14 Dec Busting Happiness Myths – more
Other myths and truths:
Myth: If I could just turn all these decisions over to someone else, life would be better.
Truth: Control makes us happy.
Myth: Religious people are happier.
Truth: Here the myth is probably true – religious people are happier (or at least those who have some sort of spiritual belief tend to be happier).
Myth: Leave me alone and I”ll be happy.
Truth: Close relationships make people happier.
Myth: Disability brings years of unhappiness.
Truth: The disabled are as happy as anyone else.
Myth: Happiness decreases with age.
Truth: The old are as happy as the young.
Myth: You can”t fake happiness.
Truth: Fake it until you make it. This means begin acting as if you are happy and you will be happy or at least happier. This is what Lincoln was driving at in his famous quote noted.
Myth: More leisure time would make us happier.
Truth: Busier people are happier.
Dr. David Myers, author of the book “The Pursuit of Happiness.” makes the last point by noting that happiness is a side-effect of doing other things: “People who are passive, who are vegetating – dare I say watching television – are less likely to report themselves happy than people who are actively doing things.”
So as the Nike commercial advises, “Just do it.” Think of how much happier we”d be if we stopped watching television, and perhaps spent more time reading things like Dr. Happy’s Blog instead.