Are there rules for happiness? We could all be much more content if we lived according to three key maxims, says one top magazine writer. But not everyone is so convinced.
Eureka! The three secrets of lasting joy
Are there rules for happiness? We could all be much more content if we lived according to three key maxims, says one top magazine writer. But not everyone is so convinced.
Ricky TomlinsonAn English actor best known for his roles in Brookside and The Royle Family. was singing in the bath. It was April 2020, during the pandemic, some were determined to accentuate the positiveEmphasise the good side of a situation rather than the bad side. and thank the NHSThe National Health Service, the publicly funded healthcare system in the UK. The NHS was founded in 1948.. Making a video of a classic song was their answer.
At the same time, The Atlantic¹ asked a professor from Harvard Business School to become its happiness correspondent. Arthur Brooks has since written 100 columns and has boiled them down to three maxims Short statements of general truths..
The first: "Mother Nature does not care if you are happy." It is a mistake, Brooks argues, to think we can find happiness by pursuing things we are attracted to - money, pleasure, power and admiration. Thomas AquinasOne of the most important medieval thinkers. The Italian priest called Aristotle "the Philosopher" and worked to unite pagan Greek philosophy with Christian principles. called them "substitutes for God".
We should focus on family relationships, friendship, meaningful work and religious faith.
Secondly, "lasting happiness comes from habits, not hacks." Modern culture emphasises shortcuts. But real happiness is a combination of enjoyment and purpose. To achieve it requires effort: "daily practices to strengthen your relationships, deepen your wisdom, and uncover meaning in your life."
The third maxim is "happiness is love". The most important thing is to build loving relationships. Brooks quotes Thomas Aquinas, saying to love is "to will the good of the other". That means caring for friends and family and people you meet and work with.
To put it another way: "Happy people love people and use things; unhappy people use people and love things."
Another journalist, Lowri Dowthwaite, is not convinced there are rules. Writing in The Conversation², she argues many of the routes we are offered to it do not work - and that striving for happiness often makes people unhappy.
Dowthwaite agrees with Brooks that "happiness is not simply about a hedonisticHedonism was pioneered by Democritus (c 460 BC - 37BC), who argued that "joy and sorrow are the distinguishing marks of things that are beneficial and things that are harmful". pursuit of pleasure, but a meaningful engagement with life". But she believes people are happy in different ways. Those with outgoing personalities are more likely to find happiness through a hedonistic approach; for those who are introverted, having a meaningful purpose is more important.
She believes as we age, our happiness depends less on what others think of us, and more on our activities.
The key to happiness, she suggests, "is truly getting to know yourself and having the guts to do what makes your life worth living at a certain point - regardless of what others say".
<h5 id="question" class=" eplus-wrapper">Are there rules for happiness?</h5>
Yes: We all know from experience that some things make us happy, while others make us unhappy. We recognise that some of them only bring us short-term pleasure, not lasting happiness.
No: Happiness depends above all on your personality, and all of us are different. A cheerful person will make the best of difficult circumstances, while a gloomy one will never be satisfied.
Or... We cannot be sure of achieving happiness, but we know how to go about creating it - by showing love to other people. The more we do that, the more likely we are to receive it in return.
Ricky Tomlinson - An English actor best known for his roles in Brookside and The Royle Family.
Accentuate the positive - Emphasise the good side of a situation rather than the bad side.
NHS - The National Health Service, the publicly funded healthcare system in the UK. The NHS was founded in 1948.
Maxims - Short statements of general truths.
Thomas Aquinas - One of the most important medieval thinkers. The Italian priest called Aristotle "the Philosopher" and worked to unite pagan Greek philosophy with Christian principles.
Hedonistic - Hedonism was pioneered by Democritus (c 460 BC - 37BC), who argued that "joy and sorrow are the distinguishing marks of things that are beneficial and things that are harmful".
Eureka! The three secrets of lasting joy

Glossary
Ricky Tomlinson - An English actor best known for his roles in Brookside and The Royle Family.
Accentuate the positive - Emphasise the good side of a situation rather than the bad side.
NHS - The National Health Service, the publicly funded healthcare system in the UK. The NHS was founded in 1948.
Maxims - Short statements of general truths.
Thomas Aquinas - One of the most important medieval thinkers. The Italian priest called Aristotle "the Philosopher" and worked to unite pagan Greek philosophy with Christian principles.
Hedonistic - Hedonism was pioneered by Democritus (c 460 BC – 37BC), who argued that “joy and sorrow are the distinguishing marks of things that are beneficial and things that are harmful”.