Omer Aziz’s Post

The tragic irony that conditioning people to believe that "happiness is something that they get for themselves, by themselves, through achieving material wealth, personal success and individual gratification" actually makes them less happy. * Despite having the most billionaires, America is not even in the top 20 countries in Gallup's latest "World Happiness Report" * Studies consistently show that long term happiness and health is not associated simply with individual pursuits * And one study from 2015 even indicated that people who aggressively pursued individual happiness were more likely to feel lonely and depressed - because they believed that focusing on themselves was the secret to finding happiness, rather than focusing on others and let happiness follow. The Founding Fathers of the United States would likely turn in their graves if they knew about the current state of affairs - as it's a far cry from the likely meaning they had for 'the pursuit of happiness' in the Declaration of Independence. To quote Jeffrey Rosen (President and CEO of the National Constitution Centre) "Inspired by the classical philosophers [the founding fathers] understood the pursuit of happiness as a quest for being good, not feeling good—the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure". The work we have been doing at Habit Partners® | Younger Lives Group on the behaviours associated with better Quality of Life, health outcomes and a living a longer, more fulfilled life also supports a definition of happiness being significantly broader than just individual pleasure - with key behaviours such as Social Connections, Valuing oneself, fulfilling Key Roles & Responsibilities and continuing to purpose Personal Growth and Meaning being key. Robert Nolan Mark Cobain #youngerlivinghabits #qualityoflife #alifeworthliving

America’s Founders knew that the pursuit of happiness involved personal liberation, Arthur C. Brooks writes. https://lnkd.in/ejyZFWkS The Declaration of Independence asserts that there is an “unalienable right” to the “pursuit of happiness,” Brooks writes. “As a happiness specialist, I have always been puzzled by something about this early-American happiness advice … As wise as they were, the Founders were mixing up getting happier with minimizing the sources of unhappiness.” It’s fair to say that their philosophy was not about learning how to enjoy life, Brooks writes, but “about clearing away the self-imposed sources of misery that make pursuing happiness difficult or impossible.” The Founders believed that successful self-government relies on personal self-government, and in their writings, the Founders explained how one can go about it. First, curb your appetites. As Brooks interprets the advice from Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, “Poor health due to excess and poverty from wasteful spending are avoidable sources of misery.” A second lesson to take from the Founders is the benefits of humility. “The Founders would definitely disapprove of our cult of self-esteem,” Brooks writes—and according to research, learning from others and acknowledging one’s limitations “strongly predicts lower levels of anxiety and depression.” Another piece of advice Brooks takes from the Founders is to avoid idleness. Thomas Jefferson, for example, wrote in 1787 that “a mind always employed is always happy.” There is a danger in overcompensating and making ourselves too busy, “but staying occupied with meaningful tasks is a guard against misery,” Brooks writes. Finally, shun the limelight. “Alexander Hamilton called the desire for recognition “the ruling passion of the noblest minds.” “But a miserable passion it is, leading to frustration,” Brooks notes. https://lnkd.in/ejyZFWkS 🎨:: Jan Buchczik

Each person holds their own definition of happiness. In contemporary society, it's often equated with financial prosperity, self-sufficiency, and achieving goals, often through comparison. However, Stephanie Harrison from the "New Happy" movement views this as an outdated perspective, referred to as the "Old Happy" mindset. The "New Happy" philosophy acknowledges that encountering challenges and persevering through them are fundamental aspects of the human condition. It embraces the notion of seeking support when needed, without any sense of shame or guilt. https://lnkd.in/gVzUn4s9

https://lnkd.in/gF7aUXMi 1. Do not fall prey to seeking pure happiness. Instead, seek lifelong progress toward happierness. 2. Manage as best you can the main sources of misery in your life by attending to your physical and mental health, maintaining employment, and ensuring an adequate income. 3. If you’re earning enough to take care of your principal needs, remember that happiness at work comes not from chasing higher income but from pursuing a sense of accomplishment and service to others. 4. Cultivate deep relationships through marriage, family, and real friendships. Remember that happiness is love. 5. If you have discretionary income left over, use it to invest in your relationships with family and friends. 6. Spend time in nature, surround yourself with beauty that uplifts you, and consume the art and music that nourish your spirit. 7. Find a path of transcendence—one that explains the big picture in life and helps you comprehend suffering and the purpose of your existence.

1. Do not fall prey to seeking pure happiness. Instead, seek lifelong progress toward happierness. 2. Manage as best you can the main sources of misery in your life by attending to your physical and mental health, maintaining employment, and ensuring an adequate income. 3. If you’re earning enough to take care of your principal needs, remember that happiness at work comes not from chasing higher income but from pursuing a sense of accomplishment and service to others. 4. Cultivate deep relationships through marriage, family, and real friendships. Remember that happiness is love. 5. If you have discretionary income left over, use it to invest in your relationships with family and friends. 6. Spend time in nature, surround yourself with beauty that uplifts you, and consume the art and music that nourish your spirit. 7. Find a path of transcendence—one that explains the big picture in life and helps you comprehend suffering and the purpose of your existence. https://lnkd.in/gjefTCzG

"Happiness researchers often define happiness as "subjective well-being," a term coined in the 1980s. It has an emotional component — the balance of positive and negative emotions a person experiences — and an evaluative component, which boils down to how satisfied a person is with their life. The latter component, life satisfaction, is especially important to researchers since they say it gets at a deeper form of happiness than the ever-changing churn of fleeting feelings. "It's a longer-term thing, basically, 'is my life good?'" says Waldinger. Momentary negative feelings can be worth it, so to speak, if they're part of pursuing a more meaningful goal, like raising a child or running a marathon. While there are, perhaps, infinite ways to live a worthwhile life, researchers have settled on a few main measures of the extent to which a person thinks they're living one. The Satisfaction with Life Scale, created by psychologist Ed Diener and colleagues in the mid-1980s, asks individuals to rate their level of agreement, on a scale of 1 to 7, with five statements related to life satisfaction, such as "I am satisfied with my life," and "If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing."" https://lnkd.in/d6b_xQNi

“Human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.” George Washington Here’s a snippet from Rob Henderson’s newsletter entitled, “For Happiness, Moral Character is More Important Than Intelligence or Money” @ https://lnkd.in/eFQMjrkq This idea that true happiness demands virtue dates back at least to Aristotle. More recently, the philosophy professor Paul Bloomfield has used a simple Aristotelian syllogism to argue that morality is necessary for happiness: Morality is necessary for self-respect. Self-respect is necessary for happiness. Therefore, morality is necessary for happiness. Bloomfield provides an interesting example. How would an immoral manipulator feel if they were harmed or tricked by someone else? He would likely resent them. If he does, then he reveals that he does not think it’s acceptable to treat others in that way. This inconsistency will affect his image of himself. It will wear away at his self-respect, and, subsequently, his happiness. On the other hand, maybe he does not resent being harmed or tricked by someone else. Maybe he thinks he got what he deserved, since he was successfully fooled. This too would demonstrate an absence of self-respect. Empirical research suggests that people have strong intuitions that moral character is required for happiness. Many people would prefer to be smarter than more ethical. This is because they’d say intelligence will lead to more money, more friends, more mates, and ultimately, more happiness. The morality-happiness link was also found in a 2022 study. Across three studies, people who were rated as more moral by their family members, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances generally experienced higher levels of subjective well-being and meaning in life. Participants whose social circle viewed them as honest, kind, trustworthy, and considerate tended to rate themselves as joyful, positive, and content. In contrast to moral character, intelligence has little to no relationship with happiness. A meta-analysis of 23 studies found that at the individual level, intelligence has no relationship with happiness. Knowing the IQ of two random people in the same country tells you nothing about whether one is happier than the other. But knowing something about their moral character will tell you something. Similarly, at least within developed countries, the link between income and happiness is tenuous. Many people wish they were smarter or richer, presumably because they think such enhancements would lead to happiness. The connection between morality and happiness, though, is far more robust than the link between intelligence and happiness. Or money and happiness.

Reasonable suggestions… “1. Do not fall prey to seeking pure happiness. Instead, seek lifelong progress toward happierness. 2. Manage as best you can the main sources of misery in your life by attending to your physical and mental health, maintaining employment, and ensuring an adequate income. 3. If you’re earning enough to take care of your principal needs, remember that happiness at work comes not from chasing higher income but from pursuing a sense of accomplishment and service to others. 4. Cultivate deep relationships through marriage, family, and real friendships. Remember that happiness is love. 5. If you have discretionary income left over, use it to invest in your relationships with family and friends. 6. Spend time in nature, surround yourself with beauty that uplifts you, and consume the art and music that nourish your spirit. 7. Find a path of transcendence—one that explains the big picture in life and helps you comprehend suffering and the purpose of your existence.” https://lnkd.in/em-Kt39H

1. Do not fall prey to seeking pure happiness. Instead, seek lifelong progress toward happierness. 2. Manage as best you can the main sources of misery in your life by attending to your physical and mental health, maintaining employment, and ensuring an adequate income. 3. If you’re earning enough to take care of your principal needs, remember that happiness at work comes not from chasing higher income but from pursuing a sense of accomplishment and service to others. 4. Cultivate deep relationships through marriage, family, and real friendships. Remember that happiness is love. 5. If you have discretionary income left over, use it to invest in your relationships with family and friends. 6. Spend time in nature, surround yourself with beauty that uplifts you, and consume the art and music that nourish your spirit. 7. Find a path of transcendence—one that explains the big picture in life and helps you comprehend suffering and the purpose of your existence. #wkdrdg https://lnkd.in/ggPU6Jbj

Today is the International Day of Happiness. It was suggested by Jayme Illien UN advisor in 2011. The UN says “Happiness is a fundamental human goal. The United Nations General Assembly recognizes this goal and calls for “a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes the happiness and well-being of all peoples.” On an individual level, the concept of happiness can be difficult especially if you’re dealing with grief, anxiety or depression. It’s important to think about what makes you happy and ensure you are engaging in these things, even when you don’t feel happy (especially then). Engage in something that makes you happy today. Here are some things that make me happy: 1. Spending time with/ Talking to friends and family. 2. Being in water 3. Walking in the park 4. Music (especially live music) 5. Any content that Bob Mortimer produces 6. Cooking myself a nice meal 7. Cake 8. The smell of fresh strawberries and cut grass 9. Going to the cinema. 10. The brief moment that my flat is totally tidy before I create chaos in it again and mess it up. What makes you happy? Write some of yours in the comments (P.S Have I used the word ‘happy’ enough in this post???? I think so!)