Sturt and Nordstrom: Why the
pursuit of happiness is making you unhappy By DAVID STURT and TODD NORDSTROM
O.C. Tanner Institute
Be honest. Have you ever looked
in the mirror and wondered why you’re not happy? You’re not alone.
“Life is not what I expected,”
a friend told us last week. “My husband and I both are educated. We both have
jobs that pay well. We have nice things and take great trips. But, sometimes we
both just want to run away from it all—do something more meaningful.”
Our friend’s comments resonated
with us, as it’s not the first time we’ve heard this sentiment. In fact,
feeling “not happy” might be more common than you think. A Harris poll of 2,345
U.S. adults used a series of questions to determine Americans’ levels of
contentment and life satisfaction.
According to the results, a
dismal 33 percent said that they were very happy. A poll by Time showed a
slightly better response, reporting that 59 percent of their respondents said
they were happy most of the time. That’s a better number, but it still leaves
40 percent of us without a smile.
So, what’s up? Why, in a nation
that entitles us to the pursuit of happiness are so many people not feeling
that energized spirit? Why aren’t more people feeling the passion for life?
Based on all the research we do
on the workplace, we had a hunch when we began discussing the topic of
happiness. We wondered how closely feeling happy is connected to the notion of
feeling valued and appreciated—at home and at work. Do our efforts, actions and
thoughts need to serve a purpose, give us meaning or create an impact in
someone else’s life to make us happy?
We recently interviewed
best-selling author of Strengths Finder 2.0, Tom Rath, about his brand new book
titled "Are You Fully Charged?" Rath mentioned during the interview
that the concept of “pursuing happiness” has backfired. That statement made us
curious to find out more.
“Most of the people I’ve spoken
with personally, do have the opportunity to engage in meaningful pursuits on
their own time,” Rath told us. “However, when I asked people about the
meaningfulness of their work each day, they struggle. This is concerning,
considering the fact that most people spend the majority of their waking hours
dedicated to being full-time workers, students, parents or volunteers.”
Recent Gallup research on this
topic, makes Rath’s finding even more concerning. The poll asked workers across
the United States if their lives were better off because of the organization
they worked for. The response, about the organization that feeds your family
and puts shoes on your feet, was, without question, shocking.
“A mere 12 percent of
respondents claimed that their lives were significantly better due to the
company they worked for,” said Rath. And, sadly, the vast majority of employees
felt their company was a detriment to their overall health and well-being.”
We then asked Rath, “Don’t
these statistics prove that we, as a nation and culture, need to pursue
happiness even more?”
“It’s actually the opposite,”
says Rath, “if your pursuit of happiness is for yourself. In fact, scientists
are still uncovering the reasons why the pursuit of personal happiness
backfires.
"Part of the explanation
lies in its self-focused nature. Research suggests that the more value you
place on your own happiness, the more likely you are to feel lonely on a daily
basis. In fact, there’s a strong negative physiological reaction in the body
when humans pursue happiness for themselves. When participants in experiments
were told to read articles that persuaded them to find happiness, samples of
saliva indicated corresponding decreases in progesterone levels, which is a
hormonal response associated with loneliness.”
“…and if we pursue happiness
for other people?” we asked.
“That’s where you find
something magical, called meaning,” Rath replied. “Think about the people you
know. The people who seemingly exude joy and happiness are those who seem to
put other’s needs, or a bigger purpose above their own needs.”
Rath paused. It was almost as
if we could hear him thinking. “Be warned though, putting another person’s
needs before your own can feel like a short-term decrease in your own
happiness. But, it’s short and eventually your contribution improves the entire
environment.”
Interestingly, research from
The Great Work study showed similar findings, but with a different outcome. For
those of you reading this and wondering if shifting your intention from
yourself to others to increase your level of happiness, will impact your
productivity or results at work, you can rest easy.
An analysis from 1.7 million
cases of award-winning work, throughout various professions and industries,
showed that 88 percent of work projects that win awards begin when someone asks
the question, “What difference could I make that someone else will love?”
“It’s a mindset shift,”
concluded Rath. “A small shift that can improve your life.”
We agree. How does this sound?
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for others.”
David Sturt is Executive Vice
President at the organizational research firm O.C. Tanner Institute. His recent
book is “Great Work: How to Make a Difference People Love” from McGraw-Hill.
Todd Nordstrom is Director of Institute Content. The two consult with leaders
and speak at leadership conferences around the world.
O.C. Tanner maintains a
regional office in Tulsa. This article originally appeared in forbes.com
A letter to Big Soda
Dear Big Soda:
You have not beaten us, because
the fight for a healthier Vermont will continue.
While your supersized spending
— more than $500,000 in just three months — succeeded in soaking the airwaves
and newspapers with deceptive advertising, most Vermonters were not fooled. In
fact, a Castleton State College poll found 57 percent of Vermonters supported
our proposal to tax your unhealthy products to raise money for affordable
health care programs.
Sadly, Vermont is not immune to
the costly epidemic of obesity and diet-related illnesses such as diabetes,
heart disease, stroke and many forms of cancer that, thanks in part to big
jumps in sugary drink sales over the last 50 years, has made our nation one of
the least healthy in the industrialized world. These diseases cause great
suffering and impose substantial costs on our health care system. Though we may
be the “second healthiest state” in America, when it comes to obesity rates, we
are just the best of the worst. One in four Vermont adults is now obese, and 30
percent of our children are overweight or obese. These rates have more than
doubled since 1990.
Annually, the cost of treating
obesity-related health problems in Vermont, just among adults, is at least $200
million and may be as high as $600 million when factoring in childhood obesity.
As a result, health researchers now predict this will be the first generation
of American children to live shorter lives than their parents.
The obesity epidemic has many
causes, but the overwhelming consensus of independent researchers — those who
aren’t on your industry payroll — is that your sugar-loaded, low- or
no-nutrition drinks are a major factor. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory
Council recently warned that heavy doses of added sugars in the American diet
are to blame for spikes in type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses
linked to obesity. The council also confirmed that sugary drinks are the
largest source of added sugars in the average American diet, surpassing milk in
the 1990s as the largest source of calories for our kids.
Vermont doctors, nurses,
dentists and dental hygienists see this story play out with their patients
whose habits of drinking multiple sugary drinks each day have given rise to a
range of diet-driven diseases. That is why the Alliance for a Healthier
Vermont’s sugary drink excise tax proposal enjoyed the support of every major
health care provider organization in the state, along with public health
organizations including the American Heart Association, the American Cancer
Society and many others.
Unlike the Vermont doctors who
supported an excise tax on sugary drinks, your highly paid spin doctors say
that better education is the solution. Yet your industry spends nearly a
billion dollars each year to drown out public health education about the risks
of drinking too many sugary drinks. Your ads often target children with cartoon
characters, computer games and use misleading claims about the health benefits
of the liquid sugar you sell. You know that public educational efforts about
the health risks of drinking too many sugary drinks don’t stand a chance when
they stand alone.
It appears that you’ve learned
a lot from Big Tobacco when it comes to deceptive advertising, denying
accountability for the health risks your products pose and scaring elected
officials who might support policies that would curb unhealthy consumption
levels. We’ve learned something, too.
We’ve learned that, as with
tobacco, a substantial excise tax that increases the shelf price on sugary
drinks and funds effective health care and nutrition programs will help reduce
unhealthy levels of consumption. We’ve also learned that it takes time for
elected officials to find the courage to take on your powerful, wealthy
industry. Though we fell short this legislative session, we helped more
legislators find that courage this time around.
You may have won this latest
round, but we want you to know that the struggle for a healthier Vermont is far
from over.
Anthony Iarrapino is the
director of the Alliance for a Healthier Vermont.
Inner Truth: Simple Happiness
Dimple Mishra
We all yearn to be happy, but
since what we think happiness is always linked to some distant future event or
achievement or our hearts are filled with pain from yesterday – are we ever
truly happy?
Happiness is the gentle breeze
blowing through the branches of a tree, where the leaves seem to sway with joy.
Birds’ chirping around the bird bath someone kindly put up in their little
garden in the sultry summer heat. A drive on a beautiful road in a foreign
land, a phone call from a loved one, the red roses you got yourself for no
particular reason, the moment you have just finished doing up your room exactly
how you like it, the candles flickering on your well-set dining table, a kind
word from someone, the lyrics of an achingly romantic song, a job completed
successfully at the right time. It’s an endless list.
We all yearn to be happy, but
since what we think happiness is always linked to some distant future event or
achievement or our hearts are filled with pain from yesterday – are we ever
truly happy?
The present moment is the
perfect moment for it is not heavy with the past and hasn’t seen the
uncertainty of the future, a simple answer to the quest for happiness.
“I
would like to tell you that I wrote my book to push back artistic boundaries.
But I didn’t. I wrote it to impress a girl.” Gideon Defoe
“Studies
suggest that petting dogs produces hormonal changes. This helps people cope
with depression and certain stress-related disorders. Additionally, it
decreases levels of the primary stress hormone cortisol, which regulates appetite and carbohydrates cravings. (Blascovich,
2002)”
“I
am reading six books at once, the only way of reading; since, as you will
agree, one book is only a single unaccompanied note, and to get the full sound,
one needs ten others at the same time.” Virginia
Woolf
When
you are attracted to people, it’s because of the details. Their kindness. Their
eyes. The fact that they can get you to laugh when you need it the most.” Jodi Picoult, Sing You Home
Otherwise
Jane Kenyon, 1947 -
1995
I got out of bed
on two strong legs.
It might have been
otherwise. I ate
cereal, sweet
milk, ripe, flawless
peach. It might
have been otherwise.
I took the dog uphill
to the birch wood.
All morning I did
the work I love.
At noon I lay down
with my mate. It might
have been otherwise.
We ate dinner together
at a table with silver
candlesticks. It might
have been otherwise.
I slept in a bed
in a room with paintings
on the walls, and
planned another day
just like this day.
But one day, I know,
it will be otherwise.
“Julius Caesar” (Act 5, Scene 3)
“The sun of Rome is set. Our day is gone;
Clouds, dews, and dangers come; our deeds are done.”
