Archive for the ‘Happiness News’ Category

Evil People

Happiness and Evil CandlesSome people enjoy being mean. Evil people enjoy causing hurt and harm, it gives them a sense of power, control and superiority.

They may hide your keys, snicker while you search for them and blame you for not being better organized. Benign? It costs you time and emotional well-being.

Empowered, evil tyrants like Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot kill millions of people without regret.

They have no consciences, no guilt, no remorse or empathy, no care about right or wrong. They do whatever they please, their only concern is getting caught or being stopped.

Law enforcement and medical professionals call them psychopaths, sociopaths, antisocial. They are at least 4% of our population.

They are often very articulate, charming, attractive and likable. This makes them very dangerous. They look and act normal but they have no morals, no concern for anyone but themselves.

They are adept at hiding their true feelings and evil intentions. They are criminals, con artists, psychopathic ceos, corporate bullys, petty tyrants.

Good people don’t believe people can be so evil and do such evil things and still seem so normal.

This is how and why happy, healthy people are repeatedly taken in and victimized by their psychopathic manipulations and deceptions.

Evil people look like fine, upstanding citizens. Church involvement can provide convenient covers for their criminal activities.

Happy, Healthy, Successful People Beware:

Psychopaths often target the best and the brightest and try to humiliate and subjugate people who are better than they are. They love to dominate, control and destroy people who outshine or out perform them. Why People Are Targeted

Their haughty delusions of grandeur are driven by deep seated and well earned fears of inferiority.

Protection from Evil Psychopaths:

1) Recognize there are very sick, evil people who appear normal, kind, caring and considerate. They have no empathy or concern for anyone but themselves. Sociopaths are sadistic. They get pleasure from causing pain, especially to good people.

2) Power, Control and Superiority are their needs. They want to hurt you and they don’t want to be exposed. They blame you for the evil they’re doing and they want you to take responsibility for it and blame yourself as well.

3) Humiliation and Subjugation are their goals. If they can make you mad, look crazy or bad, you’ve played right into their hands.

4) Emotional Independence – Choose your mood, attitude and actions based on what’s best for you. Don’t give them control of your thoughts, actions or feelings. Don’t give them the control and dominance they crave.

5) Protect Yourself Physically and Mentally – don’t let them depress, distress or endanger you. Don’t let their evil dominate your life.

6) Shine Brightly – Strength, Genuine Goodness and Spiritual Success Are Your Best Defenses!

For more Happiness Habits see HappinessHabit.com

Copyright © 2007, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. This material may NOT be published, broadcast, distributed or rewritten without permission from the authors.

Clergy Are Happiest…

The Clergy celticcross96.jpgare the happiest and most satisfied with their jobs according to the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Physical therapists and firefighters ranked second and third in overall job satisfaction. Interestingly, these jobs are generally lower paying professions.

Doctors and lawyers who are significantly more affluent report much lower levels of job satisfaction. The least satisfied professions were roofers and waiters, people who work primarily for money because their jobs are seen as having fewer intrinsic rewards.

These survey results reaffirm Happiness Habit’s First Law of Happy Thought: Our Focus Determines Our Feelings

When we devote our time and energy to doing things we find meaningful and rewarding, we feel good. Devoting our lives to altruism and helping others is often the best, most reliable route to true happiness.

Clergy face many difficult stresses daily, dealing with death, demanding church members and dysfunctional subcultures. Their lives are certainly not easy or stress free. The noble calling of their profession, their dedication to goodness and helping others triumphs dramatically over all these disadvantages.

Roofers and waiters who report low job satisfaction can reposition their perspectives to emphasize the value and beauty in what they do.

Everyone can take pride in executing even simple, repetitive jobs extraordinarily well. Linking job satisfaction to the benefits your work provides, keeping a home dry or creating a beautiful dining experience can send your spirits soaring. You no longer work just for money but for the good you do for others.

Doctors and lawyers who adopt similar perspectives achieve far greater satisfaction from their work. When they just focus on their stresses and their problems, they are miserable. Redirecting their attention to the good they provide patients, clients and society changes the complexion of their work dramatically.

Professions characterized by chronically combative, competitive cultures value winning, power and superiority above all else. Even people who are highly successful in these cultures are rarely as happy or long lived as those who choose to devote their talents to altruism and helping others.

Goodness truly does bring its own wonderful rewards!

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright 1999-     , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. ReprintsMichele Moore is author of How To Live A Happy Life – 101 Ways To Be Happier.

Is Happiness Different in Britain?

britbiscuitbasket3.jpgThe Happiness Institute in Australia reminded us how very culturally dependent measures of happiness can be.

Today they cite a study in the United Kingdom that reports hairdressers are the happiest profession.

We don’t know where hair dressing ranks in University of Chicago’s study, nor do we know where the clergy rank in happiness and job satisfaction in Great Britain.

It’s important to appreciate how very subjective and culturally dependent happiness and job satisfaction studies can be.

Are similar questions being asked in the same way to similar groups of people? Do the questions and answers mean the same things?

The United States and Great Britain are very similar in many ways, we would expect surveys of happiness and job satisfaction to be alike too.

Just as we were surprised to see tomatoes regularly served for breakfast on our first trip to Great Britain, we should expect surprises in happiness and job satisfaction rankings between countries and cultures as well.

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright 1999-     , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. ReprintsMichele Moore is author of How To Live A Happy Life – 101 Ways To Be Happier.

Happiness Studies Are Depressing!

blubrainhead1.jpgHere’s a typical abstract of recent happiness studies from Scientific American:

We tend to adapt, quickly returning to our usual level of happiness. The classic example of such “hedonic adaptation” comes from a 1970s study of lottery winners, who a year after their windfall ended up no happier than non winners. Hedonic adaptation helps to explain why even changes in major life circumstances – such as income, marriage, physical health and where we live – do so little to boost our overall happiness.

Not only that, but studies of twins and adoptees have shown that a determined from birth. This “genetic set point” alone makes the happiness glass look half empty, because any upward swing in happiness seems doomed to fall back to near your baseline.

How Depressing! Academic research proves even unexpected abundant wealth does not bring lasting happiness and our happiness is a prisoner function of our genes!

What are we meant to do if we want to be happier and live happy, spiritually successful lives? Take drugs? See a psychotherapist? The psychologists at these major research institutions leave us hanging without solutions, suggestions or resolutions.

They don’t want you to know there are simple, enduring, universal truths that lead to happiness and a happy life!

Another synopsis from the “father of Flow” Mihály Csíkszentmihályi one of the world’s leading researchers in positive psychology suggests we: 1) Be attuned to what gives us satisfaction; 2) Study ourselves; and 3) Take control. It’s hardly a complete recipe for happiness!

Most happiness research is conducted by psychology departments at major universities who have huge investments in treating problems and disease. The emergence of simple, teachable Happiness Truths would undermine these psychologists professed preeminence, prestige, power and economic well-being. Expect academic research to biased towards Daniel Gilbert’s “Stumbling on Happiness” thesis that most people don’t know what makes them happy.

Pharmaceutical firms are major advertisers. Over eleven million prescriptions for psycho active mood elevators are written annually in the United States alone. Is the media willing to cover options that could jeopardize this revenue?

There are universal, enduring, eternal truths that lead to happy, spiritually successful lives. We call these happiness habits…

“Be Guided By Goodness • Fuel Your Life With Fun • Passion Is Empty Without Compassion • Profit From Your Mistakes • Beating Yourself Up Reinforces Errors You Want To Avoid • Drive Discipline With Desire • Make Decisions Not Judgments • Schedule Your Time Not Your Tasks • Be Driven By Desire NOT Duress • See Obstacles NOT Problems • Focus On How You Want To Feel • Touch Each Person You Meet With A Positive Spirit • Love Propels Happiness ”

Don’t expect them to be covered by television, magazine or major media enterprises that rely on advertising for their revenue.

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright 2007, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. ReprintsMichele Moore is author of How To Live A Happy Life – 101 Ways To Be Happier.

Why Gardening Brings Happiness

dirtyhands2.jpgIt’s official, recent scientific research shows bacteria commonly found in dirt, bacterium Mycobacterium vaccae, can lift levels of serotonin in the brain, brightening our moods and contributing to our happiness.

At last, scientific proof of what gardeners have known since the beginning of time, digging in the dirt is enjoyable, satisfying and good for our happiness!

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright 1999-     , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. ReprintsMichele Moore is author of How To Live A Happy Life – 101 Ways To Be Happier.

CBS’s Katie Couric – Daniel Gilbert on Happiness

happykatiecouric3.jpgUPDATE

CBS removed Gilbert’s second quote* from the CNBSnews.com website after we received his angry email.

Our comments had impact!

Katie Couric’s interview today with “Stumbling on Happiness” author Daniel Gilbert shares revealing insights into how psychologists view happiness.

Here are Dr. Gilbert’s closing comments:

“This interview has, of course, been the single happiest experience of my entire adult life,” says Gilbert.

“I’d have to say that I am especially happy when my 4 year old granddaughter and I spread the tinker toys out on the living room floor and build a geebenfloober. Neither of us has any idea what a geebenfloober is, but it’s really fun to say with a mouthful of pretzels.”

Conspicuously absent were any steps people can take to live happier, more fulfilling lives, like…

Be Guided By Goodness, Fuel Your Life With Fun, Your Aim Determines Your Achievements, Avoid All Unnecessary, Non-Productive Negativity and the Fault Finding Feel Goods, Focus On How You Want To Feel, Drive Discipline With Desire, Live According To Your Aspirations Not Your Inclinations, Touch People With A Positive Spirit, Live By Only The Highest And Best Values, Be Driven By Desire Not Duress, Love Propels Happiness.

Psychotherapists have major investments in treating disease. Growing happiness does not necessarily further their goals.

*Gilbert begins by saying, “in the land of plenty, plenty of people are unhappy and want to know why.”

He seems to view unhappiness as something that is wrong, as a disease, not as a negative state that can be changed and overcome by thinking and acting in new or different ways.

Don’t look to psychologists or psychotherapists for compelling insights about happiness.

Instead, seek out genuinely happy people. Study and acquire their values, beliefs and ideals and then become happy like them.

Gilbert comments, “You should do some homework before criticizing others as a means of promoting your book.” Hmmm, did we really criticize? Or did we just quote him fairly from the interview and state the facts? We were certainly kind and supportive on the CBS website.

You decide.

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright 1999-   , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved.  Reprints.

Happiness from all Corners of the World

India is studying happiness in an effort to bring happiness studies into schools. Certainly being absorbed in productive, creative activities can be very rewarding.Happy Taj India

A wonderful article from Thailand Times linking flow states to happiness disappeared from their site.   Creative flow states as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi are often linked to happiness.We don’t disagree that creative flow states can be a source of happiness. It is easy to get lost in the flow> and loose site of  what you have to do and what you really want to achieve.

We found habitually happy people were generally very time conscious, they tended to schedule their time not their tasks. Time was generally their limiting resource.

Being concerned about time protected them from getting lost in the flow and loosing site of what they really want to achieve.

The Mercury News reports Clairmont College in California is initiating a doctoral program in Happiness. They will research “What makes people happy?”

We wonder, why not ask, “How can people make themselves happy?” Isn’t our goal to be happy and find ways to live a happier, more spiritually successful life?

We agree with Will Wilkinson’s Happiness & Public Policy Blog about happiness research. Today’s posting is, as always, very sophisticated and complete. He refers to research on aging and happiness, which was also recently reported in Slate.

Science Blogs reported research on the decline in happiness during the 20th Century. Reading it did not make me happy!

See HappinessHabit.com for more information.

Copyright 1999-     , Michele Moore.  All Rights Reserved.  Reprints.

NBC’s Happiness, Health & Prozac

happypill.jpgYes, happy people are healthier too! Tonight NBC featured studies showing that happy people are more resistant to cold and flu viruses and lead longer lives than their less happy counterparts.

Ten Years Longer Life..

A well known study of Catholic nuns revealed that nuns who consistently wrote positive journals lived up to 10 years longer than those whose journals tended toward negative.

“If we hope, we cope. If we don’t, we mope,” one charmingly energetic 96 year old nun commented on screen. What’s the reason?

Happiness is a protector against stress.

Stress stimulates the release of cortisol, a hormone correlated with higher risks of heart disease.

Happiness counters stress, when we’re happy, we’re less stressed.

A related feature reported that more than 11 million prescriptions are written annually for anti depressant medications like Prozac and Zolof in the United States. If we chemically treat erectile dysfunction and baldness, why not bad moods?

See HappinessHabit.com for more happiness insights.

Copyright 1999 –    , Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.