Happiness Index

All of us have our own interpretation and perception of what happiness is, it being conditioned by our life’s experiences built up over the years. I’ve previously blogged about Victor Frankl’s exhortation: Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.” Implicit in that is the notion that we are born with a blank slate as far as emotional leaning is concerned, i.e., emotion neutral and, hence, not predisposed to be happy or grumpy.

And these emotional traits are picked up as we stumble along in life.

Then I read in today’s The Tampa Tribune, or more specifically, the 4You supplement, an article that helps debunk some of these long-held misconceptions. According to the article therein entitled “What’s behind That Smile?”:

“… Happiness is determined in large part by your genetic makeup, say researchers in the emerging field of positive psychology, otherwise known as the science of happiness … As much as 50% of happiness is based in the complex chromosomal soup that is your unique DNA.”

In that sense, some of us are born lucky when we are endowed with the happy genes. I could be one of them.

However, the good thing is “… that means half of it is based on other factors, such as your upbringing, learned behavior, and current circumstances of your life.” Kind of like viewing a half-cup of water as half full rather than half empty. All you have to do is to fill up the balance with happy thoughts and deeds then you’re a certified happy dude, despite the residence of “non-happy” genes to the tune of 50% of the total in your body. So all is not lost, yet.

The article goes on to quote “a formula for happiness” by the experts:

H = S + C + V

“In layman’s term: Happiness equals the sum of your “Set point,” plus your life Circumstances, plus things you can Voluntarily change.” The way I see it, S would be your innate 50% while C + V the remaining nurtured 50%.

If you’re into mnemonics, I’ve got one for you: Happiness is Staying Calm/Collected and Virtuous. Be sure to let me know what you think and better still, your version.

Then I came across this term: defensive pessimism, “in which you envision everything that could possibly go wrong in a specific situation and visualize how you would handle each scenario.”

Lest this develop into an anxiety complex, Wellesley College psychologist and the author of “The Positive Power of Negative Thinking”, Julie Norem explains that “when you start to think that specifically, you have to focus away from your anxiety. It helps decrease that sense of impending disaster" (as quoted in the same article). After all, human beings are capable of handling only so many tasks at one time.

That reminds me of another term introduced by Victor Frankl: tragic optimism (see here).

Defensive Pessimism. Tragic Optimism. And putting them together, we sure have the unbeatable recipe for matata. Or is it hakuna? I forgot which is which. (Hint: the mantra made famous by the Disney movie classic, Lion King)

Then I recall a conversation I had a long time ago with a participant from Bhutan during a UNDP-sponsored conference in Malaysia, on the topic of the Gross National Happiness (GNH), which his country employs to “define quality of life in more specific and psychological terms than Gross National Product." According to Wikipedia, “the term was coined by Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck in 1972, signaling his commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan’s unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values.”

Accordingly, the four pillars of GNH are:

• the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development;
  
• the preservation and promotion of cultural values;
  
• the conservation of the natural environment; and
  
• the establishment of good governance. (Wikipedia)
  

So Bhutan is deservedly a Buddhist country, a counterpart to the many Islamic countries in the world.

It seems that from the individual to the country level, happiness (or a right to be happy) has both been instituted and legislated. The only problem is that these have not been made ubiquitous.

So next time when you are about to get unhappy, remember it’s a choice, and you can, and should, voluntarily change that.