Some people care about having expensive things; others don’t.
Some people dream of traveling the world; others would rather stay put.
Some people want to have a lot of free time; others would rather be busy.
There are differing opinions about what makes life fulfilling, but there is one thing that almost EVERYBODY agrees they want: Happiness.
Best-selling author and transformational expert Marci Shimoff defines happiness as “more than a feeling; it’s a state of being that encompasses our mind, heart, and even the cells in our body.” Although happiness is a universal desire, only 1 in 4 Americans are happy. With 75% of the population falling short in this department, the field of Positive Psychology is more important than ever before.
In her film “Happy for no Reason” Marci Shimoff interviews a series of physicians, psychologists, neuroscientists and philosophers to uncover the inner workings of happiness. Here are a couple of the findings mentioned during her interview series:
Happiness Set Point
We all start out with a genetic predisposition towards a given level of happiness. According to George Mason University’s Associate Professor Todd Kashdan PhD, each person gets 50% of their happiness from genetics, 10% from life circumstances, and 40% from intentional activities. This “set point” is in effect unless we intervene. Marci Shimoff gives the example that one year post win most lottery winners report going back to the same level of happiness as before this “life-changing” event. When negative events occur, the same is true. Six months to a year after unfavorable occurrences, people return back to their happiness set point.
Brain Changes
Biologist and author of Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton PhD, explains that epigenetics reveal how our opinions and attitudes control our genes. If this is the case and people’s mindset plays a role in shaping the cells in their body, the Happiness Set Point is more of a starting point than anything. People can change their physiology which controls 50% of their happiness and can engage in intentional activities to impact another 40% resulting in a control over 90% of their happiness.
An example of how emotions affect one’s state of being is that chronic stress deters happiness by impacting two parts of the brain. It desensitizes the amygdala which serves as a warning system. This leads to an increased feeling of needing to be “on edge” and viewing experiences as more threatening than necessary. At the same time the high levels of cortisol eat away at the hippocampus which normally “quiets” the amygdala to further regulate the necessity of responding. This combination leads to chronic stress significantly impacting the chemistry and physiology of the brain.
When we apply these concepts to living more deliberately, we must reflect upon the following questions:
- What intentional actions do you take to promote your own happiness?
- When do you find yourself blaming your unhappiness on genetics or life circumstances?
- Do you know your own happiness set point? Without intentional activities how happy are you? (This helps you determine just how hard you must work to bring up your level of happiness.)
- Since opinions and attitudes shape your genes, how might your current thoughts be positively or negatively impacting your happiness?
EnlightenMENTE’s Commit to Thrive Program helps people live more deliberately by sorting through all areas of life. The six phase program guides participants through a process of reflecting on how their thoughts and feelings are shaping their current reality. Commit to Thrive helps people recognize the ways their own mindset may be holding them back from achieving goals and living the life of their dreams.
