psychology of happiness

[obgyn65]

Hello everyone -

I have read a few posts on this website about correlating money and happiness. You may find the article attached interesting :

The Psychology of Happiness: 13 Steps to a Better Life

Take care,

 

[MasterBlaster]

This was kind of a "Your Money or Your Life" kind of article. And it's true that beyond some level (perhaps $75k) that general happiness is relatively constant. Lots of good advice there - Don't make yourself miserable chasing money.

Newer research I have seen breaks happiness into two separate parts. The first being general happiness which stays about the same as long as you are not struggling with poverty. That's consistent with the article. However the other part, perhaps called life satisfaction, does indeed go up moderately with income.

 

[Gumby]

An interesting article. Thanks.

I have found that I am just about as happy as I decide to be. I cannot always control my circumstances, but I can control how I respond to those circumstances. I choose happy and cheerful.

I have discovered that if you are cheerful and upbeat, even if you don't feel particularly happy at the moment, there is a positive feedback effect. Eventually, you will become happy. Cheerfulness can also lift the mood of those you are with, who can then in turn help lift your mood.

At least that's how I see it.

 

[Khan]

I found that nothing made me happier than retiring.

 

[W2R]

I have discovered that if you are cheerful and upbeat, even if you don't feel particularly happy at the moment, there is a positive feedback effect. Eventually, you will become happy.

That is what my late mother used to tell me when I was a little girl. If I was unhappy, she would tell me to try to smile and act like I was happy and that if I did, chances were good that I would soon be happy. It did seem to work sometimes.

I found that nothing made me happier than retiring.

+1 I am completely blown away by how happy I have become due to being retired. It is almost embarrassing to think that all these years, my state of mind was based on something as simple and lacking in complexity, as just having time to do as I please.

 

[Helen]

I really liked this article. Something that I often think about is that money can be a means to an end. Money can equal freedom.

"If the United States is generally wealthier than it was thirty or forty years ago, then why aren’t people happier? Economist Richard Easterlin of the University of Southern California believes that part of the problem is the hedonic treadmill: once we reach a certain level of wealth, we want more."


Or, it could be that once we reach a certain level of wealth we have freedom.

 

[Orchidflower]

That is what my late mother used to tell me when I was a little girl. If I was unhappy, she would tell me to try to smile and act like I was happy and that if I did, chances were good that I would soon be happy. It did seem to work sometimes.


I think Dale Carnegie teaches some hokey phrase like "act enthusiastic and you'll be enthusiastic." I've laughed at it alot but the darn thing works. I think W2R's mom was just an early follower of the Carnegie method maybe.

 

[W2R]

That is what my late mother used to tell me when I was a little girl. If I was unhappy, she would tell me to try to smile and act like I was happy and that if I did, chances were good that I would soon be happy. It did seem to work sometimes.

I think Dale Carnegie teaches some hokey phrase like "act enthusiastic and you'll be enthusiastic." I've laughed at it alot but the darn thing works. I think W2R's mom was just an early follower of the Carnegie method maybe.

She used to read Dale Carnegie all the time! I guess that must be where she got it.

 

[obgyn65]

Please could you kindly provide references to the research you mention ? Thank you MasterBlaster

Newer research I have seen breaks happiness into two separate parts. The first being general happiness which stays about the same as long as you are not struggling with poverty. That's consistent with the article. However the other part, perhaps called life satisfaction, does indeed go up moderately with income.

 

[obgyn65]

Hello Helen - Evolutionary psychology shows that natural selection helped our hunter-gatherer ancestors solve adaptive problems - and reaction to "fear", "aggression", or "predator avoidance" for example have been key to these natural selection processes. Unfortunately, "happiness" has not been shown to be a key component to natural selection - happiness did not help our ancestors (whom we carry the genetic inheritance) exploit mating opportunities or circumvent reproductive obstacles.

"If the United States is generally wealthier than it was thirty or forty years ago, then why aren’t people happier? Economist Richard Easterlin of the University of Southern California believes that part of the problem is the hedonic treadmill: once we reach a certain level of wealth, we want more."


Or, it could be that once we reach a certain level of wealth we have freedom.

 

[obgyn65]

+1 Gumby - thank you

I cannot always control my circumstances, but I can control how I respond to those circumstances.

 

[obgyn65]

Hello W2R - this is what I suspected all along in my case. And this is why I am considering retiring in my 40s, but not everyone around me will approve such a drastic change.

I am completely blown away by how happy I have become due to being retired.

 

[obgyn65]

Good point Orchidflower. I would add another hokey phrase like "Be thankful for the things you have, and you will appreciate them more."

That is what my late mother used to tell me when I was a little girl. If I was unhappy, she would tell me to try to smile and act like I was happy and that if I did, chances were good that I would soon be happy. It did seem to work sometimes.


I think Dale Carnegie teaches some hokey phrase like "act enthusiastic and you'll be enthusiastic." I've laughed at it alot but the darn thing works. I think W2R's mom was just an early follower of the Carnegie method maybe.

 

[Dawg52]

I'm happier now that my portfolio has recovered.

 

[Moemg]

I'm happier now that my portfolio has recovered.

Me too !

 

[MasterBlaster]

Please could you kindly provide references to the research you mention ? Thank you MasterBlaster

Obgyn65:

I was referring to an Ed Diener study (University of Illinois). I can't remember where I first read about the results. If you Google "Ed Diener" you'll get a treasure trove of links to Ed Diener studies on happiness.

But here is one newspaper's discussion of the finding's:

Money can buy one form of happiness, massive global study concludes

Evidently Ed Diener has spent a lifetime analyzing happiness and it's causes.