Thoughts on Living a Happy Life

OK, so... I have been grouchy for a couple of days. The reasons don't really matter. My grouchiness began to lift yesterday but the underlying causes of my cloudy disposition were still in existence. Since then, I have watched a bunch of TV shows about happiness and success. I have had some time to think about the informative presentations which has lead to a change in my perspective.

Here are my notes on the subject:

The First topic follows a Documentary hosted by Sonja Lyubomirsky (psychologist) and Jon Dore (Comedian) produced by Happiness Film Inc. in association with CTV in 2006. It exposed the characteristics found in people who scored highly on a happiness questionnaire. Their hypothesis suggested that a person needs to score high in several categories on the questionnaire if they are happy people. (Optimism, Goals, Friends/Social Networks, Spirituality, Gratitude, and I think the other one was Volunteering/Service/Meaningful work) The maximum score was 28 which represented a totally happy person. The questionnaires were posted on the Internet and I think there was about 4000 respondents. There were about double the amount of women answering the questionnaire as men. The national average score was 18 or 19.

The cameras accompanied Sonja and Jon as they travelled across the country to talk to many people who scored way above the average. They shared interviews centered on finding out why they were so happy.

All of the high scoring happy people did, in fact, meet their checklist of the hypothesised characteristics of a happy person. In addition, there were charming anecdotes about starting out without much in terms of material possessions and feeling filled with gratitude for everything they have; like a job, vacuum, friends and so forth. Many of the interviewees felt joy as they served others. Others had found religion to inspire their grateful feelings. One lady said that if you have something to focus on, one day that will become the one thing that gets you through. It was suggested that a person needs time with and without people. Also, it was mentioned that one needs to STOP negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. Another person emphasised removing mental barriers (the I-can'ts) to achieving our goals. Each interview was inspiring and as I pooled all that information together it is easy to see the laces tying all the characteristics together in the makings of a happy person.

At the conclusion of the documentary, Sonja shows a graph siting the positive increase in the average income earned by Canadians since 1956. She contrasted the incline with the flat line level of happiness on the same graph. Thus, she demonstrated that Income and Happiness are not well correlated.

Take Home Notes:

1) Very happy people score high in Optimism (PMA), Goals, Social Network, Spirituality, Gratitude and Volunteering. So, if I can fill the gaps in these categories maybe I can find out if I will feel like an extremely happy person. ( Although, I know that correlation does not equal causation. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try it out.)

2) Focusing on more material things doesn't, necessarily, effect my happiness level. Even though, I have always believed that, I have had difficulty not focusing on the have-nots in my life. This point takes me back to Optimism.

Another TV Show I watched was on PBS in Detroit. It was Dr. Daniel G. Amen. ("Change Your Brain, Change Your Life", Amen, 2008) He talked about the healthy brain vers. a brain in trouble. The main points I want to take home are the importance of exercise and the importance of taking the time to meditate. Both these activities increase blood flow to the brain and can significantly improve (...along with the other things he talked about...) the functioning of a brain.

So...how can I stay grumpy now? Personal circumstances only matters up to 10% out of my total circle (discussed on "In The Pursuit Of Happiness", Lyubomirsky, et al., 2006)! There are a lot more factors in my control than I previously suspected.

So, that is what I have been doing wrong! I haven't been doing anything about my grumpiness. Now, I see specific things I can do to potentially increase my personal happiness level. Knowing that kind of takes the edge off of things.

(Thanks be to God for granting me the time and peace to be able to watch, listen, and learn. He knows/knew what I need/needed to change/changed my attitude around. Isn't it interesting how he uses his mysterious ways to answer our prayers!)