Can You Be Too Happy?

Although I can see the logic behind being the relationship between competition and happiness, yet there is another theory that claims that happiness is independent of the degree of competition or environment and has more to do with the a person???s point of view and emotional training. There is a very interesting research conducted by International Institute of Management (IIM) titled Psychology of Happiness and Unhappiness - A case study of the mindset and behavior of happy and unhappy personalities.

This paper explores the mindset and thinking patterns of happy and unhappy people. It helps us identify some of the key characteristics of their thinking and the impact that their behavior has on their emotional well-being and their lives. The paper, also propose a simple, yet effective strategy to help people lead a happier life.

According to Med Yones, the president of the research, "By simply choosing to lead a happier lifestyle and continuously training your mind to think in positive patterns, you can improve your emotional well-being as well as the quality of your life immensely".

The complete text of the study can be found on:
http://www.lifehappiness.org/psychologyofhappiness/index.htm

[I] put the question directly to myself: "Suppose that all your objects in life were realized; that all the changes in institutions and opinions which you are looking forward to, could be completely effected at this very instant: would this be a great joy and happiness to you?" And an irrepressible self-consciousness distinctly answered, "No!" ~John Stuart Mill, Autobiography, 1909

"Happiness is a perfume which you cannot pour on someone without getting some on yourself."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.

And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
- Abraham Lincoln

"There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us." Emerson

It's nice to know that so many people would fire back on such an outragous article. America certainly has its pro's and con's. Sigh.......
Keep up the good work you all. :)

Yes, I agree with lena. Maybe a job where you sit at a desk all day pays more, but wouldn't you rather have a job that pays less, but you are passionate about, or at least enjoy?

Mr. Herbert is no "wray" of light on the subject of happiness, judging by his unsmiling (unwelcoming ) picture that he chooses to portray his image. The key to understanding the Declaration of Independence (and Jefferson) is the operating word PURSUIT (of happiness)...which implies that living life within a system where LIBERTY is the most important value... the only justification for the existence of a government is when it is "for the people"...that people are free to PURSUE whatever they want, with minimal government interference. The result is then the ideal concept called "happiness"...be it money or spiritual freedom, then have at it and you will reap what you sow!

Interesting article. Living for many years in New York City, I have encountered many people who have achieved everything one would typically include on a list of that which would make anyone happy. 99.9% of these people are shocked and dismayed to find they are not truly happy and instead find themselves downright unhappy. What gives?

The only answer is the obvious one. The things we are told in this society will make us happy do not. If we are to find true, lasting happiness we must chuck ???the list???. In fact, the people rushing to the self-help section are the smart ones because that is exactly what most books will tell them. Ultimately the Buddhists are right. True happiness comes from within. It is a consciousness ??? a mental state that has nothing to do with material conditions. In fact, our delusion of the world and the way it works is what leads us to ???self grasping??? and self obsession. It is the fatal flaw of human behavior that is ALWAYS a recipe for misery. There is no true happiness in this model of greed. We simply trade one form of suffering for another. It is amazing that people keep trying to find sustainable happiness within a material, competitive, ???me??? based belief system that will never ever get them there. In a society that has more material comforts that any other civilization in history, humans have never been more unhappy. We gulp antidepressant by the handful, whine to our therapists, spend, eat, screw, play and drink ourselves to a happiness we simply cannot find.

Again, I believe the Buddhists are on the right track. They call this world Samsara, and liken it to a prison that we are locked in; destined to be born and reborn in one of its realms of suffering over and over again until we release our self-grasping ways and find enlightenment (the heaven with us). It is a beautifully elegant answer to the questions you pose and I believe is reinforced millions of times a day by countless people trying and failing to find happiness the same selfish, external and material way over and over and over again.

Maybe the happiest people choose jobs that are more altruistic and pay less.

Happiness costs 8K? Small price for something so priceless! I agree with everybody else -it's our culture's insanity to suggest one trade one's happiness for a few thousand dollars

But disagree with ohreallynow- happiness isn't an entitlement- it's our birthright. I believe that living in love, a love which includes both self and others, is the highest, most satisfying function of the human mind. It's not always easy, and to get there you have to ignore much of what our culture tells us- the materialism, the striving to be "better" than other people, the constant envy of other's lives...

Great spiritual teachers, like Jesus and Buddha, and modern ones like Sharon Salzberg, pointed me in the right direction. And yeah, it has cost me a lot of money, in terms of not chasing that high-powered lifestyle. But so far (age 48) it's more than worth it. Living in love (as much as possible) is far deeper and more satisfying than the hedonistic pleasures of drugs or good food, etc. And it's more socially beneficial- as seen in higher rates of volunteering.

It's more satisfying because it's being deeply alive, not chasing after something else. And love wants to share itself -wishing all of you happiness!

pinkpanther, someday you will realize that many things in your life are in your control. Like you emotions. You don't need to smoke weed and morphine to be happy. They get you *** up, but I wouldn't call that happiness. I used to smoke weed several times a day and I thought I was happy. But I couldn't remember anything meaningful, I had a false sense of confidence while high, and I avoided my problems by smoking them away. Don't do drugs. That's not real happiness.

ya

Pink Panther
I not only respect, but honor those like you..you made a choice and thankfullly it wasn't in the name of the almighty dollar! I would like to make a clarification about "the poor slob collecting welfare on our dime." I speak of those who ARE more than capable of getting a J O B and choose not to, and all the while our imbicile officials ENABLE them to continue to ride the coat tails of those of us who DO work our fannies off. Concerning the "idiots with college degrees." I do have one, from a reptuable college...I speak about those of you (and you know who you are) who spout how smart they are BECAUSE they have a degree (PLEASE!), treat those who were not as fortunate or life took them down a different path like they are neanderthals (I know, I work with several "ladies" who talk to and treat "the support staff" (yeah, they're "professional staff" - jack asses!) like that...and you know what, without those two ladies our program would NOT run efficiently, and I will venture a guess not at all (in my humble opinion) and yes, I feel this way about ALL "support staff." Do they make "professional staff" salary...NO! But, they are two of the most generous, kindest, humble people I know. Anyway, if I had a choice of living my life one way or another...money IS fantastic, but not as fantastic as being able to lay your head down on your pillow at night and getting a wonderful and peaceful sleep...and, this peace only comes from spending and saving wisely, leaving the credit cards at home, walking away from the $50,000 vehicle that you "just got to have", and living your life the way you choose...not by your neighbors standards! Good God it's sickening! Oh, the American dollar says "In God We Trust"...hmmm, I thought they changed that to "Trust In Me To Line My Pockets With Your Hard Earned Money ***!" Errrr!!!!

piglet
Good thing i don't fit into any of your catagories but you got a point that kinda answered why we MUST WORK ourselves into the grave and call it life-NEEDLESS THINGS! good answer, thanks, from a poor smuck who makes only 8000 a year and gets 10 bucks a month in food stamps, just cause he prefered three Marines and 2 children to be buried in one piece while lifting a 400lb concret wall in Beruit and disobeyed orderss to drop it back on them! Not my style, allowing those people to be seen by family and buried in one piece made me happy! how bout you? American dollar says "In God We Trust" the more you have, the closer you get to him???

Ah, yet another (er, several) idiot (idiots) with a college degree (s)!!!!! Jesus, can America get anymore pathetic? We are a shameful lot!!! We are so obsessed with money, status, body image, and the like that we can't even get our collective heads out of our a%^ to see the big picture...America we are a melting pot of one disaster after another...from the top most government official right down to the poor slob collecting welfare on OUR dime!

Others have already expressed my views, but I'll go ahead and say it anyway. The fact that anybody actually spent money on a study that couldn't possibly yield relevant or meaningful results is shame enough, but Wray Herbert's analysis is simple-minded and lacking. Life, for most of us not in the top 10% of earners, is not measured in terms of money or "career success." In fact, it's societal emphasis on these superficial components that is the root of our societal decline. Let's do a little bit more thinking next time. I know it's hard. But it's probably worth it.