cubanlinks

Will wonders about whether or not people are truly engaged in a pursuit of happiness. He begins his course of thought by observing (through literature and studies) that when measuring the “happiness” of a population, seemingly important metrics like income, health and even freedom didn’t play much of a role in reported levels of happiness. This perplexing results leads him to conclude that human nature is not geared towards obtaining happiness, but instead craves a life of “forking paths leading to multitudes of possible lives”.

Personally, I disagree. Many people do not crave options or choice, and have very concrete ideas of what the perfect life would be. I think, in the end, we all want to be happy. I know that’s a difficult term to define, but it’s like pornography: I know it when I see it. However, I think life’s cruel joke is thus: nothing will make you happy. At least, nothing will make you happier. I think this is the case for two reasons: 1) people rarely have any idea what makes them happy and 2) happiness is relative.

The first point is simple to observe. People “look for love in all the wrong places.” Or they mindelssly pursue monetary success only to fail become happy. Anecdotes abound; this is old news.

The second point is more interesting. Is Chris Moneymaker any happier now than he was before he won the 2003 WSOP? In the orgy of victory, of course. Even a year later, perhaps. But what about in another year or two? I submit that he will end up acclimating to his new lifestyle, his expectations will become re-calibrated, and he’ll end up as happy (or un-happy) as he was before the tournament. Why? Because happiness is relative. And should he lose all his millions in a bad investment tomorrow, he’ll forever be enmeshed in a sorrow greater than anything he new when he wasn’t a millionaire.