THE HAPPINESS FORMULA

Today posted on LinkedIN was Deepak Chopra's commencement address to this year's graduates from
a US college.

Deepak is always a pleasure to hear or read and it is no different with this address. The one thing from this speech that stood out for me was him discussing the "Happiness" formula, which is  H=S+C+V where

H stands for happiness

S stands for set point in the brain

C stands for conditions of living

V stands for voluntary choices

Here is an excerpt from his speech which I think is worth reflection:

"S" stands for the set point in the brain and refers to our mechanisms of perception. We all have a semi-fixed place on the happiness spectrum based on our outlook on life. Happier people see the opportunities, whereas unhappy people see problems. The set point for happiness can be upregulated, or shifted toward greater happiness, through self-reflection on limiting beliefs. The set point determines 50% of our happiness experience on a daily basis. The ‘C' in the formula is for conditions of living and refers mainly to material success and personal wealth. It determines about 12% of your daily happiness experience. If you win the lottery, you will be extremely happy for a few months, but after one year, you will return to your set point. Voluntary choices represent choices that we make on a daily basis. Choices for personal pleasure bring transient happiness, while selfless choices bring inner fulfillment through purpose and meaning, e.g. by making other people happy, meaningful relationships bring more permanent happiness. So to be happy, it's fine to have material comforts around you, but that will only account for 12% of your happiness. To really be happy you need to expand awareness and overcome your self-limiting beliefs and then choose selfless actions, or ways to be of service to others. This leads to true and lasting happiness and wisdom.

I have written before about focusing on material goods, which can limit your choices, your life and your legacy (read "About Stuff"), but I never knew there was a formula which provided some insights into it.

If you think about it, how much time do we spend in a year, working towards having money for more for material goods, at the expense of our relationships? How much time do we spend in a year working so that we can pay off the debts from the accumulation of material goods? And once we've accumulated all this stuff, well, we want to upgrade...get the bigger house, the better car, the fancy furniture, the fancy outfit...whatever it is, because with the material realm we are never satisfied. As Deepak notes, after a while we go to the "set-point" and again we want more.

If you spent even a portion of the time during which you are pursuing the material, focused on making other people happy, focused on your relationships (friends and family), on creating a lasting positive, loving legacy -- wouldn't this make you be happier? 

Now understand, I like stuff and I like living in a nice place and having a nice car. But earlier in my life a lot of focus was on constantly accumulating the material, because, quite honestly, that is society's expectation -- the higher you climb on the corporate ladder, the more you need to be able to show for it. And yes, I fell into that vortex, but it didn't make me any happier. Because as noted above, it was transient and without any deep meaning.

I haven't shucked the material (I still like my shoes :) but as I've grown older (and hopefully wiser), I have become less entranced with the latest shiny thing out there. 

So think about it. If you thought to yourself "I have enough" what would you do differently in your life?

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what your are doing, you will be successful

.....Albert Schweitzer