Happiness

The other day I picked up a new book at the library, and I'm finding some interesting connections to my recent emphasis on using Preach My Gospel in my scripture study. The book is called Happiness, and the author, Daniel Nettles, reviews and analyzes psychological research into what makes people happy. At times a bit dry, it is nevertheless an intriguing look into something about which Mormonism has a fair amount to say.

The basic question the book grapples with in the opening chapters is how happy people are, and how we can tell. The crux of the matter is this: people are horribly inaccurate and inconsistent in terms of rating their own happiness, and even worse at analyzing the causes of that happiness. So we are left to extrapolate from the data conclusions that are not grounded in much solid science.

In dissecting this issue, the author makes an interesting claim about the fact that most people rate their overall level of happiness higher than average, resulting in a pretty skewed bell curve. So, he comes to the conclusion that life is a messy mix of happiness and sorrow, and that things are generally better than they could be, but worse than could be hoped for. Here, then, is the part that gets me: “Far from being a disappointment, this conclusion is strangely liberating. It relieves us from the anxiety that someone else's life is a paradise and ours somehow is not” (64).

Compare this then with the doctrine we teach from Lehi: “men are, that they might have joy.” This is often oversimplified to mean something life “smile, and if you can't smile you're clearly being iniquitous.” No wonder anti-depressants are so widely-prescribed in Utah; if you feel bad about not feeling good, you get in a pretty vicious cycle pretty quickly.

But I parse this verse differently, in light of the introduction to PMG, which explains what we preach when we share the gospel: our potential as children of God to find joy in our relationships with each other and Deity. To me, the key word in the above verse is “might.” There's no guarantee implied, but happiness is possible. And, what's more, that potential happiness is an inherent part of the human condition; we're hard-wired to strive for happiness. Nettles makes a similar point in tracing the evolutionary value of a happiness gene, which gives us a way of seeking conditions that make us more likely to survive and reproduce.

Knowing this, we can--and, I think, should--be aware of what brings us happiness. With that awareness, we are more likely to make choices that lead to happiness. To that end, I have been conducting a brief experiment on my work blog, noting each day what brought me joy in my work from the previous day.

It's been quite enlightening. Most of what I have noted has related to the success my students have had; to me this is a good sign that I'm in the right line of work. And I can similarly note that in my personal life, the things that bring me joy are quality time with my children, good conversations with my wife, and chances to do things for others that are meaningful and use my skills.

Doing these things more frequently and deliberately then should result in more joy in my life. Interestingly, these same things build relationships and bless the lives of others, all things that, in the long run, with a lot of patience and faith, result in the godlike characteristics we ought to be focusing on in this life.