Happiness

Happiness. That’s a loaded word that can mean lots of things to lots of people. What makes somebody happy might make someone else sad. Can we be happy all the time? I’m not sure. I think life is complex and throws quite a bit at us each day. I believe there are moments (and maybe even stretches of time) that make us unhappy. And I honestly believe that’s ok. I think that’s part of being human. That’s not to say we should wallow in our unhappiness, but we shouldn’t put so much pressure on ourselves to be happy every moment of every day.

I think feeling happy is a special feeling. If we were happy all the time, would we even know we were happy? Ok, we’re getting way too philosophical here. Let’s get back to happiness.

Did you know the Girls Scouts have a Cadette Science of Happiness Badge? I think that’s really cool. According to the Girl Scouts, there are three keys to happiness when pursuing your badge:

• Pleasure: Doing things you most enjoy

• Engagement: Feeling interested in your activities and connected to others

• Meaning: Feeling like what you do matters

Science says most people pursue pleasurable experiences; however, experiments show that pleasure is the least likely of the three to bring true joy. Pleasure gives us joy in the moment (which is important), but it doesn’t necessarily build a foundation of happiness.

That leaves us with engagement and meaning. I actually love these two as a pursuit to happiness. Engagement is about building that sense of community and connectedness that is so essential to who we are as human beings.

And we all want to feel like we matter. When you make a difference in someone’s life; when you do something at work that has a positive impact; when you say a kind word to someone that needed to hear a friendly voice; when you come through for someone that really needed help.  

I think it’s easy to retreat into our shells and try to block out the noise around us, but I can’t see that leading to happiness. If anything, it will lead to a dark place and deep depression. More than ever, we need people engaged, doing meaningful things, making the world a better place – and, by extension, creating happiness.

Right now, we need more Dougs that, through a simple act, had a profound effect on a neighborhood and beyond. We need more people like the guy at the skate park that helped a kid learn how to ride down a ramp (look at the joy on the kid’s face). We urgently need these and other human endeavors that create a foundation of happiness and joy.

Need an inspiration? Check out these steps to getting the Science of Happiness badge while munching on a Girl Scout cookie. 😄 

(All written content created the old-fashioned way).