Happiness Experts Are Real!
And here's what they have to say
Karl Pillemer spent seven years interviewing seniors to discover the secrets to happiness. And not just short sayings about the lord and love and energy, although those are important! He was looking for practical advice and here’s what he found:
The most common answer was, Life is short! Spend all your time wisely. This is an age old idea even Seneca wrote about 2000 years ago in his essay “on the shortness of life”. Our time is the most valuable thing we have. Spending it with that in mind will help avoid bad times.
The other top responses were:
Say things now to people you care about–whether it’s expressing gratitude, asking forgiveness, or getting information
Spend the maximum amount of time with your children
Savor daily pleasures instead of waiting for “big-ticket items” to make you happy
Work in a job you love
Choose your mate carefully; don’t just rush in
The most common regret among the seniors interviewed was wasted time. They said, “worrying wastes your life.” This is another idea Seneca spoke about when he said “we often worry more in our imagination than in reality”.
My favorite line by Pillemer is,
“...happiness requires a conscious shift in outlook, in which one chooses–daily–optimism over pessimism, hope over despair.”
Of course external circumstances can make it harder to choose happiness. Sometimes they also make it easier. The important piece is taking control of your happiness. All the decisions you make everyday lead towards happiness or away from it. That’s why it’s vital to choose what you chase carefully.
Question of The Day
What’s a small part of your daily life you could take more time to appreciate?
This weekend is your last chance to start something new before the year ends. That’s a good thing — by next week, you can tell people you “started last year” and seem more experienced. Last chance!
Your Friend,
Noah “BigNerd” Sochaczevski
PS. If you hear anybody saying their new year’s resolution is to read more, please send them to the Big Nerds. My missions is to make it so easy to read everyday that anyone who wants to has no trouble.