15 Nov Is happiness keep busy or keeping calm? Or both?
In yesterday's free eNewsletter I published the following two articles…
Rushing through life could be the key to success and happiness
By Christina Patterson – Belfast Telegraph
You drive," said a friend of mine a few years ago, "just like you live." It wasn't, I think, a compliment. She was saying, I think, as she gripped the seat, the same thing as the car park attendant who used to call me Nigel Mansell.
It isn't, I know, ideal to be still scraping out the leftover froth from your cappuccino when you hear the words 'last call' next to your name on the Tannoy at the airport. It isn't ideal to be sitting on a bus when the radio show you're meant to be on starts in two minutes.
It isn't ideal to be eating your fourth cake of the day because you've got, you know, a deadline, or to be writing at 2am because you've got an appointment you can't miss in the morning, and your copy's due at lunchtime.
It would be much better if you arrived at the airport early and at the radio studios early. But we are what we are. Which is why I like the sound of a new book called Rush.
The book, which has the subtitle 'Why you need and love the rat race', is by a man called Todd Buchholz, who used to be an economic adviser at the White House.
He set out to research a book about people 'chasing success and losing their souls'. But, once he'd started, he changed his mind.
After doing quite a lot of research, he concluded that people chasing success didn't 'lose their souls'. In fact, they had a lovely time, and if we copied them, we would, too.
The happiness experts, and yoga gurus are, he says, wrong. What we need to be happy isn't to downsize, or downshift. It isn't to lie in darkened rooms communing with our chakras. What we need to be happy is to work long hours and keep fighting our way up the corporate ladder…
…if you're enjoying this you can keep reading (the full and original article) HERE
This was followed up with…
What to do about it all
So, you're now wondering…should I get busier?
Well, here at The Happiness Institute we'd suggest the answer is…yes and no!
That is, the engagement and participation in meaningful pursuits is definitely good for our happiness. Involvement in pleasurable and satisfying activities is also good for our happiness and mood more generally.
But the blind pursuit of "doing stuff" just for the sake of "doing stuff" is probably not a great idea. Why? Because, if for not other reason, it distracts us from the real and meaningful, important stuff.
So in short we'd encourage you to keep busy with…
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tasks that are really important in your life
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things that will help you achieve your goals
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health related activities such as exercise
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interpersonal interactions and things that wil boost the positivity or your relationships
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pretty much anything that provides you with an opportunity to utilise your strengths
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and things that are just plain fun
But don't forget also to…allow yourself time to rest and recuperate; to contemplate and meditate. Because as we've said before, it's hard to be happy if you're literally sick and tired all the time and we all need some "time out" occasionally so we can then have "time in"!
Now, over to you…share your thoughts and post your comments HERE on The Happiness Institute's Facebook Page