Happiness Found at Intersection of Pleasure and Meaning

Positive psychology has been on my radar screen for a while, and with my focus on purposeful careers it was probably only a matter of time before I finally delved into it.

Until now, I tended to lose interest in positive psychology because so many of its conclusions seemed like science catching up to something that spiritual traditions the world over have known for thousands of years. Its prescriptions sound like a mix of Buddhist and yogic philosophy, suggesting self-awareness and mindful action as the first steps toward happiness and fulfillment. 

On the other hand, not everyone is willing to take spiritual teachers at their word, and in the meantime, we as a society are getting increasingly more unhappy.  So any help in convincing people that happiness is in their own hands can only be welcome.  (One of positive psych's recent findings, reported in Sonja Lubomirsky's The How of Happines, is that, while 50 percent of our happiness depends on our individual
"happiness set-point" and 10 percent can be attributed to circumstances outside our control, we individually are responsible for 40 percent of our sense of well-being.)

What finally convinced me to give positive psych a closer look is its finding that happiness lies at the intersection of pleasure (short-term happiness) and meaning (long-term happiness).  Tal Ben-Shahar, who teaches the most popular class at Harvard, known as "the happiness class" (enrollment - 1,400 students), has been leading research in that area. 

One of the questions Ben-Shahar asks in helping you determine your sense of happiness is whether you see your work as a job, a career, or a calling. That, of course, sold me immediately, so I'll probably be putting an order in for Ben-Shahar's Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment.

Are You Using Your Strengths?

One of my first steps toward investigating the practical aspects of positive psych was to take Martin Seligman's VIA (Values in Action) Signature Strengths Questionnaire.  Seligman is considered the father of positive psych, so that seemed like a logical place to begin.  Seligman's idea is that if you become aware of your strengths and incorporate them into your life, you'll feel more engaged and fulfilled and thus more happy. 

I generally like strength-based approaches.  Coaching overall is about helping the client identify and bring to the fore her or his greatest strengths.  I love Myers-Briggs for the same reason.

So I went online and filled out a 240-question survey, in which you are asked to rate yourself on 24 different strengths. It took me about 30 minutes.  The assessment is free, although you do have to register to take it. At the end you get a list of your top five strengths, which are the ones you are supposed to be paying attention to and working to incorporate into your life. 

The one disadvantage of the online survey is that you don't actually get an interpretation of the results - for that you have to get Seligman's book Authentic Strengths:  Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment.

But even knowing the five strengths can be helpful, because you can begin assessing the degree to which you get to express these strengths in your life.  Seligman's idea, which is very similar to Myers-Briggs, is that using your greatest strengths will make you feel far more engaged, which is an essential component of fulfillment.

So here are my five top strengths, according to VIA.

My greatest strength appears to be Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness:  "You expect the best in the future, and you work to achieve it. You believe that the future is something that you can control."  (Ok, agree with the first statement, disagree with the second.  On the other hand, I certainly don't suffer from a sense of helplessness and fatalism, which is probably what the professor is driving at here.)

My second strength is the Love of learning:  "You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own.  You have always loved school, reading, and museums - anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn."  (Well, mostly agree.  Amazon and purveyors of workshops and seminars of all kinds have made loads money off of me.  Can't say I loved all the schools I've attended, but the overall point stands:  the problem with schools I liked less was mostly the environment, not the learning.)

The rest, in descending order, are Perspective (wisdom); Creativity, ingenuity, and originality; and Spirituality, Sense of Purpose, and Faith.

When I look at this list and think about work situations that made me feel dissatisfied, I would agree that part of the reason I was unhappy was that I didn't have the opportunity to engage these strengths.  What this meant was that I felt profoundly underappreciated and stifled in my growth.

I'm looking forward to learning more about the interpretation of these results.  If it makes sense, I might begin incorporating the VIA strength inventory into my work with clients.  Meanwhile, I'll be attending a meeting of the positive psych group at the The Inner Arts Center in Alexandria, VA this Saturday and will report anything of interest that comes out of that meeting.

Comments

[Sophya]

Dear author,

Thank you very much for your all topics I have already read. Happiness discussion is endless and fascinating (if it's possible to say) thing. I like your prospective and positive look at it.
Looking forward reading more your thoughts.

[Izabella]

Thank you very much for your kind words :) I plan to cover this topic quite a bit in the future. Happiness is, after all, what we're looking for whether we are looking to change our careers or tap into our true passions or find our true paths in life.