Most of these sources are trying to sell something. Sometimes they're just trying to sell themselves on the validity of their choices. ("I spent $400 on a gym membership, because then I have to get in shape.")
The other species of happiness reporting is the NEW STUDY. There is a hint of desperation in the ceaseless drip of studies proclaiming chocolate and red wine are keeping us young and smart and happy. But...being a regular at a local bar? Seriously?
This made me wonder if there was anything for which I could not find a happiness hype man. Armed with a Google, I bravely looked high and low for happiness. After I headed to the local bar, I saw some of my friends.
Did it make me happier? Yes, and that is consistent with a study that says having friends makes you happier. The linked article (and study) are careful, however, to make it clear that having friends does NOT make you live longer. In fact, seeing your family and friends could lessen your lifespan, according to the article.
Thinking about how simply knowing my family is a slow leak in my well-being, I had a sip of beer. Enough to make me happy? Yes, all it takes is a sip, according to this study. I've been doing it wrong all these years.
So living in an episode of Cheers can make you happier. But what about watching an episode of Cheers? Of course! Watching TV makes you happier! (According to that article.)
Looking this stuff up is fun, I must admit. In a way, it's making me...happy. Is this normal? Yes! Browsing the web makes you happier, according to this article from Psychcentral!
It's making me happy to find a study or pop-psyche article confirming that nearly everything makes you happy. Blogging about it is satisfying. But is blogging itself satisfying? Of course, and you can read all about it in this article about how blogging can make you happier.
But most of my readers are not bloggers. They come from all walks of life, with the unifying fact that they shop at East Lansing's favorite natural food store, Foods For Living. Does that mean you're left out of this endless parade of joy? No! Because...
Grocery shopping makes you happier!
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| Shangri-la |
Although you might not need the happiness boost so evident when breezing down the aisles. If you're shopping at Foods For Living, you're in East Lansing, and guess what?
East Lansing makes you happier! Yes, ole EL's aura has been slowly leaching into your soul over the years, subtly improving your quality of life, according to the Movoto Real Estate Blog. In fact, it's the second best small city to live in, after some place in Pennsylvania.
This had me wondering if there was anything that, under certain circumstances, couldn't make you happier. I took to the Internet with total abandon.
Downhill skiing? Happier!
Video games? Happier! (Somewhere, a senator, or maybe Tipper Gore, is also trying to prove that video games make you into a psycho killer, too—just like how all that Farmville caused all those career people to upend their lives and take up farming, bringing our economy to its knees.)
Music? Happier. Unless you're in a compound and the FBI is blasting some ironic tunes at you.
Chocolate? Well, would it even matter? Do we really need another study telling us about the health and emotional benefits of chocolate? Probably not. But here's one.
What about clouds? Happier! Yes, even the icon of dreariness itself can make you happier, apparently.
Clouds may make you happier, but they're only a symbol. Your own "dark clouds" can't possibly make you happier, right? After all, "dark clouds" is a metaphor for unhappiness...wrong! "How owning your dark clouds can actually make you happier," for your edification.
So, seriously...is there anything that is actually just, well, bad? Something that refuses to make you happier, no matter the spin? Yes, yes there is.
The news.
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| Lovin' life. |
Also, dentists. People uniformly hate dentists. Just ask this dentist.
And divorce. People also don't like getting divorced, even if they are admittedly happier afterward sometimes.
And this particular McDonald's mascot. People really hated that, and it did not make them happy.
But most everything else makes people happier, somehow. Being late? Check. Cold showers? Yes, obviously.Certain temperatures? Yes indeed.
Being Voldemort? Well, that question is a bit more difficult... Can you be the modern embodiment of pure cunning and evil, and still be happy? I'll let you be the judge.
