Happiness

The Pursuit of Happiness

A new branch of psychology, Positivity, is part of the latest search for happiness. I have encountered a few people who feel being told they must be positive all the time adds to their stress and therefore they feel less happiness. The percent of Americans who say they are happy is below 35%. And it doesn’t go up with income or living conditions. Most who say they’re happy mention the quality of gratitude being present in their lives and also being involved in helping others. For this reason, more women are happy then men. Women seem to be more interested in the subject of gratitude, and make up a huge proportion of those who volunteer, help in community projects and take an active role with children. This doesn’t mean men don’t, but when they do, they are honored greatly because they are such a minority. Most men volunteer in their business or fraternal organizations where networking has a concrete result. Happiness has NO relationship to seeking or achieving prosperity. Doing one’s work with gratitude, appreciating the relationships in your life, actually doing work you love are all meaningful in happiness. And it doesn’t cost any money! Reaching a place of stability in your income will help you be more content, and that is a part of happiness. But most research says the more “stuff” we have has no relationship to happiness. Looks like some good advice would be to go with the flow and not “pursue” happiness, but let it flow through relationships and work. So, don’t worry—be happy. I’ve heard that somewhere before, haven’t you?