Comments on: With So Many Unhappy People Around, It’s a Very Apt Time to Think Anew about What Happiness Is and How to Make it Happen. (Even Though All the “Be Happy!” Talk and Techniques Aren’t Always Enough) http://www.brainmeup.com/blog/2009/09/how_to_be_happy/ ... a (mostly) good natured critique of World Handling Skills & Tools Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:24:25 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Bruce Rosove http://www.brainmeup.com/blog/2009/09/how_to_be_happy/comment-page-1/#comment-168 Bruce Rosove Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:36:55 +0000 http://www.brainmeup.com/blog/?p=1576#comment-168 Hello Dudley, I enjoyed your piece on happiness. It provided some perspective I had not perceived previously. However, I was surprised that you did not speak about the work of Martin Seligman who is the father of Positive Psychology and who has done a lot to determine what makes people happy. He suggests that there are three routes to happiness: Pleasure: Which is not lasting Engagement: Becoming engrossed in activities in which one is skilled and has "strength". And' Meaningful Life: Using one or more strengths to work towards outcomes that are for the greater good. He suggests that the last two can provide ongoing happiness. Pleasure is for the moment only although pleasureable activities can add to the enjoyment of an engaged or meaningful life. Another author Sonja Lyubomirsky and others have written that our life circumstances contribute at most 10% to our happiness. She says 50% of our happiness is determined by our genes and the other 40% is determined by our intentional activities. Back to engagement and meaningful life. So the key to happiness is finding activities or projects that either engage us or provide meaning to out lives. In that sense, happiness is a byproduct of life's activities. One truly can not find happiness without effort. And activities taken on just to achieve happiness likely will not provide any lasting pleasure. Activities done to truly use one's gifts or, better still, to use one gifts to create a better world are the only route to happiness. Let me close by suggesting that we in North America have come to believe that the route to happiness is through material wealth. This has led us to overconsume to the point where our very Biosphere is threatened. If we can learn that once we have enough to eat shelter and security, our happiness will not increase with more stuff. Perhaps we can let go of the urge to consume ever more. If we stop soon enough, perhaps we can keep from destroying the very planet we depend on for our sustenance. Have a look at my Blog http://ThisMakesMeHappy.wordpress.com/ Keep well! I enjoy your writing! Bruce Rosove _____________________________ <em>Hi, Bruce, few things bring me more happiness than being able to provide people with some perspective they had not perceived previously. I'll keep working at it. Might be able to do it for you again. Thanks for writing! Dudley</em> Hello Dudley,

I enjoyed your piece on happiness. It provided some perspective I had not perceived previously. However, I was surprised that you did not speak about the work of Martin Seligman who is the father of Positive Psychology and who has done a lot to determine what makes people happy. He suggests that there are three routes to happiness:

Pleasure: Which is not lasting
Engagement: Becoming engrossed in activities in which one is skilled and has “strength”. And’
Meaningful Life: Using one or more strengths to work towards outcomes that are for the greater good.

He suggests that the last two can provide ongoing happiness. Pleasure is for the moment only although pleasureable activities can add to the enjoyment of an engaged or meaningful life.

Another author Sonja Lyubomirsky and others have written that our life circumstances contribute at most 10% to our happiness. She says 50% of our happiness is determined by our genes and the other 40% is determined by our intentional activities. Back to engagement and meaningful life.

So the key to happiness is finding activities or projects that either engage us or provide meaning to out lives.

In that sense, happiness is a byproduct of life’s activities. One truly can not find happiness without effort. And activities taken on just to achieve happiness likely will not provide any lasting pleasure. Activities done to truly use one’s gifts or, better still, to use one gifts to create a better world are the only route to happiness.

Let me close by suggesting that we in North America have come to believe that the route to happiness is through material wealth. This has led us to overconsume to the point where our very Biosphere is threatened.

If we can learn that once we have enough to eat shelter and security, our happiness will not increase with more stuff. Perhaps we can let go of the urge to consume ever more. If we stop soon enough, perhaps we can keep from destroying the very planet we depend on for our sustenance. Have a look at my Blog
http://ThisMakesMeHappy.wordpress.com/

Keep well! I enjoy your writing!

Bruce Rosove

_____________________________

Hi, Bruce,

few things bring me more happiness than being able to provide people with some perspective they had not perceived previously. I’ll keep working at it. Might be able to do it for you again. Thanks for writing!

Dudley

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