Positive psychology
For far too long, psychology focused almost exclusively on abnormal behavior. Recently, many researchers have conducted fascinating research into factors that do and don’t make people happy. The conclusions are directly relevant to how each of us can improve the (self-perceived) quality of our lives. And many of the field’s research findings are quite counter-intuitive.
For example, if you are not extremely poor, how much money you have has virtually no effect on how happy you feel. If you hit the lottery, you’ll be excited for a few months, but you’ll quickly revert to your previous level of happiness.
And, although money itself does not buy happiness, love of money makes you less happy. The more value you place on money, the less happy you’re likely to be. Consequently, you can make yourself happier by avoiding the “hedonic treadmill” (a.k.a., the rat race). Engaging in meaningful work will make you happier. But working extra hard at a soul-less job purely for the sake of making more money will leave you less happy.
I recommend Martin Seligman’s Authentic Happiness. The same author (a leader in the field) has also written two more recent popular books, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life and What You Can Change and What You Can’t: The Complete Guide to Successful Self-Improvement, which I haven’t read but suspect are excellent reads.
Posted by James on Tuesday, February 03, 2009