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March 14, 2010 - SO, ARE YOU REALLY HAPPY?

by Father Edward L. Beck, C.P.

Everybody just wants to be happy, right? I mean, in some ways, it's what we live for. But a new study from Australia suggests that happiness isn't all it's cracked up to be. It says that happiness can make people more selfish. Because if you’re feeling good you rely more on your own thoughts and preferences and pay less attention to others. The psychologists in the study did an experiment with Raffle Tickets of all things. Students could share their tickets with another or selfishly keep them all for themselves. Well, guess what? The happier students kept all the Raffle tickets for themselves. The Study also found that happy people are more gullible, more influenced by stereotypes, and tend to have more negative judgments about others. Kind of makes you want to be sad. But I don’t know about this study. The author of a book called THE HAPPINESS PROJECT begs to differ too. She says that life is ALL about becoming happier and it starts with making your bed in the morning. A simple way to begin getting your life together. But, then again, she also gets a buzz from cleaning out her closets. So, I’m not too sure about her either. But if we assume that happier is better, and I’m in that camp, then what really does make us happier? Most would say, a loving relationship, a satisfying job, some leisure time, and maybe exercise. But what other studies have shown are that the happiest people are ones who have some kind of spiritual connection to God or a Higher Power, and who are prompted to give back because of that connection. So, it’s really the opposite of the Australian study. The point isn’t that happier people are more selfish. But that you actually BECOME happier by being less selfish. And the way you do it is by sharing the blessing that you know you’ve received. So, start smiling and sharing. Happiness awaits.

To watch Father Beck give the above Reflection, click here.