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There's a whole (relatively new) empirical study of happiness, called Positive Psychology, that's been ongoing for decades. The claim I made is broad, so it's
by yboris 4y ago
There's a whole (relatively new) empirical study of happiness, called Positive Psychology, that's been ongoing for decades.
The claim I made is broad, so it's not based on one experiment, but on numerous factors that point in the same direction. We are social creatures, and feeling like we are a part of a greater whole makes people happier. In the recent book Happy Money, the authors, two Ph.D. researchers in the area, describe experiments that indicate that spending money on others promotes happiness. Of the three components of Self-Determination Theory, one is "Relatedness", feeling connected with and caring others (contributing to a bigger whole). I'm happy to share more.
- marginalia_nu 4y agoEven if what you say is true, I don't think it necessarily follows that this would prevent or mitigate a mid-life crisis. There are after all many things that can cause unhappiness.
- yboris 4y agoI am willing to bet there's a lot of variation in "midlife crisis". I glanced at Wikipedia to see, and one of the possible sources seems to be when people reflect and realize they have not accomplished much. For all the things I've done that normal society considers "accomplishments" (learning to play piano, winning in competitive chess and sports, etc) none, I think, have been as good (for the world and long-term me) as the direct effects of my charitable donations to cost-effective charities. I'm 36 now, so maybe I'll have a midlife crisis in the future (I'm still young); even if I didn't have those accomplishment, I don't think I'll be able to wallow in "I've not accomplished much" when I know I prevented many many people from getting malaria (and all the negatives that accompany it). So I'm pretty sure that "mitigate" can happen, even if not "prevent". And the phrase you use "necessarily follows" might mean you're being rather stringent, but that seems to me too-high a filter to accept good advice ;)
- a9h74j 4y agoSomehow, I am associating Self-Determination Theory with ACT -- acceptance and committment therapy. In any event, 'acceptance' and 'committment' appear pertinent to many comments here.