5 ms·

What Makes Us Happy? (2009)

45 points by tim_sw 11y ago

mikeskim 11y ago
A highly biased sample of less than 300 is supposed to really say anything of any significance for the general population? I think not.
- neogodless 11y ago
  And this is thoroughly discussed in the article. It's a sample of men from Harvard. However, it is a very long, in-depth study. Just as you can argue that it can, at best, indicate correlation - and only apply to white Harvard men... it's also possible that the lessons learned are applicable to people outside that narrow scope. It's possible. But then it's also possible that the internal opinions, biases and struggles of Vaillant are bleeding into the conclusions as well.
bmh_ca 11y ago
Goals, rules, skills, and feedback.
acconrad 11y ago
This article breaks down the Grant Study at Harvard Medical School, which is one of the longest-running longitudinal studies ever (at over 75 years)[1]. The primary researcher has written several books[2][3] on the topic, and it's a fascinating study. One thing to remember is that happiness is relative and changes over your lifetime. What makes you happy does not make others happy, and what makes you happy at 20 may not make you happy at 30 or 40. It's easy for HNers to read an article like this and strive to achieve happiness in the boxes defined in this article, but living authentically in what gives you happiness is just as (if not more) important than the tenants that are outlined in this article. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Study [2] http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674004146 http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674004146 [3] http://www.amazon.com/Aging-Well-Surprising-Guideposts-Development/dp/0316090077 http://www.amazon.com/Aging-Well-Surprising-Guideposts-Devel...
peter303 11y ago
High School reunions are the unsophisticated version of this study. You get a snapshot of your cohorts emotional state every 5 or 10 years. In the long term some grow into a state of peace and others descend in competition and bitterness.
ionised 11y ago
An endless pursuit of more stuff.
- karmakaze 11y ago
  An endless pursuit, in general works for me.
xutopia 11y ago
I found that self esteem is an indirect but very effective means to be happier. Here is a good intro about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhuabY4DmEo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhuabY4DmEo
mgolawala 11y ago
Another thing to keep in mind when considering what makes us happy is cultures. I have had the good fortune of being born into one culture, raised in a country with a second slightly different culture, and spending my adult life in a third, very different culture. It is quite plain to me that people are driven quite differently. There is always the background noise of attaining social approval and status through accumulation of wealth and shiny things.. but each of these cultures scores other things in a slightly different way. To give one example, in many (perhaps most?) asian cultures, having 3 generations of a family living under one roof, is seen as a sign of (familial) success and unity. I have noticed that in general in the US, the longer you go into adulthood without moving out of your parents home it is considered a sign of failure. I don't know which one is better, but it is interesting how society influences what makes you happy.
apexkid 11y ago
Definitely not reading such a delineating and boring post. #JustSaying
- dang 11y ago
  Please don't post unsubstantive comments here.
methodover 11y ago
A couple years ago I came to a conclusion that improved my life quite a bit: Happiness is a terrible goal. Many other people seem to have this baseline positive emotional state. They're more or less in a state of contentedness most of the time. For me, that's not how I feel most of the time. My baseline emotional state is not happy. I'm not content. I get flashes of contentedness -- after accomplishing something awesome, for example. But most of the time, I feel relatively unhappy. Thing is, for me, that lack of contentedness seems to drive me. It pushed me out of a really terrible career path back in college. It helped me find programming, and then drove me to learn it. It helped drive me across the country to work at a startup. It helps me spend insane amounts of time and energy on side projects. In the past five years I seem to have accomplished more than any of my peers have in the same amount of time. I don't know if I WANT to be happy. I feel like it'll only slow me down. I feel like I bring more to the world by being unhappy. And honestly, being envious of happy peers just sucks. For me, I've just put it aside.

45 points by tim_sw 11y ago

A highly biased sample of less than 300 is supposed to really say anything of any significance for the general population? I think not.

neogodless 11y ago
And this is thoroughly discussed in the article. It's a sample of men from Harvard. However, it is a very long, in-depth study. Just as you can argue that it can, at best, indicate correlation - and only apply to white Harvard men... it's also possible that the lessons learned are applicable to people outside that narrow scope. It's possible. But then it's also possible that the internal opinions, biases and struggles of Vaillant are bleeding into the conclusions as well.

bmh_ca 11y ago

Goals, rules, skills, and feedback.

acconrad 11y ago

This article breaks down the Grant Study at Harvard Medical School, which is one of the longest-running longitudinal studies ever (at over 75 years)[1]. The primary researcher has written several books[2][3] on the topic, and it's a fascinating study. One thing to remember is that happiness is relative and changes over your lifetime. What makes you happy does not make others happy, and what makes you happy at 20 may not make you happy at 30 or 40. It's easy for HNers to read an article like this and strive to achieve happiness in the boxes defined in this article, but living authentically in what gives you happiness is just as (if not more) important than the tenants that are outlined in this article. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Study [2] http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674004146 http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674004146 [3] http://www.amazon.com/Aging-Well-Surprising-Guideposts-Development/dp/0316090077 http://www.amazon.com/Aging-Well-Surprising-Guideposts-Devel...

peter303 11y ago

High School reunions are the unsophisticated version of this study. You get a snapshot of your cohorts emotional state every 5 or 10 years. In the long term some grow into a state of peace and others descend in competition and bitterness.

ionised 11y ago

An endless pursuit of more stuff.

karmakaze 11y ago
An endless pursuit, in general works for me.

xutopia 11y ago

I found that self esteem is an indirect but very effective means to be happier. Here is a good intro about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhuabY4DmEo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhuabY4DmEo

mgolawala 11y ago

Another thing to keep in mind when considering what makes us happy is cultures. I have had the good fortune of being born into one culture, raised in a country with a second slightly different culture, and spending my adult life in a third, very different culture. It is quite plain to me that people are driven quite differently. There is always the background noise of attaining social approval and status through accumulation of wealth and shiny things.. but each of these cultures scores other things in a slightly different way. To give one example, in many (perhaps most?) asian cultures, having 3 generations of a family living under one roof, is seen as a sign of (familial) success and unity. I have noticed that in general in the US, the longer you go into adulthood without moving out of your parents home it is considered a sign of failure. I don't know which one is better, but it is interesting how society influences what makes you happy.

apexkid 11y ago

Definitely not reading such a delineating and boring post. #JustSaying

dang 11y ago
Please don't post unsubstantive comments here.

methodover 11y ago

A couple years ago I came to a conclusion that improved my life quite a bit: Happiness is a terrible goal. Many other people seem to have this baseline positive emotional state. They're more or less in a state of contentedness most of the time. For me, that's not how I feel most of the time. My baseline emotional state is not happy. I'm not content. I get flashes of contentedness -- after accomplishing something awesome, for example. But most of the time, I feel relatively unhappy. Thing is, for me, that lack of contentedness seems to drive me. It pushed me out of a really terrible career path back in college. It helped me find programming, and then drove me to learn it. It helped drive me across the country to work at a startup. It helps me spend insane amounts of time and energy on side projects. In the past five years I seem to have accomplished more than any of my peers have in the same amount of time. I don't know if I WANT to be happy. I feel like it'll only slow me down. I feel like I bring more to the world by being unhappy. And honestly, being envious of happy peers just sucks. For me, I've just put it aside.