Post date: Oct 28, 2012 4:39:59 PM
The pursuit of happiness is possibly the most important of human quests; it drives our choices and influences our feelings of life satisfaction. Of course, we know that we can't be happy all the time and that life will have its inevitable ups and downs, so it makes more sense to talk in terms of wellbeing, which better reflects the fact that we can remain positive despite life's hard knocks. The important question is how should we lead our lives in order to maximise our happiness and wellbeing?This was a matter of great interest to the early philosophers of ancient Greece; for Aristotle the purpose of life was happiness (a translation of 'eudaimonia') and this could be achieved by living a 'good life' based on virtue, and fulfilment (Thompson, 1955); for Socrates happiness could be attained through human effort and was linked with virtue, and tranquility of mind. (Online, accessed 18-10-12). The Stoics believed in the negative path to happiness, which involves preparing oneself for the inevitable negative events in life by contemplating the worst possible outcome, and by facing our mortality (Burkeman, 2012). Religions also offer us moral guidance on how to behave in the world and, despite their differences, have much in common when it comes to what people should, and should not, do, when identifying expected moral (or virtuous) behaviours.
In the late 19th century the early psychologists focussed on understanding and rectifying abnormality (mental illness). and began to examine abnormal behaviours and emotions, in order to rectify them. Freud, born in 1856, famously introduced psychoanalytical approaches that linked the causes of mental illnesses to the subconscious effects of childhood trauma. The study of emotions in early psychology quickly became a study of negative emotions, and this pattern of understanding the psyche through the study of mental illness and negative emotions became the established approach, rather than a focus on the mentally healthy and the factors that contributed to individual flourishing.
Psychologist Abraham Maslow remains widely known for his hierachy of human needs (1954) , which recognised that people's basic needs must be met before they can progress to higher levels and ultimately achieve their potential (self-actualisation). He also argued for an approach to psychology research in which wellness and flourishing are the object of study:
'if we are interested in the psychology of the human species we should limit ourselves to the use of the self-actualizing, the psychologically healthy, the mature, the fulfilled, for they are more truly representative of the human species' (p.361)
In my view, this makes Maslow an early champion of positive psychology, but it wasn't until 50 years later that the advent of the positive psychology movement (which bubbled up over decades and erupted into a major new branch of psychology in the first decade of the 21st century) evolved, with the study of those who flourish.
In the last decade, psychologists have sought to understand why some people are satisfied with their lives, recover better when things go wrong, and feel generally happier than others. By understanding what makes people happier, they hope to help us all feel happier, and to make this understanding available to governments, policy-makers and individuals. One thing that has been established is that it is less about being 'happy' and more about flourishing through positive mental health, which is marked by 'the presence of positive emotions, the presence of engagement, the presence of meaning, the presence of good relationships, and the presence of accomplishment' (Seligman, 2011, p.183).
Martin Seligman is a founder member of the positive psychology movement and his seminal book 'Authentic Happiness', first published in 2003, examined the evidence for the human potential for increasing wellbeing, and how to sustain it. In his more recent book 'Flourish' (2011) Seligman updates his theory, describing a positive psychology whose focus is wellbeing, and whose goal is to 'increase flourishing by increasing positive emotion, engagement, meaning, positive relationships, and accomplishment' (2011, p12).
Positive psychology, which should not be confused with what is sometimes called 'pop-psychology', is a scientifically examined, academic discipline which has turned traditional psychology on its head, and which seeks to find out what it is that makes some people happier than others; it has discovered some surprising things:
Apparently we need learn how to deal with adversity in order to develop resilience, so our children need to learn to cope when things go wrong (and not be too sheltered from the hard knocks which are inevitable in life). Positive psychology says we do this by building a raft of positivity that will keep us afloat during stormy weather, which will help us to overcome setbacks and flourish in our lives. But how?
Seligman believes that an important factor in human flourishing is some kind of moral guidance, so he and his team looked into past and current societies and belief systems to identify universally valued 'virtues'. They identified six universal virtues: wisdom and knowledge; courage; love and humanity; justice; temperance; spirituality and transcendence. Complementing the six virtues are twenty-four character strengths and Seligman argues that using our character strengths as much as possible can make our daily lives and work more satisfying – if you wish, you can identify your own character strengths on the Authentic Happiness website at: http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx . An important UK website has also been established at http://www.actionforhappiness.org which contains evidence-based ideas and practical tips to improve happiness for individuals and in the workplace; founder member Lord Richard Layard studied the Masters in Positive Psychology (MAPP) led by Seligman at Pennsylvania University, wrote The Happiness Hypothesis (2006) and co-authored The Happy Planet Index (2012).
In the UK, the Five Ways to Wellbeing were developed in 2008 by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) as the result of a commission by Foresight (a UK government futures think-tank) as part of the Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing, which produced a series of related reports. Five Ways to Wellbeing 'is a set of evidence-based public mental health messages aimed at improving the mental health and wellbeing of the whole population' (Aked & Rhompson, 2008, p3). They are 'Connect... Give... Take notice... Keep active... Keep learning' (ibid p8). The Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project features the five ways to wellbeing, prominently in its executive summary (2008) and concludes, in its recommendation for government, that ''promoting mental capital and mental wellbeing for everyone will be vital in meeting diverse future challenges facing our changing society' (ibid p.45).
Our individual lives can be happier if we adopt the recommendations of positive psychology – but what about the workplace, and society as a whole? Evidence garnered over the last 50 years has shown that the years of improved economic security in the West did not bring about an improvement in happiness, and there is a strong argument for a change to existing measures of national success to reflect this fact. The argument is that government policies should be not be judged simply by their impact on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but on a new measure that includes their impact on happiness and wellbeing (Gross National Wellbeing, GNW). (Seligman, 2011; Helliwell et al (2012). This is common sense when you realise that it is not only financial success that feeds GDP, but also individual misery: when someone gets divorced, has a car accident, or is seriously ill they increase demand for services (eg of lawyers, doctors and nurses) and increase GDP! The idea of GNW gained real impetus when the first ever United Nations Conference on Happiness was held on 2nd April 2012, with key input from the prime minister of Bhutan, a small Himalayan nation where political decisions must take account of their impact on people's happiness and wellbeing. The conference also launched the World Happiness Report (Helliwell et al 2012) with comparative data on the happiness of nations.
Positive psychology appears to offer clear and definite solutions so that we can move forward to a happier society where national wellbeing is enhanced by informed policy-making which takes account of individual wellbeing. Simple? Maybe not: there are those who argue that too much 'positivity' can be self-defeating, with evidence showing that constantly trying to think positive thoughts and put a positive slant on things can have the opposite effect – illustrated by something known as the white bear effect (explained by Oliver Burkeman in his new book 'The Antidote' (2012 p.12). Indeed, there are those who argue that the banking crisis was caused by a culture of positive thinking (Ehrenreich, B. in Burkeman, 2012, p.19) and a rejection of all negativity (some might call it realism!). There is a risk that positivity could result in people who are more cautious and pessimistic (realistic) being ignored in favour of more upbeat and hopeful colleagues.
While the science shows that happy people are more optimistic, healthier with stronger immune systems, handle stress better, and are more successful (Fredrickson, 2009; Achor, 2011; Seligman, 2003, 2011), the fact is that not everyone is optimistic – some of us are predisposed to be more pessimistic. Here the science has more good news – the human brain can rewire itself (Achor, 2011, p17). As individuals we can alter the way our brain perceives things, thanks to neuroplasticity. We can become more optimistic, and happier. But can we all do that? Should we? Whilst I welcome the important and valuable contribution of positive psychology and its new perspectives on human flourishing, I am concerned that we risk demonising those among us who are less 'positive 'in outlook, and for whom sincere attempts to become more positive could have the opposite effect. These people are already less lucky than their optimistic peers, but they should not be less employable – perhaps we have yet to understand the importance and value of their contribution to the workplace and to society as a whole. If the economic crisis was due to over-optimism and the rejection of 'negativity', it may be that these alternative thought patterns may be vital to control our worst human excesses.
References
Achor, S. (2011) The Happiness Advantage. UK Random House: Virgin Books
Aked, J. and Thompson, S. (2011) Five Ways to Wellbeing. London: New Economic Foundation
Burkeman, O. (2012) The Antidote. Edinburgh: Canongate Books.
Ehrenreich, B. in Burkeman, O. (2012) The Antidote. Edinburgh: Canongate Books.
Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project (2008) Final Project Report – Executive Summary. London: Government Office for Science.
Fredrickson, B. (2009) Positivity. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.
Helliwell, J., Layard, R., and Sachs , J., Editors.(2012) World Happiness Report. Columbia; Earth Institute. (Online at http://earth.columbia.edu/articlesview/2960 accessed 29-10-12)
Jenkins, T., Meltzer, H., Jones, P.B., Brugha, T., Bebbington, P, Farrell, M., Crepaz-Keay, D., and Knapp, M. (2008) Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project: Mental Health Future Challenges. London: Government Offices for Science.
Layard, R. (2006) The Happiness Hypothesis. London: Arrow Books.
Maslow, A. (1954) Motivation and Personality. London: Harper & Bros.
Seligman, M.E.P. (2003) Authentic Happiness. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Seligman, M.E.P. (2011) Flourish. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Thompson, J.A.K. (1976) Aristotle: Ethics (Revised edition). London: Penguin Classics
Websites:
Authentic Happiness, found at http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx accessed 18-10-12)
The Pursuit of Happiness (Socrates) found at http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/socrates/ accessed 18-10-12