New Year wishes conveys the hope for a good year rather than a happy one. And the reason for that distinction contains great significance. This past January, the Atlantic Monthly had a fascinating article titled There’s More to Life than Being Happy. The author, Emily Esfahani Smith, points out how researchers are beginning to caution against the pursuit of mere happiness. They found that a meaningful life and a happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different. Leading a happy life, the psychologists found, is associated with being a taker while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a giver. Happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life, in which things go well, needs and desire are easily satisfied and difficult or taxing entanglements are avoided, the author writes.
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 15:25:31 +0000