Invest in your happiness

After centuries of searching for the elusive notion of happiness, the world has finally concluded that not only is it important, it’s also not quite what it seems.

When was the last time you uttered the words ‘If I died now, I’d die happy’? What set of circumstances, people or things created a moment where you felt happy? And was it happiness or contentment? Was there excitement involved, or peace? In trying to pin down what happiness actually is, science has deduced that it’s subjective. Contrary to what Hollywood might want you to believe, there’s no mean score for happiness that the human race needs to strive toward.

Did you know?

Dutch children are deemed the happiest in the world. The reason is that Dutch society is set up to fully support children and its common for moms to leave their jobs to concentrate on the very important aspects of bringing up their children.

It’s human condition

The World Happiness Report was produced by the United Nations in conjunction with the Earth Institute and took the results of various studies conducted all over the world that asked questions like, ‘all things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole currently (where 0 = extremely dissatisfied and 10 = extremely satisfied)’.

The report breaks down happiness levels by outlining internal (mental and physical health, education, age, family experience and gender) and external factors (community and governance, values and religion, work and income).

Mental and psychical health are important factors in your levels of life satisfaction – there’s a knock-on effect of illness in that long-term or chronic diseases impact your ability to get or hold down a good job, as well as your social abilities, all of which are happiness factors in their own right. But, humans are adaptable, so it’s found a recently disabled person is less happy than someone who’s been disabled for a period of say three years and has learned to live with it.

Education is important in that it allows greater freedom in choosing to live a better life, and better opportunities for securing a good and sustainable job. In some countries, upping the minimum school-leaving age has increased the nation’s overall happiness levels.

Age Your happiness levels fluctuate with your age, and are at their lowest between ages 40-50. After this they rise again until you’re around 80, when other factors may intrude on your quality of life – like poor health.

Gender: Women are happier than men even though they tend to experience more mental illness and psychological distress. This is only true, however, in countries where gender rights are more equal.

Marriage and family: In general, married couples are happier than those who aren’t married or are single. They’re also usually physically healthier and live longer. But, a troubled marriage is a sure-fire way to reduce your happiness and the study found that people who divorce experience greater life satisfaction around three years after their divorce than they had three years prior to the divorce. As for children, there’s not a huge difference between childless couples and those who have children – although the age of your children does affect your happiness levels. Children under the age of three and those going through adolescence are more likely to make their parents unhappier.

Community & governance: Freedom to do what you want within your community is a major happiness factor, as is the level of trust you feel towards not only those close to you, but also your government, people within your community and even strangers. The amount of social capital you have (investment in social interactions) directly correlates to your feeling of happiness. Green spaces in your immediate environment are also a factor – in fact, research indicates that green spaces in hospitals offer faster healing rates and greater feelings of well-being in patients, while schools and universities with green spaces afford students better performance levels.

Religion and values: Altruism is seen to create happiness in both the giver and the receiver, but the World Happiness Report states that happiness is contagious, so it’s not clear if altruism creates happiness or if happiness creates altruism. Being part of a religious group tends to give people more access to a supportive group of friends, a greater feeling of being respected and the belief that life has meaning.

Work and income: A poorly paid job is better than no job at all. This isn’t only because there is an income and a feeling of achievement; it also instils a certain amount of discipline and structure and shared experiences with people outside the family group. Income’s impact on your happiness is relative – it’s not an amount per se, but it’s how well it compares with those people you compare yourself to. So, if you compare yourself to a multi-millionaire and yet only earn a minimum wage, you’re likely to be dissatisfied with your income. But, if you compare yourself to people within your community who have the same or less income than you, your level of satisfaction will increase. Once again it’s all relative – a person earning R2,000 a month will enjoy a greater surge in happiness if they receive a R1,000 bonus than a person who normally earns R10,000 a month.

Did you know?

Although it’s universally felt that greater income brings greater happiness, there does need to be a balance. For example, in the US, living standards have increased substantially over the past 50 or so years, whereas overall happiness levels haven’t. Greater income and increased standards of living bring other problems – an increased need for physical security and an increased risk of contracting some sort of lifestyle disease like obesity, diabetes or heart disease.

Did you know?

Harvard psychologist and author Dan Gilbert writes about our psychological immune system – in that humans are able to produce what he calls synthetic happiness. Quite simplistically, his studies and other’s he discusses in his work conclude that humans are able to make the very best out of any situation. The psychological immune system seems to work best when people are stuck, Gilbert says. When we have no choice in the matter – for example, if you’re dating someone who has an irritating habit, you may just break up with them. However, if you’re married to them, you’re more likely to list their positive characteristics to counteract the irritating one. He says that freedom in choice can lead to natural happiness – ostensibly because you’re able to choose a path that you perceive to offer greater happiness. But, sometimes freedom of choice leads to dissatisfaction and not happiness – because you are never quite able to let go of the nagging feeling you may have been happier with the other decision. There may be something to synthetic happiness after all.

Happily ever after

The basic tenet then, to live a happy life, is to firstly look after your mental and physical health and your relationships. Get involved with your community as much as possible and find a good balance between work and play. Strive towards regularly learning more about your field of interest and learn to be grateful for what you have rather than comparing yourself to those who have more. Spend time outdoors and create green spaces in your environment. Learn to love your country, the people you are surrounded by and the work you do. Find the positive aspects of all those things and you’ll find your level of overall happiness increases.

Tip

A research survey showed that people who invest in experiences rather than material thinks were happier. So, instead of saving up for that couch, rather save up for a holiday – the memories will last far longer than a piece of furniture and the benefits on your health and wellness are almost immeasurable.

Dreams come true

You’d think that if everything you wanted and dreamed about came to fruition, you’d achieve happiness. But, a study on people’s level of happiness one year after winning the lottery and one year after becoming disabled baffled researchers – there was no difference in their perceived levels of life satisfaction. How can that be?

Becoming disabled is no small thing and most people shudder at the thought of it happening to them – the loss of freedom of movement, deep trauma and a complete change of life. It’s a horror story. Whereas winning the lottery brings about visions of becoming debt-free perhaps, or that trip of a lifetime around the world. It may be because happiness is subjective and in going through the journey of life offers an opportunity to learn more about yourself. One school of thought is if you become disabled, you learn where your strengths lie and how much love you have. On the other side of the vision, winning the lottery may highlight your weaknesses and also a feeling of insecurity about whether people truly do love you, or just your newly inflated bank account.

Looking at how you feel and what you learn from certain circumstances goes a long way to explaining the subjective nature of happiness. One thing is clear, having a strong sense of purpose and circumstances that activate the sense of survival produces longer living, happier people.

Reset

We need to learn how to allow happiness back into our lives again.

We can’t let ourselves get caught up in the worries of everyday life. It’s important to take time for ourselves and indulge in activities that make us happy! We have to make time for sleep. A good night’s rest is important to feeling refreshed and energized the next day. It’s even more important if we’re going to keep up with our work-life. If we don’t take care of ourselves, then we can’t help others as much as they need us!

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Statistics among Trust Fund children where there is no need to work or produce anything show unusually high levels of addiction, suicide, depression and unhappiness.