Comments on: Sustainable Happiness: Why It’s All About the Day-to-Day

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:52:21 +0000

Interestingly enough I have been studying different kinds of theology and spirituality on this important matter of happyness.. its maybe the most important issue facing humans today. If you think about it logically, our actions stem from our state of being and our actions create the results we see in the world. From where Im standing, the majority of the world is not happy.. even in its fleeting moments of happyness: when a baby is born, or marriage or whatever the conditions might be I would not say this is the lasting kind that could effect our world ( if indeed this kind of happyness exists )
Would truly happy people be able to supress the freedoms of an entire nation and enslave them? would happyness cause us to fight over what resources we have and completely disregard the planet we live on, would happyness allow torture and greed? of course not. its not just happyness but other emotions we seem incapable of.. like love for another outwith our current family.. actual love. compassion, contentment.. these are all emotions completely devoid from the human experience as at the moment we generally couldnt give a darn.. or if we do, we feel to impotent to do anything about it. The basic nature of mankind is killing mankind.. think about that.. If the world we see is backwards somehow, then when you think about it our internal emotions and states must be backwords also.. I dont feel happy untill x,y,z occurs. what if there was another perception that allowed us to flip that on its head.. then you would have ' I dont give a darn about x,y,z as I feel extremely content and happy '
have you ever heard of a human with these qualities.. only in myths and fables.. Jesus and Bhudda and other supposed masters, but for me this is mankinds biggest challenge, It all starts inside of us.. everything.. if hope exists then maybe real happyness exists also.. I have only experienced fleeting moments of this 'real happyness' in chemically induced nights of which I experimented and the resultant sense of overflowing empathy, love and contentment for my fellow humans was a small glimpse I believe of the slumbering potential of our brains and our being.. What if everything we have ever known was a great lie.. a trick of the mind.. God's great sleight of hand, nothing was quite as it seemed. Because the truth is, we are either Random decaying matter, capable of suffering and death, individuated and self serving to the exlusion of others.. capable of such horrendous acts of brutality to one another.. or if we are not really that then we are its opposite, Infinite, completely content, suffers nothing, At one with everything and slefless.. existing to ease the burdon and not to add to it.

food for thought or just theological ramblings? who knows

By: TimothyTang

TimothyTang — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:03:00 +0000

Tips For Sustainable Happiness By Timothy Tang

Happiness is something we all need. It comes from the positive perception of the flow/freedom we possess in life, as well as from the control we have in its creation.

The positive perception crucial to feeling happy is found in gratitude.

Perception of Happiness-
The perception of Happiness comes from the ability to recognize where we can find flow/freedom/control in our lives. Beautiful things contain the qualities of flow/freedom/control. We can train the mind to perceive the free-flowing and controlled qualities of color and matter in beautiful Art. Acknowledgment in these qualities maintains a healthy circulation in positivity.

Finding control and creating Happiness-
Having a firm understanding of the nature of our reality through education and spiritual enlightenment would give us the knowledge to manipulate matter/energy to work successfully for our positive desires in life. Utilize the motivational energy from emotions in being constructive instead of destructive. Knowing what we truly need will keep us focused and motivated in our time and energies instead of being wasteful.

Finding Happiness during S.O.S. times-
In order to maintain a healthy level of Happiness even in unhappy times, we can keep happy memories in a 'Happiness Bank'. The happy memories can be retrieved to trigger the feelings of happiness whenever we feel down. Our favorite hobbies can keep our positivity flowing in a healthy level even in dire times. There is no rule that prohibits the mixing of unpleasant experiences with positive ones.

By Timothy Tang
Author of the book,
Real Answers to The Meaning of Life and Finding Happiness
http://ultimatemeaningoflife.blogspot.com

By: srid

srid — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 03:17:00 +0000

Srid, there's quite a few definitions of happiness but the one I prefer (along with some other psychologists) is that it is your 'typical mood'.

Alright. That's not what I was wondering though.. which is how are affective feelings related to your state of happiness. For example, is compassion considered a happy state (typical mood)?

Secondly, by '50% [of happiness levels] can be considered immovable', do you mean if you are put in a state (eg: frustration with your roommate), then 50% of the time you have no way to get back to feeling good?

By: John in Cincinnati

John in Cincinnati — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:26:00 +0000

Susie and all,

I was on a phone conference with Lyubomirsky a few weeks ago. I think the pie chart was probably more a nod to her publisher's wishes for a book geared for public consumption.

She explained conversationally the conclusion that about half of our "happiness set point" was genetic was a comparison of MZ and DZ twins. There was high correlation in "happiness" scores between MZ twins and no such relationship in DZ twins.

By: Jeremy (PsyBlog author)

Jeremy (PsyBlog author) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:42:00 +0000

Susie, here are the references that Lyubomirsky uses: Happiness is a Stochastic Phenomenon, Personality Similarity in Twins Reared Apart and Together.

By: Susie Munt

Susie Munt — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:02:00 +0000

Where can I find out about the gene research that suggests that 50% of our happiness is uncontrollable?

I'm wondering if this research could be questioned.

By: John in Cincinnati

John in Cincinnati — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 19:02:00 +0000

I love her work. There's a book out now, too,The How of Happiness (Lyubomirsky, 2007) Had I only seen the book cover, I would have assumed it was only the latest fad du jour of pop psych. Fortunately I had previously read some of her work, very sound.

I have some concern the public and well-intentioned but ill-informed clinicians may use the material as "treatment" for depression, despite the book's explicit statement, "that's not what this book promises" (p. 285).

The technique of recalling a happy memory (Lyubomirsky, Sousa, & Dickerhoof, 2006) may make matters worse for those clinically depressed (Joorman, Siemer, & Gotlib, 2007).

That said, I'm glad to see this positive information being discuss.

References

Joormann, J., Siemer, M., & Gotlib, I. (2007). Mood regulation in depression: Differential effects of distraction and recall of happy memories on sad mood. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116(3), 484-490.

Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The how of happiness. New York: Penguin.

Lyubomirsky, S., Sousa, L, & Dickerhoof, R. (2006). The costs and benefits of writing, talking, and thinking about life’s triumphs and defeats. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(4), 692–708.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:53:00 +0000

Success is getting what you want, Happiness is wanting what you've got!

By: Ernie

Ernie — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:06:00 +0000

Though I enjoyed very much the post, I wonder about what if our needs and personality go in the opposite way that novelty does. As will says, most people find enjoyable routine.

By: Viral Happiness

Viral Happiness — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:39:00 +0000

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