What Everyone Ought to Know About Happiness, Essay Example

Reynolds

Pam Reynolds’s article, “What Everyone Ought to Know About Happiness,” begins by introducing a subject the author sees as impeding happiness: money.  She asserts that all those who believe that money will bring happiness into their lives tend to be disappointed, and because money creates complications in life ultimately denying contentment.  Purchases need to be repaired or replaced, and even pleasure trips, while enjoyable, are short-lived and do not generate anything like lasting happiness.  Those who spend money in order to achieve happiness then typically find themselves why they are exhausted, rather than deeply contented.  Reynolds then addresses another common effort to create happiness, that of spending time with friends and loved ones.  What often occurs, however, is that these people have little time to socialize, and the person seeking their company then becomes anxious, and believes that they are not wanted. They then compound the problem by interacting with new people, hoping to form the friendships that will bring happiness, but are faced with the same dilemma of being too much alone. Reynolds claims that we then generally begin to perceive ourselves as victimized and exploited. Resentful and cling all the more to the belief that, if we had more money or were closer to those we care about, life would be better.  Nonetheless, the unhappiness remains and Reynolds sees this as damaging self-esteem and attitude.  As each effort to find happiness fails, she asserts, we both turn more inward and attach blame to ourselves, as well as to those failing to “be there for us.” In Reynolds’s view, negativity overshadows life when these cycles occur.

The author then moves into a definition of happiness and how she believes it may be achieved.  More to the point, Reynolds insists on certain things as being completely unable to make.  Money, as she has discussed, has nothing to do with happiness and often works against it.  Fame as well is meaningless; even when we are admired by a child, which should create good feeling, fame of any kind prompts us to dwell on ourselves and we miss the reality of the world around us.  This is in fact Reynolds’s primary point, in that she insists that happiness may only be found by looking outward, and appreciating all that is around us.  She then returns to those things believed to create happiness and, in a formula process, explains why they fail.  If money, for example, is seen as the key to happiness, any issues in a person’s finances translates to a lessening of the idea of happiness.  To believe that travel to distant places brings happiness also creates an inevitable restriction because any inability to so travel then frustrates the person’s potential for happiness.  This aspect allows Reynolds to restate her main point, which is that happiness is a frame of mind dependent on nothing more than the person’s ability to appreciate everything that is within reach.  It is not about loving, or wanting to love, what is not near to us, but about loving what is at hand.  When this happens, the person achieves a state of contentment, and Reynolds feels that contentment drives happiness itself.  This feeling of well-being and pleasure in the world at hand inspires the efforts and interactions the go to happiness.  Her final points are instructions.  She tells the reader to not limit their own possibilities, and to begin to experience real happiness through the necessary process of feeling some happiness within themselves even as they read her article.  All external concerns must be set aside, and happiness will then naturally be in place.

Rosenbloom

“But Will It Make You Happy,” by Stephanie Rosenbloom, is essentially an analysis of how people perceive material goods as creating happiness for them, and why this usually does not occur.  The article begins by presenting a narrative drawn from life.  Rosenbloom describes Tammy Strobel, a project manager earning a relatively high wage but unsatisfied with her life, and feeling herself caught on a “work-spend treadmill.”  Strobel and her husband then radically downsized; they gave most of their belongings to charity, sold their homes and cars, and relocated to a small space in Portland, OR.  Strobel pays the bills through her new work as a web designer and freelance writer, as her husband is then enabled to complete his doctorate studies.  The clear implication is that they are far happier than they were, and even those in their lives who questioned the sanity of their changes now embrace them as completely positive.

Rosenbloom moves from this narrative to describing how the recent economic crises have forced similar changes on many Americans.  Since the recession, men and women are no longer practicing conspicuous consumption, and now buy with great care and save whenever possible.  This change is of course attributed to the weaker job and housing markets, and the article presents these as realities likely in place for some time to come. At the same time, the shifts in consumption, Rosenbloom claims while citing evidence, are likely to create stronger senses of real happiness. Studies are referred to indicating that people are more content when they do not buy only to compete with others, and when money is spent on experiences, rather than material goods.  It is also noted that selling strategies adopted by retailers during the actual recession may well become permanent, as in promoting goods that enhance home entertaining. Rosenbloom then observes that those studying the economy and the society are questioning whether the changes in spending, initially compelled by circumstances, may be becoming matters of personal choice because people are gaining a better understanding of what truly makes them happy.

This point of view is then supported by evidence cited regarding actual research on how consumption translates to contentment. Money, as is commonly believed and as studies reinforce, does enable some happiness simply because it allows for needs to be met.  At the same time, research also corroborates the noted reality of experience as more meaningful to people than a material object purchased.  A marketing consulting firm, for example, reinforces that an “emotional rebirth” is the result of people needing to watch their spending.  Further research asserts that experiences more promote happiness because they are emotionally revisited, just as anticipating a purchase longer adds to the sense of happiness it brings.  More pleasure is derived when the object or experience, as in an iPod or a vacation, is not able to be had for some time.  This in turn leads Rosenbloom into a cited discussion of how retailers are adapting to these changes in the public at large.  The emphasis is increasingly on providing a quality, personal experience in buying, and thus conveying a sense that the retailer appreciates the consumer’s lessened ability to spend.  Opposing views are presented, as in a woman who is devoted to buying new clothes whenever possible because they give her great pleasure.  These are presented, however, as exceptions, and the thrust of Rosenbloom’s article, with extensive quotes from experts in marketing and behavior, is that people are more likely to know fulfillment or happiness when they no longer spend for the sake of spending.  It is a simple equation: wanting a thing more because attaining it is not easy adds to its value, and this is the traditional consumption ethic the article claims retailers and consumers alike are beginning to embrace again.  Rosenbloom concludes by returning to Strobel, and offering that woman’s advice on the benefits of living more simply: “Give away some of your stuff and see how it feels.”

Brooks

“A Formula for Happiness” by Arthur C. Brooks take a more erudite course in examining the title subject.  The author begins by noting how elusive happiness has always been perceived to be, but that social scientists are now able to better define, and promote, its existence.  Genes, events, and values, it is today held, are the cornerstones of happiness, and people may employ certain rules creating the state of being for themselves.  Noting that the University of Chicago’s General Social Survey is the standard for culling data relevant to the subject, Brooks then moves on to reveal its principle information: about half of all Americans consistently report that they are moderately happy, while a third claims to be very happy and 10 to 15 percent express unhappiness as their ordinary state.  Brooks briefly reports on demographic differences, as in women today no longer being generally more happy than men, as was traditionally the case.  After establishing that the Survey’s information is accepted as valid, however, he then turns to the cornerstones mentioned earlier.  Beginning with genes, Brooks draws upon one study supporting that our ability to be happy is genetic to the degree of nearly 50 percent.  This is based on a study involving identical twins separated at birth and raised in completely different environments, and the conclusion is then that a significant amount of our happiness is in fact inherited.

From here, Brooks turns to the factor of events, a broad term encompassing all activity in an individual’s life.  In terms of big events, such as securing an excellent job or making a move long desired, it is commonly believed that long-term happiness will result.  Research, however, indicates that the satisfaction from these events is remarkably brief.  Isolated events certainly contribute to happiness, a reality likely in place due to the expectation of this occurring, but they do not promote the feeling for an extended time.  Brooks then reviews the information thus far presented, and affirms that nearly half of happiness is genetic, and something like 40 percent – based upon expert thinking – arises from major events, which also does not last long.  With only approximately 12 percent to yet account for, Brooks then claims that this minimal percentage is critical because it is the percentage we ourselves may control.  More exactly, he argues that four components go to creating happiness and arise from each person’s ideas and behaviors regarding them: the basic values of faith, family, community, and work.  Brooks spends little time on faith, holding that vast evidence indicates that those with strong senses of faith are invariably happier.  Similarly, he seems to see no reason to explain why commitment to family and friends, or community, is integral to happiness.  It is all self-explanatory in his perception.

Work, however, demands address, and Brooks then discusses the many ways in which work may powerfully create – or negate – real happiness.  He refers to how it is commonly believed that most people view their jobs as empty, but the Survey reveals the contrary; over half of Americans claim to be at least very satisfied with their work.  Brooks then discusses how his own personal experience has taught him that doing work which is meaningful is essential to happiness, and this is in turn supported by studies.  Generally speaking, once people’s needs are met and they earn enough to live in comfortable ways, higher earnings have little impact on their happiness levels.  The Survey validates this as well, as over 75 percent of Americans surveyed claimed that they would not quit their jobs even if money were no longer an issue.  The conclusion is evident, in that people attach real meaning to their work.  All men and women, Brooks insists, must have the opportunities to locate and participate in the work that will fulfill them, and his conclusion is in fact a rallying cry for free enterprise.  With free enterprise, people may develop to succeed in the work most right for them, and no more sure way to achieve happiness exists.

Halvorson

Heidi Halvorson’s “How to Keep Happiness From Fading” deals precisely with the title subject.  The author begins by noting that, no matter a person’s actual emotional state as unhappy at any given time, they are likely to be able to recall periods of happiness.  A promotion at work or a desired loss in weight created positive emotions and the feeling of well-being that is happiness. Unfortunately, the feeling is short-lived because, once the event occurs, it no longer has the power to please in a sustained way.  The job promotion may create anxiety, for instance, and the weight loss may easily trigger dissatisfaction because it is not seen as enough.  This is hedonic adaptation in psychological terms; a thing makes us feel good but, in time, we return to the emotional state we once knew.  Halvorson supports this by referring to a famed study revealing that lottery winners were no more happy than non-winners some eighteen months after the event.  She also alludes to research affirming that this tendency to return to “baseline” feeling occurs after ordinary and positive vents, such as marriage and job promotions.  Happiness, in a word, is created, but it almost never lasts, and this is the question Halvorson moves on to clarify.

Relying largely on the thinking of psychologists Kennon Sheldon and Sonja Lyubomirsky, Halvorson proceeds to explain the two factors are responsible for the fading of happiness.  To begin with, and on a more pragmatic level, a positive event usually brings with it other and new positive events.  Halvorson uses as an example the happiness of moving into a new home.  There is the excitement of the house itself, but there are as well the satisfactions of working with new kitchen appliances, enjoying a new bathroom, and taking advantage of a larger garage space.  In a short time, however, there are no new elements to discover and enjoy, and what was new and exciting is not even noticed as different.  The events “runs out of newness,” so to speak, so the new sense of well-being based on these minor events has nothing left to sustain it. Secondly, happiness does not last because, even when positive changes remain in place, as in a more fit body, the changes become the “new normal” and new expectations are then generated as to what will create happiness.  Aspirations adjust as soon as they are reached and people find themselves locked in cycles of wanting, reward, and further wanting.

The answer to these cycles, according to Sheldon and Lyubomirsky, lies in applying the dual approach of variety and appreciation.  Variety, as Halvorson puts it, is the means of creating newness in the familiar.  She cites as an example that the happiness of being with a loved one may be sustained by doing new things together, just as the excitement of a new job will remain in place when challenges and opportunities within it are offered.  Happiness will certainly fade if the circumstances of it are not refreshed by variety, and the clear message is that individuals must take on this responsibility to secure their happiness.  Then, there is the element of appreciation.  For Halvorson, this translates to the need to practice an active savoring of whatever it is bringing the happiness.  Connected to this is generating a sense of actual gratitude, which is had by consciously being aware of how life was before the positive change, which in turn refreshes the person’s ideas regarding it.  As with variety, appreciation is a means of renewing good feeling.  To take anything for granted is to attach normalcy to it, and this undermines the initial sense of well-being.  Consequently, the tools of variety and appreciation are essential, and Halvorson concludes the article by observing an irony;  people invest a great deal of energy and time into discovering what will make them happy, but far less in holding onto the happiness they actually have.  Halvorson then ultimately urges all to make the most of what they have, and sustain the happiness once felt as such.