| If you read one article this year on 09:04 - Jan 7 with 1426 views | wkj |
Oddly I am referencing this very artical for a research paper right now about Happiness and longer life and how blindly we connect the dots and make wild assumptions about the cause of certain things on other things.
In short
Are we living longer because we're happier, or are we happier because we're able to live longer; etc
Whilst happiness is an important quality of life, making assumptions such as happiness leads to a longer life actually puts people under psychological pressure to some how get happy, and not enjoy the state of contentment that is, things are okay.
Good article for sure. |  |
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| If you read one article this year on 09:09 - Jan 7 with 1417 views | bluelagos |
| If you read one article this year on 09:04 - Jan 7 by wkj |
Oddly I am referencing this very artical for a research paper right now about Happiness and longer life and how blindly we connect the dots and make wild assumptions about the cause of certain things on other things.
In short
Are we living longer because we're happier, or are we happier because we're able to live longer; etc
Whilst happiness is an important quality of life, making assumptions such as happiness leads to a longer life actually puts people under psychological pressure to some how get happy, and not enjoy the state of contentment that is, things are okay.
Good article for sure. |
The key bit for me is how we chase what society tells us is important (money, status, career etc.) and for what?
Making do financially is what I've opted for, bolloxed if I am chasing money for the sake of it. :-) |  |
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| If you read one article this year on 09:14 - Jan 7 with 1396 views | wkj |
| If you read one article this year on 09:09 - Jan 7 by bluelagos |
The key bit for me is how we chase what society tells us is important (money, status, career etc.) and for what?
Making do financially is what I've opted for, bolloxed if I am chasing money for the sake of it. :-) |
The reason happiness surveys exist is the discovery that GPD is not the lead cause of happiness for the world's happiest countries. Norway is usually high up the list, for example, and hardly a GDP powerhouse.
So making do financially is actually strikingly common happiness criteria for people rather than being filthy rich.
The major things you have to be careful for is when they start referencing happiness to regions of the country- it is a pretty unreliable thing to quantify as a mean average, and actually are often recorded as a coefficient based on a scatter graph rather than actually generating an average in more traditional ways such as median, range and mean. [Post edited 7 Jan 2019 9:14]
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| If you read one article this year on 09:23 - Jan 7 with 1370 views | Swansea_Blue |
Am I missing something? We've known this for years, if not decades now. |  |
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| If you read one article this year on 09:41 - Jan 7 with 1352 views | urbanblue |
| If you read one article this year on 09:09 - Jan 7 by bluelagos |
The key bit for me is how we chase what society tells us is important (money, status, career etc.) and for what?
Making do financially is what I've opted for, bolloxed if I am chasing money for the sake of it. :-) |
100% this!! |  | | |
| If you read one article this year on 11:20 - Jan 7 with 1281 views | Darth_Koont |
| If you read one article this year on 09:14 - Jan 7 by wkj |
The reason happiness surveys exist is the discovery that GPD is not the lead cause of happiness for the world's happiest countries. Norway is usually high up the list, for example, and hardly a GDP powerhouse.
So making do financially is actually strikingly common happiness criteria for people rather than being filthy rich.
The major things you have to be careful for is when they start referencing happiness to regions of the country- it is a pretty unreliable thing to quantify as a mean average, and actually are often recorded as a coefficient based on a scatter graph rather than actually generating an average in more traditional ways such as median, range and mean. [Post edited 7 Jan 2019 9:14]
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Yes, I think the Happiness Index shows quite clearly that in the developed world the GDP powerhouses are among the least happy with a poorly perceived quality of life.
It's only in the developing countries where the advantages of increasing GDP come in more strongly because it's literally changing society and people's lives in a more real sense e.g. better health, education, living standards, security, opportunities etc. But clearly past that point it becomes a trap and source of misery if we're not careful.
I think we need to be following the Nordic/Northern European model much closer where capitalism is given the lead to power the economy but that's balanced by a more social democratic outlook where the profit is reinvested into the wellbeing of society. But clearly that needs a shift in our individual and society values the way things have been heading in the UK over the past few decades.
Overall, I think it highlights the power and potential danger of narratives. We could be looking at the evidence of what works and what we actually need to be happy as individuals and societies but for some reason we're unable to let go of a pretty outdated concept of "success" that is based on social and economic challenges half a century or more ago. |  |
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| If you read one article this year on 12:05 - Jan 7 with 1228 views | jjblue84 |
So money doesn’t buy you happiness eh? Thank god for the guardian!! |  | | |
| If you read one article this year on 12:14 - Jan 7 with 1218 views | Whymarkmariner |
| If you read one article this year on 11:20 - Jan 7 by Darth_Koont |
Yes, I think the Happiness Index shows quite clearly that in the developed world the GDP powerhouses are among the least happy with a poorly perceived quality of life.
It's only in the developing countries where the advantages of increasing GDP come in more strongly because it's literally changing society and people's lives in a more real sense e.g. better health, education, living standards, security, opportunities etc. But clearly past that point it becomes a trap and source of misery if we're not careful.
I think we need to be following the Nordic/Northern European model much closer where capitalism is given the lead to power the economy but that's balanced by a more social democratic outlook where the profit is reinvested into the wellbeing of society. But clearly that needs a shift in our individual and society values the way things have been heading in the UK over the past few decades.
Overall, I think it highlights the power and potential danger of narratives. We could be looking at the evidence of what works and what we actually need to be happy as individuals and societies but for some reason we're unable to let go of a pretty outdated concept of "success" that is based on social and economic challenges half a century or more ago. |
It's true you do chase money. Does it make you happier ? No. In many cases the more you earn the more you spend. You aspire to buying certain items. Rolex watches, Crombie coats, exotic holidays, designer kitchens etc, etc. Once you have them what do you then do ? Go for a more expensive Rolex, a more expensive holiday ? Those that earn more, spend more is probably a generalisation, but in order to keep up their status image more than likely true. Also, do these people want to let their friends see that if they were to decided that they would get out of the rat race that they were no longer having the expensive holidays, going to the latest fashionable restaurant for lunch, buying designer clothes and having the latest Merc. This is where it would becomes difficult as if you achieve a certain status you either don't want to lose it or to have family and friends see that you have downgraded. It's probably best if you just satisfy yourself with what you need and can afford. i'm not wealthy, but I suppose compared to some I'm not poor either. I still work at nearly 70 years of age, but only a few hours a week. Partly to subsidise my income and partly because it gives me a bit of exercise and a chance to have a natter with workmates. |  | | |
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| If you read one article this year on 13:02 - Jan 7 with 1162 views | bluelagos |
| If you read one article this year on 09:23 - Jan 7 by Swansea_Blue |
Am I missing something? We've known this for years, if not decades now. |
Wish someone had told me... | |
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