This article has a nice brief summary of five things that we have learned from research about happiness. It also has a discussion of some of the backlash against happiness research. To cut to the chase:
- You control about half your happiness level
- Money doesn’t buy happiness
- Lottery winnings create only temporary, short-term happiness.
- Relationships are a key factor in long-term happiness.
- Focus on experiences, not stuff.
To some extent 2,3 & 5 are variants on the same theme and remind me of the quip “Money may not buy you happiness but at least you can be miserable in comfort”.
