Why?Thequestionmakesthempondertheirpositioninsocietyandtheyrealizethey』reprettylucky.Theimplication:Ifyouhaveaheftyportfolioorheftypaycheck,youcanprobablybolsteryourhappinessbyregularlycontemplatingyourgoodfortune.
Meanwhile,ifyouarelesswelloff,avoidsituationswhereyoufeeldeprived——andseekoutthosewherecomparisonsareinyourfavor.Ratherthanbuyingthecheapesthouseinawealthyneighborhood,settleforatownwherepeoplehavesimilarsalaries.Whenyouthinkaboutyournetworth,forgetyourwell-heeledsisterandfocusonyourcash-strappedbrother.
Don'tgoitalone
Studieshavefoundthatmarriedfolksarehappierthanthosewhoaresingle.
「Marriageprovidestwosourcesofhappiness,」saysAndrewOswald,aneconomicsprofessoratEngland'sWarwickUniversity.「Oneissexandtheotherisfriendship.Marriagehasoneofthelargestimpactsonhumanwell-being.'」
Similarly,spendingtimewithfriendscanboosthappiness.Studiesindicatethatcommutingisoneoflife』sleastenjoyableactivities,thatlookingafterthekidsismoreofastrugglethanweliketoadmitandthateatingisoneoflife』sgreatpleasures.
Butallofthesethingscanbeenhancedbyaddingfriends.Commutingwithotherswillmakethetriplessgrim,playingwiththekidswillbemorefunifthere'sanotheradultalongandeatingwithothersisbetterthaneatingalone.
Weliketofeelsecure
Midlifeisaperiodofrelativeunhappiness.Thisdissatisfactionmaystemfromthelackofcontrolfeltbythoseintheir40s,astheyjuggleraisingchildrenandthedemandsofwork.
Bycontrast,employeesinseniorpositions,retireesandthosewithgoodjobsecurityoftenreportbeinghappy.Oneexplanation:Theyhavegreatercontrolovertheirdailylives.
「There』saprofoundlinkbetweeninsecuritiesofallkindsandhumanwell-being,」Prof.Oswaldnotes.「Supervisorsarehappierthanthosewhoaresupervised.Joblossisanenormousnegativeandjobsecurityisanenormousplustomentalhealth.」
Weenjoymakingprogress
Studiessuggestwepreferleisuretowork.Butthatdoesn』tmeanworkisalwaysasourceofunhappiness.Welikethefeelingofperformingajobcompetentlyandbeingintheflowofwork.
「Therearedefinitelybetterandworsejobs,」saysDavidSchkade,amanagementprofessorattheUniversityofCaliforniaatSanDiego.「Ifyou』reintheflowmoreoften,that'sgoingtobeabetterjob.'」
ButProf.Schkadesayswork'srealpleasuremaycomefromthesenseofaccomplishmentwefeelafterward.「Weknowprogressmakespeoplefeelgood,」hesays.「Youshoulddesignalifewhereyouhavethatfeelingofprogress.」
Workalsohasthebenefitofmakingleisureseemsweeter,Prof.Schkadeadds.Thismaybethereasonseniorswhosetoutsolelytorelaxandhavefunareoftendisappointedbytheirretirement.
Weadapttoimprovements
Inpursuitofprogress,westriveforfastercars,fatterpaychecksandwinninglotterytickets.
Yet,whenwegetwhatwehankerafter,wequicklybecomedissatisfiedandsoonwe』relustingaftersomethingelse.Academicsrefertothisasthe「hedonictreadmill」or「hedonicadaptation.'」
Wemay,however,beabletoslowtheprocessofadaptation.Ifwegooutandcelebrateourrecentpromotion,wewillhangontothegoodfeelingsforalittlelonger.Ifweboughtahouselastyear,wemayrecoversomeoftheinitialthrillbypausingtoadmireournewhome.
Weshouldalsothinkabouthowwespendourmoney.Itseemswegetmorelastinghappinessfromexperiencesthangoods.
Ifwebuyanewcar,itwilleventuallygofrombeingourprideandjoytobeingascruffysetofwheelswithanirritatingrattle.Butifwespendourmoneyonmealswithfriendsorvacationswithfamily,wewillbeleftwithfondmemoriesthatmaygrowevenfonderwithtime.
Wealsoadapttosetbacks.
Whileadaptationcanworkagainstuswhengoodthingshappen,itsavesusfrommiserywhenbadtimesstrike.Ifaclosefrienddies,weimaginewewillneverlaughagain.Butadaptationridestotherescue.
Oddlyenough,itseemsweadjustmorequicklyifasetbackislargeorirreversible.Ifwebecomedisabled,wewilllikelyadaptwithsurprisingspeed.Ifourspouseisaslob,wemaynevergetusedtoit.
Onereason:Wefigurethere'sstillachanceourspousewillchangehisorherslovenlyways.
Weenjoybehavingvirtuously.
Ifwevolunteer,givetocharityorbehavepolitely,weusuallyfeelprettygood.
Purealtruism?Itmay,instead,beourancientinstinctskickingin.Goodbehaviorpaidbigdividendsinancientsocieties,notesBostonmoneymanagerTerryBurnham,co-authorof「MeanGenes.」
「Virtueisbuiltintousbecausevirtuewasrewarded,」heargues.「Insmall-scalesocieties,whereyouarewellknown,therearerewardsforbeingagoodcitizenandseverepunishmentsforbeingarulebreaker.'」
Still,whateverourtruemotivation,behavingvirtuouslyisalmostalwaysagoodthing—anditwilllikelymakeushappier.
我總是癡迷於那些對人類幸福進行的學術研究，因為它們能把我們為之頭疼不解的問題解釋得如科學般嚴密而準確。我們會以為財富的多少是與一個人的幸福程度成正比的，但研究顯示，美國人如今對生活現狀的滿意程度不比三十年前高多少，要知道當時的生活水平是遠遠不及現在的啊。
那麼，如果財富無法增加人們的幸福感，什麼能呢？通過對「幸福」的研究，我們列出了下面七大關鍵因素。要增加人們的幸福感，不是沒有辦法──但僅有鼓囊囊的錢包是不夠的。
關注那些真正重要的事
並不是收入越高就越感覺幸福。但如果被問及對生活的滿意程度如何，高收入群體給出肯定回答的幾率往往會比較大。
為什麼會如此？因為這個問題會引發他們去思考自己的社會地位，從而意識到自己其實是非常幸運的。從中可以看出：如果你有一套重量級的資產或是一份豐厚的薪水，時不時地想想自己的好運吧，這也許會提升你的幸福感。
而如果你不是「大款」，就盡量避免那些讓你感到財不如人的情況，想想那些人無我有或是人有我優的東西。還有，與其在富人區裡買幢最便宜的房子，不如和那些與你生活水平相當的人住在一起。想知道自己到底身價幾許時，別去想家境殷實的姐姐，多想想一貧如洗的哥哥好了。
拒絕單身
研究發現，已婚人士的生活要比單身一族幸福。
英格蘭華威大學經濟學教授安德魯·奧斯瓦德指出，婚姻給人們帶來了兩種幸福之源，「性福」和友誼，它對人類的影響是無可估量的。