Authentic Happiness
How happy are you? Go to the research site of the Univesity of Pennsyvania (here) and find out.
In this week's issue of my New York Metro, it takes the elusive search for happiness, noting that most New Yorkers just refuse to be happy. Why? Too many options available in every aspect of living, the aggravation brought about by the competitiveness of fellow city dwellers, a hectic lifestyle that keeps from developing meaningful relationships are among the many reasons. True enough, the level of happiness in places like Branson, Missouri is higher than Manhattan. Hmmm... makes sense but trust me, no New Yorker I know would trade their life in the city for life in Missouri for anything.
So what makes people happy? I did one of the test and this is my Authentic Happiness Inventory Score - that I am 75% relatively happier than most people my age, in my location and my profession.
Hahaha, no I didn't cheat. So if I am such a 'happy' person, how had I just gone through some tough sad times? Oh yeah - that guy had something to do with it ...
. But like they say, you have to go through storms to appreciate a rainbow. Well, plenty of love and support from family and friends made me realize that I belong - a feeling that I have some kind of value to other people - a sort of reassurance that I am not living a meaningless life.
So what makes for a happier life (read here)? One is to keep it as least complicated as possible (I wrote that in a big bright Post-It and stuck it to my cubicle wall at work and in front of my desk at home). Simplify life!!!
The study also found that happier people had a higher level of spirituality (don't confuse with religiosity). Certainly there is a sense of comfort in knowing that there is a higher being much more powerful and all-righteous in control of my life than I am. So that for every challenge that I go through I can always shrug that it was meant to be because it is just the means to a great end.
So what else makes for a happier lifestyle? Being married (though might not apply to some couples I know), staying away from therapists who keep rehashing dark childhood memories (yeah, why?), throwing away the receipts after you've splurged with your credit card (you've got it, keep it and enjoy it?), have a life and not work yourself to death, be friends with people who are in the same income bracket as yourself and don't be a lawyer (lawyers are 3.6% more likely to be depressed than other professions).
Frankly, I think most New Yorkers are happier than what the study states (they have a disclaimer) probably just that a great majority hadn't taken the online test. Only in New York do strangers smile at you at the subway, where you get complimented when you are having a good hair day or when you did well in putting together your outfit for the day. New Yorkers are relatively chattier than other people I have met elsewhere, and many are quite cheerful. I have seen non-New Yorkers who bitch endlessly you've think they are waging a vendetta against the world. Really, there are more unhappier non-New Yorkers, really.
Suffice to say that the happier New Yorkers are not online most of the time filling out happiness inventory tests but are out enjoying life.
This New Yorker, however, enjoys whatever she does - online or offline...if she's in the mood for it and often, the planets are aligned just right to conspire to make her joyful.
In this week's issue of my New York Metro, it takes the elusive search for happiness, noting that most New Yorkers just refuse to be happy. Why? Too many options available in every aspect of living, the aggravation brought about by the competitiveness of fellow city dwellers, a hectic lifestyle that keeps from developing meaningful relationships are among the many reasons. True enough, the level of happiness in places like Branson, Missouri is higher than Manhattan. Hmmm... makes sense but trust me, no New Yorker I know would trade their life in the city for life in Missouri for anything.
So what makes people happy? I did one of the test and this is my Authentic Happiness Inventory Score - that I am 75% relatively happier than most people my age, in my location and my profession.
Hahaha, no I didn't cheat. So if I am such a 'happy' person, how had I just gone through some tough sad times? Oh yeah - that guy had something to do with it ...
. But like they say, you have to go through storms to appreciate a rainbow. Well, plenty of love and support from family and friends made me realize that I belong - a feeling that I have some kind of value to other people - a sort of reassurance that I am not living a meaningless life.So what makes for a happier life (read here)? One is to keep it as least complicated as possible (I wrote that in a big bright Post-It and stuck it to my cubicle wall at work and in front of my desk at home). Simplify life!!!
The study also found that happier people had a higher level of spirituality (don't confuse with religiosity). Certainly there is a sense of comfort in knowing that there is a higher being much more powerful and all-righteous in control of my life than I am. So that for every challenge that I go through I can always shrug that it was meant to be because it is just the means to a great end.
So what else makes for a happier lifestyle? Being married (though might not apply to some couples I know), staying away from therapists who keep rehashing dark childhood memories (yeah, why?), throwing away the receipts after you've splurged with your credit card (you've got it, keep it and enjoy it?), have a life and not work yourself to death, be friends with people who are in the same income bracket as yourself and don't be a lawyer (lawyers are 3.6% more likely to be depressed than other professions).
Frankly, I think most New Yorkers are happier than what the study states (they have a disclaimer) probably just that a great majority hadn't taken the online test. Only in New York do strangers smile at you at the subway, where you get complimented when you are having a good hair day or when you did well in putting together your outfit for the day. New Yorkers are relatively chattier than other people I have met elsewhere, and many are quite cheerful. I have seen non-New Yorkers who bitch endlessly you've think they are waging a vendetta against the world. Really, there are more unhappier non-New Yorkers, really.
Suffice to say that the happier New Yorkers are not online most of the time filling out happiness inventory tests but are out enjoying life.
This New Yorker, however, enjoys whatever she does - online or offline...if she's in the mood for it and often, the planets are aligned just right to conspire to make her joyful.