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December 2008
Happy New Year
Traditions
November 2008
Bah Humbug
Holiday Blues
October 2008
Girlfriend!
Women's Friendships
September 2008
Psychosocial Development
& the
Bucket List
(Responses)
August 2008
Gifted Children
July 2008
Road Rage
June 2008
Depression
May 2008
Phobias
Nature-Nurture
April 2008
Change!
Careers in
Psychology
March 2008
Forgiveness
Stress
February 2008
Psychology:
What and When
Critiquing
Referenced
Websites
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January
2009
~ To Your Psychological Health &
Wellness ! |
Choose
Happiness!
Does your
attitude really determine your happiness
?
Happiness: We rarely feel it.
I would buy it, beg it, steal it,
Pay in coins of dripping blood
For this one transcendent good.
Amy Lowell
Are the old adages true?
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~
Happiness depends upon
ourselves
(Aristotle).
~ The greatest part of our
happiness depends on our
dispositions, not our
circumstances
(Martha Washington).
~ Most folks are about as
happy as they make up their
minds to be.
(Abraham Lincoln).
~ Happiness is an inside job
(William Arthur Ward). |
Thoughts
on happiness vary from
generation to generation and
from culture to culture; and
range from simply "good
fortune and posterity"
to "freedom from
suffering." However,
generally, most seem to
believe that happiness is,
among other things…
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"a condition of supreme
well-being and good spirits."
...and though most of us
seek this elusive condition
in external possessions,
many believe that happiness
simply comes from within.
Three
recent websites offer
interesting fodder for
thought on the topic:
The first by Jay Dixit a
Senior Editor at Psychology
Today, speaks at length on
the relationship between our
control over happiness and
living in the moment. His
excellent article, The
Art of Now: Six Steps to
Living in the Moment, is
summarized in the sidebar.
The second article, On
the Path to Finding
Happiness, is on the
Mayo clinic site and, is
written by Dr. Edward
Creagan. In this article Dr.
Creagan reviews a
study that focuses on
identical twins separated at
birth; utilizing a natural
experimental methodology
that is the dream of
nature vs. nurture
contenders. The results of
the study reveal that:
~ About 50 percent
of our happiness is
genetically
determined. We have
a "happiness set
point" from 0 to 10
which is driven by
our DNA, our genetic
endowment from our
parents. Whether we
win or lose the
lottery, whether we
get married or
divorced, whether we
have fame and
fortune, or
embarrassment and
ridicule, we will
eventually return to
that set point.
~ About 40 percent
of our happiness is
directly determined
by how we relate to
setbacks. It
is not the setbacks
that kill us; it is
how we relate to
them.
~ Only 10 percent of
our happiness
according to this
particular study is
directly related to
the environment.
Whether we drove a
$100,000 car or a
$350 car, whether we
lived in a condo off
of Central Park in
New York City or in
a shack in an urban
ghetto, or whether
we made a lot of
money or little
money, these
environmental
factors had
virtually nothing to
do with our
happiness.
Dr.
Creagan concludes, "Our
attitude determines our
happiness, and where we live
and what we do contribute
very little to our
happiness."
The third
article, a
US News and World Report
article entitled Want to
Be Happier? Here's How,
examines a new book,
"The How of Happiness: A
Scientific Approach to
Getting the Life you Want,"
by University of California
Psychology Professor Dr.
Sonja Lyubomirsky.
In response to the US News
interview question,
"Are people predisposed to
unhappiness doomed to stay
that way?" Dr.
Lyubomirsky
replies.... |
The Art of Now: Six Steps to
Living in the Moment
1
Unselfconsciousness
To improve your performance,
stop thinking about it.
(Dance as if no one is
watching.)
2 Savoring
To avoid worrying about the
future, focus on the
present. (When
subjects in a study took a
few minutes each day to
actively savor something
they usually hurried
through—eating a meal,
drinking a cup of tea,
walking to the bus—they
began experiencing more joy,
happiness, and other
positive emotions, and fewer
depressive symptoms.)
3 Breathe
If you want a future with your significant other, inhabit the present.
(Focus and respond genuinely
to them in the moment)
4 Flow
To make the most of time,
lose track of it.
(Flow occurs when you're so
engrossed in a task that you
lose track of everything
else around you.)
5 Acceptance.
If something is bothering
you, move toward it rather
than away from it. (Don't
run from the problem.)
6 Engagement
Know that you don't know and
try it anyway. (Once
you recognize that you don't
know the things you've
always taken for granted,
you set out of the house
quite differently and
noticing new things puts you
emphatically in the here and
now.)
Just say to yourself,
“Now. Now. Now.”
Psychology Today:
The Art of Now:
Six Steps to Living in the Moment |
|
Hardly. The
remaining portion of
our happiness—40
percent—is within
our control. And we
do so by changing
how we think and
behave. It's like
weight. My "set
point" for weight is
higher than I'd
like, but I exercise
and eat well daily
to ensure I stay
below that level. I
know that if I
slacked off,
however, my weight
would surge back up.
The same is true for
happiness. We can
boost our happiness
above our preset
level, but keeping
it there requires
consistent effort.
Ideally, that effort
will become habit,
and as with
exercise, it will
become less of a
chore with time.
Those prone to
unhappiness aren't
doomed; they'll just
have to try harder
to counteract the
forces working
against them.
She notes that things
like gratitude, forgiveness,
relationships, savoring the
present moment, and
meditation can increase
happiness. The online
article also includes
her Subjective Happiness
Scale that tells you how
happy you are and her
Person-Activity Fit
Diagnostic that identifies
happiness-building
activities that suit you
best. (I completed both
inventories and both were
fun but not overly
insightful.)
The combination of the
three articles leaves us
with the thought that 50% of
our access to happiness is
determined by genetic
programming. Yet we can
expect to greatly influence,
increase, or control at
least 40% of the remaining
determining factors of our
happiness by choosing
such activities as
gratitude, forgiveness and,
meditation; and by living
in the moment. Even future goals, should
be approached with an aim
for flow and acceptance and
as Dixit says…a focus on
Now, Now, Now.
Interestingly enough
these works and a review of
the current literature on
the subject, indicates that
the things we deeply long
for and believe would truly
increase our happiness (i.e.
all of those on the most
popular new year’s
resolutions lists) new
job, lose weight, more
money, once past the poverty
level, and clinical
depression withstanding… are
discussed as only
contributing 10% to our
happiness. This is not to
say that we should not
continue to strive for a
better life and for the
things we desire but it is
to say that the relationship
between acquiring things
and happiness is minimal, if
at all.
So have a Happy New Year!
After all. It’s
yours for the
choosing.
…and as always,
Good Psychology to You
Dr. B |
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Additional Links
What's good
on Google
Important: These are links that I think
are helpful. As with all online
information, use prudence and your
personal
good judgment.
For
Guidelines click
Critiquing Websites.
Note: Please type the title of the article
into your search engine and after visiting a site, use the back arrow <=
on your browser to return to this page. |
Psychology Today: Workwise: Take This Job and
Love It
Being an adult means that you usually have to
work a bit at loving your job. ... Take This Job
and Love It. Relationship Rules. Workwise:
Becoming Your Own Brand
www.psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20081113-
000005.html
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Want to Be Happier? Here's How - US News and
World Report
Jan 18, 2008 ... About 50 percent of the answer
lies in genetics. We're born with a genetically
determined happiness "set point," meaning that
even though our ... The remaining portion of our
happiness—40 percent—is within our control. ...
health.usnews.com/articles/health/2008/01/18/want-to-be-happier-heres-how.html
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Take this Job and Love it!
Girl Friends In God ... Take this Job and Love
it! Mary Southerland. Today's Truth ... In other words, take the job God has given you...and love
it. Let's pray ...
www.girlfriendsingod.com/Default.aspx?tabid=298
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Psychology Today: The Art of Now: Six Steps to
Living in the Moment
The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in the
Moment. Relationship Rules. Love Is Not All You
Need ... The Art of Now: Six Steps to Living in
the Moment. In Your…
www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=20081027-000001&page=1
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Psychology
Today: Happy Days
What can America learn from the positive
psychology movement? Happy days are
here again, as American psychology
shifts its focus from what is wrong with
...
www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20000501-000015.htm
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Positive Psychology Chapter
Jun 26, 1998 ... The notion of a Positive
Psychology movement began at a moment in time a
few months after I had been elected President of
the American ...
www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/ppsnyderchapter
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Why
do some people enjoy life and others don't?
Nov 19, 2003 ... The positive psychology
movement was born in 1998 when Martin Seligman,
... Positive psychologists believe optimism can
be learned, ...
www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/nov/19
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On the path to finding
happiness - MayoClinic.com
Jul 18, 2008 ... The elusive dream of
happiness
is determined by our
attitude more than anything.
www.mayoclinic.com/health/happiness/MY00158
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Wellness
APA
Help Center
APA's Help Center is
your online resource for brochures,
tips and articles on the
psychological issues that affect ...
Health & Emotional Wellness.
Disasters ...
www.apahelpcenter.org
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United Way.
VOICES. RESOURCE. DIRECTORY. Of. Local and National Agencies.
Published by. Family Service Society, Inc. 827 Joe Clifton Drive,
Paducah KY: Counseling pp 8-12. Mental Health Assistance pp.
72-74.  |
