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HAPPINESS DEFINED
Happy New Year? What exactly do you mean by that?
Last month, I wrote about recent research findings that happier people watch less television (see the Related Q&As section below for a link to that column). A reader followed up with a very important question: “What is happiness anyway?” Before I go on with my answer, how would you and yours define happiness? Take a minute to consider this question.
Since stress and worse are sometimes fed by a lack of happiness, I thought I’d dust off this old Merrian-Webster dictionary definition of this much talked about and weighty term as its simplicity has an amazing way of relieving a lot of pressure:
Happiness is a state of well being and contentedness.
What? That’s it? Where are the parts about the flat screen TV, the wrinkle-free face, the 842 Facebook friends and the bulging bank account? Well, it appears that happiness unplugged doesn’t include appliances, Botox and that other stuff. According to Mr.’s Merrian and Webster, happiness can happen just from feeling okay with your stuff right now. Isn’t that a relief? Hmm, maybe not if you sell flat screens, facelifts and mass friend platforms.
I offer the above definition as a realty check and conversation starter in a world where the term happiness is too often hijacked and dangled in front of us as a prize for buying or being something. Notice also that the word “nonstop” does not precede “state of well-being and contentedness” because such a condition is growth stunting, incredibly annoying to others, and frankly, impossible. For sure, major life events and chronic, biologically rooted unhappiness can’t be cured by Merrian-Webster’s words, but help in the form of counseling and maybe medication can eventually make that meaning resonate.
If you were ah-ha’ed by those seven words, milk even more out of them by listing the things that are causing you to feel so damn well and content such as a roof over your head, oxygen, chocolate and the people who love you.
Oh no, you’ve already hired a happiness coach, the latest manifestation of the life consultation industry? Could all this happiness abuse be making us less satisfied and more stressed? Some of my fellow self-helpers may not be happy to hear me say this, but the most effective happiness coach might be living in a dictionary near you.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a very content new year!
Les
1/09
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