01 the how of happiness

A lecture by Melih Arat – melarat.blogspot.com



Evolution

• 1. Humans have inherited a capacity to habituate to life’s circumstances.2. Humans have also inherited the tendency to notice trouble, so that we take positive things for granted, but focus on the more troublesome aspects of life.3. Humans seem to have an inner voice of dissatisfaction that prompts them to strive for more.


Research Findings about Genetics• a. Identical twins are very similar in their happiness scores; it does not matter if they

have been brought up together or reared apart.

b.Fraternal twins do not show the same pattern at all. This is because fraternal twins do not resemble each other any more than other siblings.

c.Each individual has a genetically influenced set-point for his or her general feeling of happiness, and that 50 percent of the differences in people’s happiness levels are genetically determined.

d.10 percent of the variance in happiness levels can be explained by situational factors. (rich/poor, healthy/unhealthy, married/single).

e.40 percent seems to be within people’s own control.


Typical characteristics of happy people

• They devote a lot of time to family and friends.• They can easily express gratitude for what they have.• They are often the first to offer a helping hand to

people who need it.• They have an optimistic outlook on the future.• They enjoy the pressures of like and live in the present.• They spend time doing physical exercise.• They are committed to lifelong goals and ambitions.• They cope well in times of crisis.


Set Point


Circumstances

• Perhaps the most counterintuitive finding is that as the chart shows, onlyabout 10 percent of the variance in our happiness levels is explained by differences in Life circumstances or situations-that is, whether we are rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, beautiful or plain, married or divorced, etc. 10


Happiness and Possesion

• A wellknown study demonstrated that the richest Americans, those earning more than ten million dollars annually, report levels of personal happiness only slightly greater than the office staff and blue-collar workers they employ.


Intention


Behavior Pattern of Happiest People

• They devote a great amount of time to their family and friends, nurturing and enjoying those relationships.

• They are comfortable expressing gratitude for all they have.

• They are often the first to offer helping hands to coworkers and passersby.


• They practice optimism when imagining their futures.• life 's pleasures and try to live in the present moment.• They savor physical exercise a weekly and even dally habit.• They are deeply committed to lifelong goals and ambItIons

(e.g.,fighting fraud, building cabinets or teaching theIr children their deeply held values). .

• Last but not least, the happiest people do have theIr share of stresses, crises, and even tragedies. They may become just as distressed and emotional in such circumstances as you or I, but their sec ret weapon is the poise and strength they show in coping in the ice of challenge.


• The king of Bhutan, the last Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas, nestled between India and China, decided that the best way to foster economic development would be to boost hisnation's gross domestic happiness- that is, to focus on the CDH rather than on the GDP


• One study has shown that those who were happy as college freshmen had higher salaries sixteen years later (when they were in their mid-thirties) without an initial wealth advantage.


Definition: Happiness

• I use the term happiness to refer to the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one's life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.

• Academic researchers prefer the term subjective well-being (or simply wellbeing)



Happiness Mthys

• Happiness must be found– I can’t wait to grow up and be happy

• Happiness lies in changing our circumstances– I would be happy, if ….. Or when….

• You either have it or you don’t– Happiness is a controlable factor.


• God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

• the courage to change the things I can, and • the wisdom to know the difference.“• German philosopher Reinhold Niebuhr



• Happy families are all alike; unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

• Leo Tolstoy / Anna Karenina


• 1. Expressing gratitude: Counting your blessings for what you have (either to a close other or privately, through contemplation or a journal) or conveying your gratitude and appreciation to one or more individuals whom you've never properly thanked.


• 2. Cultivating optimism: Keeping a journal in which you imagine and write about the best possible future for yourself or practicing to look at the bright side of every situation.


• 3. Avoiding overthinking and social comparison: Using strategies (such as

• distraction) to cut down on how often you dwell on your problems Jnd

• compare yourself with others.


• 4. Practicing acts of kindness: Doing good things for others, whether friends or strangers, either directly or anonymously, either spontaneously or planned.


• 5. Nurturing relationships: Picking a relationship in need of strengthening, and investing time and energy in healing, cultivating, affirming, and enjoying it.


• 6. Developing strategies for coping: Practicing ways to endure or surmount a recent stress, hardship, or trauma.


• 7. Learning to forgive: Keeping a journal or writing a letter in which you work on letting go of anger and resentment toward one or more individuals who have hurt or wronged you.


• 8. Doing more activities that truly engage you: Increasing the number of experiences at home and work in which you "lose" yourself, which are challenging and absorbing (i.e., flow experiences).


• 9. Savoring life's joys: Paying close attention, taking delight, and replaying life's momentary pleasures and wonders, through thinking, writing, drawing, or sharing with another.


• 10. Committing to your goals: Picking one, two, or three significant goals that are meaningful to you and devoting time and effort to pursuing them.


• 11. Practicing religion and spirituality: Becoming more involved in your church, temple, or mosque or reading and pondering spiritually themed books.


• 12. Taking care of your body: Engaging in physical activity, meditating, and smiling and laughing.

Spiritual

01 the how of happiness