Lessons for Living
|
|
What is your choice for a happy life?
|
Psychologist Martin
Seligman has been studying happiness and has determined that there are three pathways to a
happier life. He describes our options as being for a Pleasant Life, a Good Life, or a
Meaningful Life. The type of happiness we seek is determined by where we focus our
attention. A Pleasant Life is based on a desire for contentment and is seen in accumulating pleasant experiences such as enjoying food, the company of family and friends, and in seeking pleasing entertainment. It involves laughter, good moods, and being comfortable in our daily surroundings. A Good Life has its focus on gratification rather than pleasure. A Good Life seeks intense involvement in activities where the sense of time is lost. It's like having a hobby or an interest, which so absorbs you that hours speed by without your awareness. A Good life seeks happiness not through pleasure but in the intensity of the things that you do. A Meaningful Life focuses on using personal strengths and assets to improve the higher good for other people or society at large. The activities chosen may not be pleasant (for example, volunteering in an AIDS clinic,) and may not let you lose yourself in the moment, but they do provide a deep sense of making a difference. A Meaningful Life takes us out of an excessively self-centered focus and connects us to others through a higher purpose. These three pathways to happiness are not mutually exclusive, and can be combined into what could be described as a living a Full Life, which means being open to positive experiences but also focusing our complete attention on tasks that make a difference for others. It may be that the choice to seek such a Full Life is also our best choice for a happy life. |
