Searching for Happiness

It has been interesting watching my Johari Window and seeing how others perceive me. One person very close to me described me as “happy.” I wouldn’t think to describe myself that way, especially lately. It seems like I haven’t been happy in a long time, at least not on a long-term basis. Yes, I have occasional bursts of happiness but overall I wouldn’t use it to describe me.
 
On the other hand I love being with this person because we have so much fun together. When we are together I am happy. I guess that explains it. This person, by the way, is my youngest sister, Kelly.
 
I’ve been thinking about “happy” lately because of this book I found - Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert.
Stumbling on Happiness is a book about a very simple but powerful idea. What distinguishes us as human beings from other animals is our ability to predict the future–or rather, our interest in predicting the future. We spend a great deal of our waking life imagining what it would be like to be this way or that way, or to do this or that, or taste or buy or experience some state or feeling or thing. We do that for good reasons: it is what allows us to shape our life. And it is by trying to exert some control over our futures that we attempt to be happy. But by any objective measure, we are really bad at that predictive function. We’re terrible at knowing how we will feel a day or a month or year from now, and even worse at knowing what will and will not bring us that cherished happiness. Gilbert sets out to figure what that’s so: why we are so terrible at something that would seem to be so extraordinarily important?
Review by Malcolm Gladwell, the author of bestselling books Blink and The Tipping Point.
 
I am just a couple of chapters into it so far and I am fascinated by the thoughts and research of Daniel Gilbert.
 
Think you know what makes you happy?
 
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