Is The Chase On?

I can tell its time for a new entry into the “blissful blog of happiness.” First let me thank everyone who has contributed offline to this topic. I understand it can be uncomfortable to post publicly, but even your offline comments have been interesting and helpful.

This entry is going to be completely focused on starting to examine our question of how to find happiness. First let me start by quoting a popular LDS scripture. We are told “…men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). I believe this! I even think it’s built into our human DNA. We are driven to find joy, happiness, satisfaction, pleasure, and we shy away from suffering, unhappiness, and pain.

The Dalai Lama said: “I believe that the very purpose of our like is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness…”

At this point, I must also point out that I feel, (but am not yet certain), that there are probably many paths to happiness, and most likely a very individual journey. However, I also believe there are probably “best practices”, things that work well and others that don’t. It’s interesting, as I’ve focused on the idea of exploring happiness, its come to my attention that there is information everywhere. This is a popular and rich topic, with lots of completed research and published findings and theories. For all these reasons, I’m excited to explore many different viewpoints, sources and ideas. I know one of my friends is even conducting his own little primary research project on the topic. I’m sure he’ll publish what he finds on the blog.

So let’s deal with the most fundamental question, the answer to which could even challenge my assumption above. Can we pursue happiness?

Henry David Thoreau was credited with saying: “Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

Some research has shown that your talent for happiness is, to a large degree, determined by your genes. Psychology professor David T Lykken, author of Happiness: Its Nature and Nurture, says that “trying to be happier is like trying to be taller.” We each have a “happiness set point,” he argues, and move away from it only slightly.

Yet, other psychologists who study happiness believe we can pursue it. We can do this by thwarting negative emotions such as pessimism, resentment and anger. And we can foster positive emotions, such as empathy, serenity, and especially gratitude.

I’ll open up this fundamental argument for discussion, but for the record I believe they are probably both right. It seems reasonable to me that everyone has a different set point of happiness which is influenced by genetics, but I also believe we can influence the level of our happiness. One idea that seems to be consistent through many different sources is that happiness is a choice. Not something that happens to you or that you find, but rather a state of mind you can choose.

Again quoting the Dalai Lama (because I’m reading a book of his – The Art of Happiness): “Happiness is determined more by one’s state of mind than by external events. Success may result in a temporary feeling of elation, or tragedy may send us into a period of depression, but sooner or later our overall level of happiness tends to migrate back to a certain baseline…This is because our moment-to-moment happiness is largely determined by our outlook. In fact, whether we are feeling happy or unhappy at any given moment often has very little to do with our absolute conditions but, rather it is a function of how we perceive our situation, how satisfied we are with what we have.”

And I might also add, “who we are.”

So Dalai is saying not only is happiness a state of mind it is a “peace of mind.” This feels good to me, at least as part of the answer. I think I’m going to pursue this idea for awhile. The question this naturally brings up is, how can we begin to enter this state of mind?