definition of happiness did not begin to take shape until the Renaissance period, when happiness was thought to equal pleasure. Until this point, the feeling one gets from the perfect present or a delicious food was considered entirely separate from happiness. This is important to note, because with our culture’s modern perspective that everyone can achieve happiness, many are making a conscious effort to reach this goal by following the advice of self-help books, seminars or speakers like Shawn Achor. However, researchers have found that when one tries too hard to be happy, they end up feeling cheated and downtrodden because the attempt actually left them feeling more depressed and anxious than before.
Actively attempting to change one’s life to achieve happiness through a method like the one outlined by Shawn Achors or anyone else’s often makes people unhappy because of the anxiety one feels when they have failed. June Gruber, co-author of one of the many studies confirming this and a member of the psychology department faculty at Yale University, had this to say about happiness; “The best way to increase your happiness is to stop worrying about being happy and instead divert your energy to nurturing the social bonds you have with other people ... If there's one thing you're going to focus on, focus on that. Let all the rest come as it will.”
Bibliography:
Used for studies cited and Jane Gruber quote:
"Reasons NOT to Be Cheerful: Happy People Die Younger than Their Grumpy Peers, Study Finds." Mail Online. N.p., 19 May 2011. Web. 09 Jan. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1388458/Reasons-NOT-cheerful-Happy-people-die-younger-reserved-peers-study-finds.html>.
Used for the section on history of happiness, and for the root of the word happiness:
A History of Happiness." YES! Magazine. N.p., 01 Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Jan. 2013. <http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/a-history-of-happiness>.
Also used for the history of happiness:
Holt, Jim. "Oh, Joy." The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Feb. 2006. Web. 09 Jan. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/books/review/12holt.html?adxnnl=1>.
Used for the 1978 study, as well as the bit on hedonic set points (Most information on page 2 and 3):
Senior, Jennifer. "New York Magazine." Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness --. N.p., 9 July 2006. Web. 09 Jan. 2013. < nymag.com/news/features/17573/>
This quote is an interesting one from the speech “The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance” by Shawn Achor. In his speech, he makes the point that instead of looking at happiness as something that can be attained through success, one ought to use happiness and positivity to make one more successful. However, this outlook is fundamentally flawed. At best, Achor is misrepresenting happiness as optimism, and at worst attempting to follow this advice could actually leave one with severe disappointment and a general decrease in happiness overall.
The human brain cannot physically feel what we today consider ‘happiness’ for very long. This is because the brain has ‘hedonic set points’ which establish whether our base mood is positive, negative, or indifferent and will adapt to any situation and return to these set points. A study in 1978 rated the happiness of a control group, lottery winners, and para- and quadriplegics and found no change in the level of happiness experienced by each group. Happiness is simply not a set-in-stone thing, but a fleeting pleasure that is quickly lost and retained again. Yet we as a culture look at happiness as though it was a clear goal which we can achieve, a treasure hidden in some remote cavern that we can keep forever if only we can find it. Achor’s formula also looks at happiness in this way, that it is something we can achieve that will help one be more successful. Furthermore, looking at this tangible happiness as a thing one can keep using Achors’ method, one actually deprives oneself of one of the many ways to attain real, temporary happiness; attaining ones goals.
The entire concept of one’s actions dictating their happiness is actually a fairly recent invention. In ancient times, happiness was considered the same as luck, and was thought to be attainable by only a few. This meant one could not simply ‘attain’ happiness, and in fact, in every European language today, the root of the word for happiness has something to do with luck. In English, for example, the root of the word comes from the Norse and Old English word “hap”, which simply means “luck”. Aristotle and others of his time believed that happiness was synonymous with virtue. This changed in medieval times, when happiness was thought to be completely unattainable on earth under any circumstances, and instead something one would receive in heaven. Our current definition of happiness did not begin to take shape until the Renaissance period, when happiness was thought to equal pleasure. Until this point, the feeling one gets from the perfect present or a delicious food was considered entirely separate from happiness. This is important to note, because with our culture’s modern perspective that everyone can achieve happiness, many are making a conscious effort to reach this goal by following the advice of self-help books, seminars or speakers like Shawn Achor. However, researchers have found that when one tries too hard to be happy, they end up feeling cheated and downtrodden because the attempt actually left them feeling more depressed and anxious than before.
Actively attempting to change one’s life to achieve happiness through a method like the one outlined by Shawn Achors or anyone else’s often makes people unhappy because of the anxiety one feels when they have failed. June Gruber, co-author of one of the many studies confirming this and a member of the psychology department faculty at Yale University, had this to say about happiness; “The best way to increase your happiness is to stop worrying about being happy and instead divert your energy to nurturing the social bonds you have with other people ... If there's one thing you're going to focus on, focus on that. Let all the rest come as it will.”
Bibliography:
Used for studies cited and Jane Gruber quote:
"Reasons NOT to Be Cheerful: Happy People Die Younger than Their Grumpy Peers, Study Finds." Mail Online. N.p., 19 May 2011. Web. 09 Jan. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1388458/Reasons-NOT-cheerful-Happy-people-die-younger-reserved-peers-study-finds.html>.
Used for the section on history of happiness, and for the root of the word happiness:
A History of Happiness." YES! Magazine. N.p., 01 Oct. 2010. Web. 09 Jan. 2013. <http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/a-history-of-happiness>.
Also used for the history of happiness:
Holt, Jim. "Oh, Joy." The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Feb. 2006. Web. 09 Jan. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/books/review/12holt.html?adxnnl=1>.
Used for the 1978 study, as well as the bit on hedonic set points (Most information on page 2 and 3):
Senior, Jennifer. "New York Magazine." Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness --. N.p., 9 July 2006. Web. 09 Jan. 2013. < nymag.com/news/features/17573/>