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 The quest for happiness is as old as mankind itself. Kings have given up their thrones and movie stars their fortunes to attain it. The greatest philosophers of all times have recognized happiness as the most important motivation for human action. Aristotle said, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence”. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects were listed among the "inalienable rights" of man by our founding fathers. They knew then what enlightened men have known for ages, that life without joy is hollow. Thousands of books by brilliant authors, psychologist, religious leaders, and neuroscientist have been written about happiness and how to achieve it. Yet surveys show that depression in the world is on the rise and that in American (the 16th happiest country in the world) the rates of depression are ten times higher than in the 1960s. A study conducted in American colleges tells us that nearly 45% of students were “so depressed that they had difficulty functioning”.
Why, with all of the wisdom, research and knowledge is HAPPINESS so elusive for so many? That question is far more complex than it seems and its answer is one of the reasons that we created the Applied Happiness Foundation.
The first part of the answer comes from the way that most of us visualize our happiness. Most of the human race strives for “conditional happiness” instead of “cognitive happiness”.
Conditional happiness relies on an artificial and often unattainable result in order to be happy i.e., “If I were younger, prettier, richer, smarter, or married to someone who was, I would be happy”.
The often used joke, “you can’t buy happiness, but you can rent it!” is humorous evidence of the conditional happiness paradigm.
When asked what they hope to achieve through life coaching, clients often respond with, “a better job”, “a better relationship”, “more money”, “a bigger house”, “more friends” etc. These are all examples of conditional happiness. These “wants” can all be obtained through achieving happiness but in themselves can not produce enduring happiness.
Cognitive happiness comes from the mind and occurs when we learn to be happy with “the right here and the right now” or “what is, is”. This requires that we learn to develop and maintain a positive mental state and a belief that the world is evolving as it should and that whether our current condition is our “fault” or not, we are exactly where we should be; “what is, is”. This is difficult to do because we are all born with a “happiness set-point” (some much higher than others) and regardless of whether good or bad events occur, our minds return to our natural happiness set-point. So, within months, of winning the Lottery or losing a leg our mind will return to its preprogrammed happiness set-point. Neuroscience has proven that we can permanently alter our happiness set-point, but doing so requires a dedication to change and exercises for the mind that will effect the change.
So in simple terms, the “secret” to happiness is the understanding of cognitive happiness and the application of very specific tools developed to raise and maintain our “happiness set-point”. This is the science of Applied Happiness. But like the South Beach Diet for weight loss, achieving enduring happiness requires dedication and a strict regiment of mental exercises that must be performed until your mind is “rewired” to automatically return to a higher, more positive state.
The mission of the Applied Happiness Foundation is to teach the practical application of the science of happiness and to develop and disseminate the tools and exercises needed to bring about healthier, happier minds.
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