Happiness is...

This powerful quote is from the equally powerful book, Half The Sky.

"As Sir John Templeton said, "Self-improvement comes mainly from trying to help others." Social psychologist have learned a great deal about happiness in recent years, and one of the surprises is that the things we believe will make us happy won't. People who win the lottery, for example, enjoy an initial spike of happiness but then adjust and a year later are not significantly happier than those who haven't won.  Our happiness levels seem to be mostly innate, and not markedly affected by what happens to us, good or bad.

People in end-stage dialysis, for example, turn out to be no different in their moods through the day than a comparison group of healthy people. And while those who suffer a crippling disability are initially deeply unhappy, they adjust quickly.  One study found that just a month after becoming paraplegics, accident victims were in fairly good moods a majority of the time.  Other research found that within two years of suffering a moderate disability, life satisfaction fully recovers to the predisability level. So Jonathan Haidt, a psychologist at the University of Virginia who has studied happiness, advised that if you are hit by a truck and end up a paraplegic, or if you win the lottery, remember that a year from now, it won't make much difference to your happiness level."

Yet Professor Haidt and others advise that there are a few factors that can affect our happiness levels in a sustained way.  One is 'a connection to something larger"- a greater cause or a humanitarian purpose. Traditionally, this was what brought people to churches or other religious institutions, but any movement or humanitarian initiative can provide a sense of purpose that boosts one's happiness quotient.  We are neurologically constructed so that we gain huge personal dividends from altruism."