Is it cool to be happy?

By Maggie Currie

Is it cool to be happy?

In order to establish if it is cool to be happy we may first need to determine what ‘be happy’ means. Happiness is described as ‘a prolonged or lasting emotional or affective state that feels good or pleasing’. Overlapping states or experiences associated with happiness include well-being, joy, sexual pleasure, delight, health, safety and love.

Happiness is neither desire nor pleasure alone, it involves a third chemical pathway. Desire does not bring happiness, after all how many times have you desired something, got it and then been unhappy again as you now desire something else? Pleasure can be short lived. Both those are chemical reactions in the brain. Serotonin, as a chemical, constantly shifts the balance between negative and positive emotions. It can reduce worry, fear, panic and sleeplessness and increase sociability, co-operation and happy feelings.

So, are you happy? Having ascertained whether or not you are happy, how about those around you? Happiness is contagious – when you reflect happiness then all others around you catch the happy bug and happy too.

Is ‘happy’ a permanent state or a temporary state? In some people it appears to be permanent, in others it is intermittent, and in others it doesn’t appear to exist.

Happiness has a negative image in our culture. Influenced by a sceptical European philosophical outlook, we think of happiness as a trivial pursuit for the Oprah generation, a Shangri-La perpetuated by self-help gurus. But ordinary people (like me) believe they are happier than average and that they will be even happier in 10 years’ time.

Public surveys measure what makes up happy. Marriage and pets do, but children don’t seem to. Youth and old age are the happiest times. Money does not add much to happiness.

Being sociable makes us happy, being on your own does not. Having good friends, the beauty of the natural world, spirituality all make us happy. Psychologists claim you can train yourself to be happier. They are working on treatments to boost positive emotion about the past, teach people to savour the present and to increase the amount of engagement and meaning in their lives.

So having determined what happiness is and how we can achieve it, is it cool to be happy?

The answer is probably yes. If you are happy others will be happy too. If it is seen that you are happy and others are socialising with you rather than an unhappy person, you will be perceived to be cool. So the answer is definitely yes.


www.creedencetraining.co.uk

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