4 ms·

I love the irony in these lines: "The answer, Burton believes, lies in the fact that the average self-improvement treatise encourages the belief that personal

I love the irony in these lines: "The answer, Burton believes, lies in the fact that the average self-improvement treatise encourages the belief that personal happiness is the product of sculpted abs, nicer clothes, or more personal wealth. Those are dangerous distractions, he argues, from the true source of human happiness, our relationships with others."

theorique 16y ago
I explored this in a blog post that summarized a research article written by one James Montier: http://thirtytwothousanddays.com/blog/2010/05/the-things-that-you-think-will-make-you-happy-wont-make-you-happy/ http://thirtytwothousanddays.com/blog/2010/05/the-things-tha... I wrote the following: 1. Exercise, connect with friends, have sex, sleep, and be grateful. A lot. Seriously, do all of these things as much as you can! (although perhaps not all at the same time :) ) 2. Find work that you love and are good at, or are able to become good at. (This will almost certainly be aligned in some way with your inner purpose.) 3. Live in and enjoy the moment, and make nothing a means to an end. (A regular practice of meditation can you help do this.) 4. Take responsibility for your life, and set achievable goals. 5. Don’t worry too much about getting rich - more income and wealth don’t greatly increase your happiness level, once you have reached a basic level of comfort appropriate to the community around you. None of it was really "OH MY GOD, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!" kind of stuff... but the reminder is useful sometimes when doing strategic life planning. The original paper was found here [pdf] http://www.trendfollowing.com/whitepaper/happiness.pdf http://www.trendfollowing.com/whitepaper/happiness.pdf
- jganetsk 16y ago
  Some people need to engage in self-improvement before they can have friends and lots of sex.

4 ms·

I love the irony in these lines: "The answer, Burton believes, lies in the fact that the average self-improvement treatise encourages the belief that personal

by sentinel 16y ago

theorique 16y ago
I explored this in a blog post that summarized a research article written by one James Montier: http://thirtytwothousanddays.com/blog/2010/05/the-things-that-you-think-will-make-you-happy-wont-make-you-happy/ http://thirtytwothousanddays.com/blog/2010/05/the-things-tha... I wrote the following: 1. Exercise, connect with friends, have sex, sleep, and be grateful. A lot. Seriously, do all of these things as much as you can! (although perhaps not all at the same time :) ) 2. Find work that you love and are good at, or are able to become good at. (This will almost certainly be aligned in some way with your inner purpose.) 3. Live in and enjoy the moment, and make nothing a means to an end. (A regular practice of meditation can you help do this.) 4. Take responsibility for your life, and set achievable goals. 5. Don’t worry too much about getting rich - more income and wealth don’t greatly increase your happiness level, once you have reached a basic level of comfort appropriate to the community around you. None of it was really "OH MY GOD, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT!" kind of stuff... but the reminder is useful sometimes when doing strategic life planning. The original paper was found here [pdf] http://www.trendfollowing.com/whitepaper/happiness.pdf http://www.trendfollowing.com/whitepaper/happiness.pdf
- jganetsk 16y ago
  Some people need to engage in self-improvement before they can have friends and lots of sex.