The Happiness Factor

I’ve been pondering a lot about what really makes me happy, fulfilled and contented in my life.  It’s been an eye-opening experience because I want to be happy all of the time yet I often catch myself feeling trapped doing things that don’t produce happiness.  Don’t get me wrong, I feel like I’m pretty happy overall but I have this inner sense that there may be more happiness to be found.  Judging by all of the people that I get a chance to speak with each week, I’d say that most of us are spending much of our days in search of the feeling of happiness but not experiencing it as much as we would like.

I see myself and others trying to purchase happiness by purchasing more stuff.  I see myself and others trying to gain the acknowledgement of others so that we feel happiness. The list of machinations that we go through to feel happy is as wide as it is long.  So why aren’t we finding it more often?

I’m a big fan of “TED talks”. I’m sure that you’ve seen these 15-20 minute talks on the internet.  Just tonight I watched 3 more talks on the topic of happiness.  My favorite was a talk by Dan Gilbert, a Harvard trained psychologist who shared some really interesting points about happiness.

Do you know why you are happy or not? Spend 20 minutes and let Dan get your mind spinning on this by watching the video link below.

I’d be fascinated to hear your take on his research.  Do you feel like your “psychological immune system” is working to keep you happy?

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