American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture
One for the “no sh*t, Sherlock” file:
Money can buy one form of happiness, massive global study concludes
Life satisfaction was directly and strongly correlated with income, with the impact felt equally among all ages, men and women, and rural villagers and urban dwellers in virtually every corner of the globe, the researchers reported in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
(hat tip: Mary Katharine)
In the age of bare-your-emotions-to-the-world (and probably most of your body, too), those of us not converted to the Church of Oprah will find this advice useful:
How to Be More Introverted if You’re an Extrovert
It is very important to note that extroversion is a natural and healthy personality trait. However, it can be worthwhile for the extrovert to cultivate a few contemplative practices. If you’re an extrovert, perhaps you’ve never considered how a rich inner life can bring positive benefits for both you and the people you care about. This article seeks to help an interested, extroverted reader learn how time spent in social relationships and quiet solitude can both be fulfilling.
Speak to me babe!
Give up the spotlight here and there. A very extroverted person is comfortable drawing attention to himself or herself. Maybe you’re the one always leading a conversation, cracking jokes, and being the life of the party. It doesn’t hurt, however, to play the role of a quiet person once in a while. You might observe things you’ve never noticed before because, as an extrovert, you’re probably already well-attuned to people. Being quiet and observant will amplify that sensitivity, because you won’t be as busy entertaining.
Go read the rest, and if you do decide to keep a journal asking yourself,
Do the rest of us a favor and don’t blog it.
The NYT reports on the tri-state area happiness status:
New York Ranks Last in Happiness Rating
On the smiley scale, New York landed on the bottom.
Dead last?
“I’m sorry about that,” Professor Oswald said by phone from Warwick.
It’s rather dismal. If there were a National Happy League, we’d be the New Jersey Nets. We’re No. 51 out of 51. The District of Columbia was included in the list as if it were a state. It made it all the way to No. 37 despite the handicap of having Congress in its midst.
At least New Yorkers can take comfort in knowing that their immediate neighbors in Connecticut (No. 50) and New Jersey (No. 49) are not appreciably happier.
We are #2 – from the bottom!
In other words, people knew what they were talking about when they said if they were happy or not. Americans who described themselves as satisfied tended to live in places where the quality of life was good by most standards — where the sun shone a lot,
not this time of year
the air was reasonably clear,
here in the ‘burbs the air is clear. So are the confiscatory state and local taxes.
housing didn’t leave you busted,
housing prices still are way higher than the rest of the nation
traffic wasn’t too fierce
don’t want to be on Route1 if you can avoid it, thanks,
and so on.
In the “so on”, you can add the dismal state of NJ politics and the punitive business environment.
And, at times, the supermarket troglodytes.
Happiness is contagious, spreading among friends, neighbors, siblings and spouses like the flu, according to a large study that for the first time shows how emotion can ripple through clusters of people who may not even know each other.
Whoot!
One person’s happiness can affect another’s for as much as a year, the researchers found, and while unhappiness can also spread from person to person, the “infectiousness” of that emotion appears to be far weaker.
And it’s not fattening, either:
While obesity appeared to spread even among people who lived far apart, happiness appears to be transmitted only among people who live within a mile of one another. The influence was also greatest among people who considered themselves mutual friends.
Happy enough to sing? Oh yeah!
“Laughter and singing and smiling tune the group emotionally,” Seligman said. “They get them on the same wavelength so they can work together more effectively as group.”
Sing it, Judy!
Sing along! Lyrics
Forget your troubles c’mon get happy,
you better chase all your cares away.
Shout hallejulah c’mon get happy
get ready for the judgement day.the sun is shinin c’mon get happy,
the lord is waitin to take your hand.
shout hallejulah c’mon get happy,
we’re going to the promise landWe’re headin across the river to
wash your sins away in the tide.
it’s all so peaceful on the other side.Forget your troubles c’mon get happy,
you better chase all your cares away.
shout hallejulah c’mon get happy,
get ready for the judgement day.Forget your troubles c’mon get happy
chase ya cares away.
hallelu get happy,
before the judgement day.The sun is shinin c’mon get happy,
the lord is waitin to take your hand.
shout hallejulah c’mon get happy,
we’re gunna be goin to the promise land.were headin cross the river,
wash you’re sins away in the tide.
it’s quiet and peaceful on the other side.forget your troubles get happy,
your cares fly away.
shout hallejulah get happy get ready for your judgement day.c’mon get happy,
chase your cares away.
shout hallejulah cmon get happy,
get ready for the judgment dayThe sun is shining c’mon get happy,
lord is waiting to take your hand.
hallejulah c’mon get happy,
we’re going to the promise land.headin ‘cross the river,
throw your sins away in the tide.
it’s all so peaceful on the other side-shout hallelujah c’mon get happy,
ya better chase all your cares away.
shout hallejulah c’mon get happy,
get ready-get ready-get ready,
for the judgment day
That should set the tone for the weekend!
Slate’s William Saletan says “Happiness sucks”. Here’s how he puts it:
A study suggests extreme happiness may be bad for you
Findings:: 1) “The highest levels of income, education and political participation were reported not by the most satisfied individuals, but by moderately satisfied individuals.” 2) Extremely happy people “earned significantly less money” and earned lower school grades than moderately happy people. 3) They “may not live as long,” either. Theories: 1) Happiness makes you complacent and kills your drive. 2) It makes you slow to adapt. 3) It makes you too optimistic and insufficiently vigilant about your health. 4) It may overstimulate your cardiovascular system. Researchers’ conclusions: 1) “Happiness may need to be moderated for success.” 2) “Extremely high levels of happiness might not be a desirable goal.” Human Nature’s conclusions: 1) Success may need to be moderated for happiness. 2) Extremely high levels of success might not be a desirable goal.
I cliked on the link to the article and found otherwise.
Here we have a bunch of academics in Virginia, Michigan and Illinois looking at data from the World Values Survey, whatever that may be, and then analyzing “the behaviors and attitudes of 193 undergraduate students at Illinois”, and then jumping to conclussions as to how happy we all should be. Or, in their own words, “How happy is happy enough”.
Not surprisngly at all, they found that among 193 undergrads,
Those classified as very happy scored significantly higher on things like gregariousness, close friendships, self-confidence, energy and time spent dating.
No kidding, dude! Their findings confirm what most of us regard as obvious,
All in all, Diener said, the evidence indicates that happiness is a worthy goal for those who lack it, but the endless pursuit of even more happiness for the already happy may be counterproductive.
Or, as the saying goes, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
How the guy from Slate jumped from that to saying “Extremely high levels of success might not be a desirable goal” is not clear. Maybe he should have first asked Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and 191 others from the Forbes 400 what they think before reaching that conclusion.
