The Happiness Potion

By Ranjan Yumnam *

Is there a happiness formula to lift our spirits and wipe the dark scars from our souls? For most of us, lasting happiness is an elusive state of mind, fleeting and fluctuating but which never stays with us for a long time. Happiness is not a loyal wife, it's a sly mistress. Studies have found that happiness level of lottery winners plummets back to its previous level after initial bursts of euphoria in a matter of days. They are no happier than before, even with the jackpot they have laid their hands on by the most fortunate turn of events.

Which is to say that money doesn't buy happiness, a cliche I never quite agree with in the first place without qualification. Though money could never be the absolute gold-standard of happiness, it contributes a lot to the well-being of a person—well, upto a point. And by corollary, money can only so much transmit happiness to a person upto a threshold beyond which it matters little.

This should be obvious.

A successful professional who earns Rs. 50,000 a month will always be happier than a beggar, but a thikaadar who makes one lakh a month will not have much edge over the Rs. 50,000 earning chap on the happiness barometer. There are some basic needs of man, and having achieved them there is not so much of a qualitative change that money can bring about. A man, however stinking rich he is, can't eat, drink, play or sleep beyond a limit, which remains fairly constant for all. There is no guarantee that Bill Gates will be happier than say Amitabh Bachhan or Lakhsmi Mittal. And for that matter, can any Richie-Rich drive two Cadillac cars at one go or cavort in two pleasure yachts simultaneously?

So if overwhelming wealth doesn't bring one any more happiness, then what does? That is the question philosophers from Greece to Honolulu have been trying to find a convincing answer to. Socrates proclaimed that self-knowledge is the path to happiness. Epicureans reveled by wallowing in simple pleasures of life to gain happiness. Christians believe in the divine command theory of happiness. Confucius asserted that real happiness comes from accomplishing righteous deeds. Buddhism's eightfold path is its bedrock and its mantra for happiness.

In the modern times, happiness has hit its ecstatic rise when Thomas Jefferson incorporated in the Declaration of Independence the famous phrase: "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" are inalienable rights, and that it justifies the overthrow of the government.

In fact, the search for happiness has now gone mainstream from a spiritual and philosophical diversion to a raging academic and psychological movement. This new branch of study (or more aptly now a movement) is known as "positive psychology" and it seeks to uncover the secrets of attaining a good life, one that is fulfilling and meaningfully happy.

It is different in its approach from the conventional Freudian psychology which is more concerned with what ails the human mind: depression, anxiety, neurosis, obsession, paranoia and so on. Positive psychology, on the other hand, focuses on the signature strengths and virtues of man, such as wisdom and knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence, so that one can flourish in life.

One of the major milestones in this field is the Grant Study of Harvard which tracked the lives of 268 Harvard students over a period of 72 years. Through periodical questionnaires and physiological check-ups, the subjects' lives were documented through war, career, marriages, divorces, parenthood, grandparenthood and death for some. The data and trend that resulted is astounding as well as mind-opening. The study found out people reacted differently to circumstances by employing what the psychologists refer to as adaptations.

In other words, two people may face the same crisis in life, but they won't look at it with the same mind and deal it with the same adaptation. Poor adapters may become irascible or depressed while mature types may just take the problem in their stride as if the crisis never occurred either by suppression (a conscious decision to postpone attention to an impulse or conflict, to be addressed in good time) or sublimation (finding outlets for feelings, like putting aggression into sport, or lust into courtship).

The Grant study found that people evolve over time in strange ways. A well adjusted and balanced person during his twenties may become a deeply troubled and depressed man in his fifties. A shy, timid person may transform into an assertive and eloquent personality later. Nothing is constant in one's life, only change is.

So what's the secret of a blissful life? Is there a formula for happiness? Some mix of work, love and psychological adaptation? After 72 years of being at the helm of this longitudinal study which included JFK among its famous subjects, George Vaillant, the study's Chief filters all its findings to this pithy gem: "The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people". It's love.

Other psychologists and studies have come to more or less the same conclusion: that the quality of our relationships with family and friends matter a lot to our fulfillment. It's not just important to have a friend; the wider and deeper our relationships, the better we are off. Having a really trustworthy, intimate friend is far better than having an army of acquaintances. That's why surveys after surveys, it's the married people who come up more fulfilled in life than single people.

Another factor that can boost happiness in life is to have a work that we like, a meaningful passion that transcends our wants which can take us nearer to, as Abraham Maslow described "the self-actualization" stage. We need meaning in our lives and this we can achieve only by, say, implementing a project we really believe in—doing something worthwhile in the wider canvas beyond daily grind of bread and butter.

Finding a work that you can engross yourself in and be obsessed about, and which when you are doing it you could forget the world around you is the key to contentment. Happiness scientists call this kind of momentum and enthusiasm the "flow".

Positive psychology has had such an impact that governments now have decided that public policy should focus on the happiness of its citizens, and not just economic growth, as one of the outcomes. One nation which seems to understand this is Denmark where the people are happiest in the world. The Danes trust each other so comprehensively, pays 70% of their earnings as income taxes while the government provides for very needs of the citizens.

Which brings us to the relevant question: Can the citizens of Manipur achieve that level of Danes' happiness? For one, I am not happy to answer this. In these times of uncertainty, we don't and can't trust each other (a defense mechanism of sort); we kill; we get murdered in broad daylight and there is no trust in anyone or institution.

We live in fear and progressive trepidation. If only we realize what the science of happiness has been telling us, which is that real happiness doesn't come from securing that big contract or acquiring easy money but by nurturing deep relationships and pursuing an aim that is transcendental and worthwhile for the society.

It is remarkable that Bhutan, a relatively small and backward country has proposed the idea of Gross National Happiness to complement the Gross National Product, which is just an indicator of the economic wellness. GNH is based on the premise that the development of a society takes place not just by jacking the economic growth and wanton consumption but also by the development of spiritual and mental well-being of its people, i.e., happiness.

It's a model we can be happy about adopting.

Ranjan Yumnam

* Ranjan Yumnam, presently an MCS probationer, is a frequent contributor to e-pao.net. He can be contacted at ranjanyumnam(at)gmail(dot)com. This article was webcasted on July 03, 2009.