Everyone Wants to be Happy, So Why Aren’t We?

By Mike Bromberg, Speaker and Professor

It’s interesting. People ask questions like,

“Does more money equate to higher levels of happiness?”

“Does religion and faith correlate with well-being?”

More recently,

“How is life with artificial intelligence going to change our level of happiness?”

A little goes a long way.

There are activities that correlate with happiness.

One might ask, “how do you know I have the time to work on this?”

So, what some of the research has shown is that a little goes a long way. Maybe

hardcore exercising isn’t your thing but I tell people to take a walk every day, or maybe

exercise at least for 10 minutes, meditate for two minutes, or write a positive message

to someone in your social support network.

Little things for even a short period of time can have a lasting impact. Sometimes I ask

audience members about what they do for a positive mindset, and I hear things like

going to the gym, turning off the cell phone, or maybe just spending time with family.

Researchers worked with a group of tax professionals before one of the worst tax

seasons in decades (2009) and asked them to do some simple exercises.

The participants performed their activity every day for three weeks. Several days after

the training concluded, researchers evaluated both the participants and a control group

to determine their general sense of well-being.

On every metric, the experimental group’s scores were significantly higher than the

control group’s.

After both groups were tested again, ***four months later***, the experimental group still

showed significantly higher scores in optimism and life satisfaction. 

Just one quick exercise a day kept these tax managers happier for months after the

training program had ended.

Happy employees mean higher productivity.

For example, Coors Brewing Company reported a $6.15 return in profit for every $1

spent on its corporate fitness program. I might also add that they probably gave them

free beer, but this goes without saying.

Happiness is related to how we compare with others

In a study of Olympic medalists, bronze medalists were found to be happier than silver

medalists. Odd, because isn’t second place better than third place? The silver medalist

will likely compare to the gold medalist (“I was so close!”) and the bronze medalist might

think how great it is to actually get a medal.

Many people tell me that they are stressed.

Now let me ask the question: What is your relationship with stress? With pain? I had a

psychology professor, a humanistic psychologist, who would ask us these questions.

Perhaps many of the mental challenges we have, even disorders, are more spiritual

than biological in origin? There is an argument for this, even though it can be quite a

contentious subject.

I occasionally poll the audience so let me share some questions with you to consider:

How important is your mindset to your life goals?

How do you feel about the phrase positive mindset?

What would make life better? (More money? Different job? Better mindset? No changes

needed?)

What media do you consume and/or what do you watch on TV? (Reality shows?

News? Drama? Comedy? Business? Sports?)

How do you feel about your mental state? (Typically positive? Cynical? Realist?

Negative?)

Focusing on all the good.

I’ve realized over time that there are groups that I think could use a focus on happiness.

Perhaps HR departments, government organizations, collection agency call center

employees, workers at the cell phone company, and the cable company. I once spoke

for an association of cemetery and funeral home employees: I killed.

Thinking about how we interact with the world is so important because too often we only

see things through a distorted lens. The idea that we can change this lens, and

potentially every professional, educational, and personal outcome—is fascinating!