Attracting Abundance

The Law

Two Doors to Success

Happiness - VI

One of the strongest predictors of happiness is the quality of a person's social relationships. Increased socialization normally means an increased chance of being happy due to inclusion in social network and the contagion of happiness through networks.

Individuals are not only motivated by self interest and their own well being, or by environmental concerns and values, but also by interests and well being of other people - relatives, friends, co-workers, or even people they have never met. In short they are motivated by altruism.

Altruism in various forms (generosity, love and charity) generates higher levels of happiness along with promoting good health. ( Weinstein et al, 2010, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98:2, 222 -244). Personal spending behaviors has been found to correlate to happiness. Studies demonstrate a positive effect on life satisfaction when spending on others. ( Dunn et al, 2008, Science, 319, 1687 - 1688). Individuals who volunteer are happier than those who do not, even after controlling the other factors such as socioeconomic status. ( Borgonavi et al, 2008, Social Science and Medicine, 68, 2321 - 2334). Altruistic people experience a higher life satisfaction, less depressive symptoms, less anxiety, and a more meaningful life. At the end of the day they live longer and happier.

The governments and policy makers have become quite sensitive to the widespread influence of happiness on the individual, the community and the nation as a whole. Studies have established that happiness impacts the following three areas significantly:

1. health, longevity, and less expense on medical attention.
2. sense of inclusiveness, ownership and satisfaction
3. green behavior - reduce consumption, better wealth management, environmental friendliness etc.

The last decade has seen strong scientific attention on neural science behind emotions. The availability of modern imaging methods has been of tremendous help in understanding the function and structure of human brain which has caused deeper reaches into the understanding the different causes behind happiness. The new findings - sustained positive emotions and recovery from negative emotions - suggest that the patterns of brain function are related not just to the reports of emotions and life satisfaction, but also systemic biological measures that are associated with physical health. A third constituent of well being and happiness - pro-social behavior and generosity - has already been mentioned earlier. A fourth constituent of happiness - mind wandering, mindfulness and affective stickiness - is also emerging as an active area of research.

A person may have high levels of subjective well-being and yet not be happy at every moment. For example such a person may respond with intense sadness upon learning a tragic event involving him. An individual with high levels of well being could conceivably also feel and express anger in response to a moral transgression or in response to an individual who is perceived to be thwarting an important goal. If the individual recovers quickly and there is no lingering resentment - affective stickiness - then it is likely that high levels of well-being can persist even in the face of these seemingly inconsistent emotions. This leads us to two important conclusions. One is that there must be something different in the brain functioning that distinguishes those with high versus the low levels of well being since well being does not depend on momentary or short lived emotional states. Secondly there is an important distinction between momentary or temporary highs or euphoric happiness and sustained happiness. Each of the two contributes differently to mental and physical health. We will examine this later. 

We will also examine the fact the brain maps involved in well being exhibit plasticity - the ability to grow and change. (Davidson et al, 2012, Nature Neuroscience, 15(5), 689 - 95). Most of the influences on our well being that mold these plastic changes occur subconsciously. We are exposed to huge amount of environmental signals which are beyond our control. These signals induce the plastic changes in the brain map - functionally and structurally - that clearly impacts our well being. The power of plasticity could also be harnessed consciously by deliberate and conscious practices.Engaging in specific forms of training to cultivate well being through psychotherapy, meditation and other forms of mental and behavioral training have been found to induce changes in brain maps - functionally and structurally - causing a sense of well being. 


Namaste


Prabir