07 Mar The road to happiness is paved with taking responsibility for your choices
For several decades now I’ve been saying happiness is a choice.
I don’t mean that in a flippant way. And I know for many of us happiness is often easier said than done.
But at the same time, every minute of every day we make choices, about how we respond to others and the world and how we interpret events and the world and … the sum total of those choices can undoubtedly make a difference.
via Fast Company by Yonason Goldson
In the 2011 movie The Adjustment Bureau, Matt Damon’s character debates the chief enforcement angel, arguing that he has free choice over all his actions. Terence Stamp’s character replies:
“You don’t have free will, David. You have the appearance of free will. You have free will over which toothpaste you use or which beverage to order at lunch. But humanity just isn’t mature enough to control the important things.”
In fact, just the opposite may be closer to the truth. We have little control over our likes and dislikes—whether we prefer mint or strawberry, root beer or ginger ale. But when it comes to how we choose to live or lives, we are in the driver’s seat. The only question is whether we attempt to assert our will or simply surrender to our impulses.
The debate has been raging for ages. Many biologists and neurologists maintain that the choices we make are predetermined by our genetic predisposition and our environmental experiences. Every decision, they insist, is programed into us by a combination of nature and nurture. We think we’re in control, but we’re little more than organic robots.
Others argue that this view is overly simplistic. Without getting into the weeds of biology or theology, human experience offers evidence of our moral autonomy every time we find ourselves in a struggle between living up to our principles or indulging our base desires. Just as we build our biceps and triceps by working out at the gym, our psychological muscles grow stronger when we strain them to make better choices. Even if we give in to temptation this time, we’ll come back stronger when we face the next moral battle.
What’s fascinating, however, is how belief in free will has been shown to increase human happiness and satisfaction. Which sheds light on this week’s addition to The Ethical Lexicon newsletter …
… keep reading the full & original article HERE