If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands!

[chickenhead]

came across this, perhaps the perfect Off Topic errrrr Topic.


America's Pursuit Of Happiness

"Most Americans say they are generally happy, with a slim majority saying they are 'very happy,'" according to the Gallup Poll released on the final day of 2007. "More than 8 in 10 Americans say they are satisfied with their personal lives at this time, including a solid majority who say they are 'very satisfied.'"

Another extensive survey conducted in 2007 by the Pew Research Center found that 65% of Americans termed themselves "satisfied" with their lives. That compares with the four economic powerhouses of Britain, France, Germany and Italy, which averaged about 53%.

But can economics really matter that much? You bet. Money may not buy love, but it helps buy happiness. In fact, according to the Pew folks, there's a 72% correlation between per capita GDP growth in a country and its citizens' happiness.

What about social trends? As economist Irwin Stelzer recently noted, "teenage drug use, pregnancies, smoking and drinking are all on the decline; welfare reform is working, bringing down child poverty, and the divorce rate is falling."

Oh, and we're having more babies than at any time since the 1970s -- not something that a gloomy, depressed society does. Our 2.1 babies per adult woman puts us at the top of the developed world's fertility rankings (Europe, by comparison, has a population-shrinking 1.5 rate). A child is the biggest bet on a happy future that two people can make.

more at the link:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/080102/issues01.html?.v=1&.pf=personal-finance



Topic for discussion:

Are you happy?

[Gittup]

Saw your title.

Clap doesn't effect your hands, and it's really not something to be happy about.
Penecilin (sp) is the way to go...you'll be happy soon enough, and then you can put your hands together.:D

[chickenhead]

thud

[Gittup]

thud
It fell off? Shoulda gotten it treated.
I feel your pain.:rolleyes:

[chickenhead]

yes, it did. Tell your mom I wants my money back. BOTH nickels.

(that's how you do one of these >> :lol: )

[bigmack]

Clap doesn't effect your hands, and it's really not something to be happy about.
Penecilin (sp) is the way to go...you'll be happy soon enough, and then you can put your hands together.:D
Here I though a business lunch from '86 where some ninny who tried his hand at humor was the worst display of attempted humor I had ever seen.

You're now the reigning champ.

[Gittup]

yes, it did. Tell your mom I wants my money back. BOTH nickels.

(that's how you do one of these >> :lol: )
Well, she's been dead for the past eight years, but if you dug her up and got your rocks off, all I can tell ya is that ya got what ya had comin'.:D

[bigmack]

Well, she's been dead for the past eight years, but if you dug her up and got your rocks off, all I can tell ya is that ya got what ya had comin'.:D
Now, officially the champ for all time.

Wow

[chickenhead]

no interest by anyone in the thread topic? Why are Europeans so damn sad? Why aren't we happier that we are so happy?

[bigmack]

Why are Europeans so damn sad? Why aren't we happier that we are so happy?
The weather & because then we'd be like Richard Simmons?

Seriously, when was it declared that we weren't happy? Dough brings options, options bring choices, if you make the right choices you got happiness. We got a lotta dough.

[chickenhead]

that's kind of my point....the question is to those who walk around all twisted up all day....but who have the moolah.

I'm curious whether they aren't themselves happy, or wouldn;t otherwise be, or, if they didn't think they need to be unhappy on someone elses behalf. Starving pygmies in New Guniea, or the like. Some people, many people, seem to seek out "causes" to be unhappy, seriously disgruntled about. Not just concerned, but fing up their day to day view of the world. It just seems odd to me.

I live better than than the Rockefellers of old (and so does everyone I know), I'd have to be a maroon not to be happy. Why seek out the ugliness? Or, if you do, at least be mindful that you have to seek it out...and revel in what a sea change THAT is over your ancestors.

[DJofSD]

I don't necessarily agree with the assumption that having lots of money makes you happy. The old expression about life being a sh*t sandwich -- the more bread you have the less sh*t you eat, sums up my opinion.

In my life, I would rather achieve inner peace rather than happiness.

[chickenhead]

happiness to me is mainly about getting some alignment between my expectations and my reality.

[DJofSD]

I can understand that perspective but how do you balance the striving to achieve versus the disappointments that accompany failures?

[bigmack]

I would rather achieve inner peace rather than happiness.
Aren't they symbiotic? And is inner peace genuine without happiness?

I've had very little in life and more than I need. I think rarely of the past & don't plan far in the future. Each day I've felt happy, irrespective on the thickness of my wally.

[DJofSD]

Aren't they symbiotic? And is inner peace genuine without happiness?

Perhaps.

I viewed happiness as transient. Inner peace transcends the vagaries.

[Marshall Bennett]

I'm quite happy !! Guess it would help to have a standard by which true happiness could be measured .

[DeanT]

no interest by anyone in the thread topic? Why are Europeans so damn sad? Why aren't we happier that we are so happy?

I went to the States just before Xmas for a little drive. Did a bit of shopping, filled up the gas tank for about $15 less than here, got wished Merry Christmas by all kinds of nice folks, had a steak and shrimp, with a Bud Light for $18, with tip.

All in all everyone seemed happy. Why not, life seemed pretty good in the land of the free.

And believe it or not, this was in Niagara Falls New York :D

[Tom]

Some people have to have sadness and misery as a given in order for them to promise "change." Re: Barry O.

If you check out our microcosm of libs here, even in victory, they have been miserable and whinny all year long.

That 80% of American are satisfied, yet 70% think we are headed in the wrong direction tells me that they have led to BELIEVE things are bad for others, not themselves. It is the lib lie at work.

Anyone who thinks things are bad today is ignorant of American history. We have serious challenges ahead of us, but things are not doom and gloom.

[riskman]

"Half this game is ninety percent mental."
- Yogi Berra

[Indulto]

happiness to me is mainly about getting some alignment between my expectations and my reality.As far as I can tell, happy people have the ability to enjoy the present, i.e., they are neither worried about nor distracted by either the past or the future.

They are confident in their ability to deal with life's challenges, and are free to explore and savor their passions in the company of loved ones and peers.

My own expectations haven't been particularly excessive, and fate has been kind to me more often than not. For me, happiness isn't necessarily contentment, but enjoying pursuit of the unattained.

Clap, clap, clippity clop. ;)

[DanG]

Topic for discussion:
Are you happy?
Happiness…

Some of the “happiest” people I’ve met should wear a very small hat with a propeller on top.

http://www.mallatts.com/image/Products/10861/photo

Some of the most interesting people I’ve met would probably not score well on the “happy meter” because superior intelligence can emphasis the worlds absurdities.

My best friend growing up (and still to this day) is a musician from Jersey who is as great a guy to hang out with as anyone I’ve met. Yet, for 8-12 hours / 5 days a week he is MISERABLE. He HATE”S his job running as a printing foreman and dreads going to work for the last 25+ years. His poll response would be very dependant upon if he was on his way / or returning from work.

I recently went to England at it was my first time to Europe and I hope it becomes a yearly occurrence. I met some of the most optimistic people I’ve ever met and maybe the next overseas poll should be held in various pubs. (BTW: Most Brit’s I talked to understood OUR nation’s history and policies better than many Americans to be honest.)

I will say one thing that I believe with all my heart. Since the BC I only started betting again recently and something else coincided with that date. I very rarely have on the news and have made a concerted effort to cut down on reading the day to day propaganda that now masquerades as journalism. It has hade a profound effect on my energy / outlook and when I do read current events I feel I’ve missed nothing of consequence.

On that topic; Last month I spoke at length to my x-father in law. He spoke in great detail of the decade before I was born and he did so from a knowledge base that only had :30 minutes of TV news a night and zero internet. How does this pertain to the nebulous concept of “happiness”? I feel they can be intertwined when our nation is bombarded 24/7 with sensational, pessimistic, political charged propaganda.

To sum up…



Ignorance can actually be bliss but make a long plain trip next to you terminal.
Extreme intelligence can actually be a burden to some. (See my own brother.) :(
Poll questions can absolutely be manipulated by subtle wording and by region.
My own response would be far more ‘Red Skelton than Steven Wright if Santa Anita was running live racing. :jump:
PS: You make me think too much Chick! Keep it simple like a poll question on artificial surfaces…something we can all agree on! :D

[DeanT]

Great post Dan.

I too do not follow the stuff now. It is nice to have some chatter to break up the day here on some neat topics, but the news cycle is deadly. Not worth my time.

In fact, the only reason I have followed the Presidential primaries the past two days is because I logged onto betfair and saw Obama at 1.30, where Hilary was always around there. I logged onto Drudge the past two days more than I have the past year.

Nice to have you back. Hope you enjoyed your time off from the grind!

[robert99]

No one's as happy as a Nigerian or Mexican:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3157570.stm

[jognlope]

Happiness to me would be working all day with quarter horses, trying a little breaking, going to shows, in other words being around horses just about all day.

[46zilzal]

Happiness is relative and a SELECTION most people really have the OPTION to take or not. It has NOTHING to do with money (but that helps). One of the happiest people I ever met worked with me moving furniture for 5 summers. I really envied his outlook on life, the simplicity of it, the uncomplicated nature of his existence.

At the heart of it is enjoying yourself, making a difference to what is important to you.

Over the last several years I finally had to give way to a little voice that bothered me for a long long time telling me that many years ago, I walked that path Frost talked about in his great poem.....I took the wrong, though "better accepted by society" path into a profession I perceived as challenging and rewarding. I always knew that path less traveled was the correct one but societal pressure said take the one with more status.

On her deathbed, my wife related a simple request. She said "Don't let any music die inside you. If there is something remaining for you to do, go ahead and find a way to fulfill it." I knew exactly what she was getting at. I had to overcome a lifetime of being told that anything to do with the track was a dead end life. My uncle (mother's brother) had lost thousands to bookies and his mother had to rescue him from the leg breakers by cashing in most of her savings. That story was repeated to me all during my childhood and into my adult life and set a boundary that I psychologically could not pass over for years even though I knew it was alcohol that ruined my uncle's life and his bad experiences at the track was just the setting of his down fall NOT the reason.

In 2006 I gave up my license and got a job at the track where, day in and day out, I was in my element learning, appreciating, looking forward to each minute I was there. I hooked up with federal parimutuel people, trainers, riders, outriders, managers, marketing people, historians, vets, photographers and television technicians, mutuels managers, ticket sellers, ferriers, front office people, national magazine editors (I have an article which will come out in the Spring about Cheatin' Charlie a local rider here), stewards, racing secretaries, DRF writers, local newspaper columnists, track announcers and handicappers, fans and friends.

All my friends ask me what has changed as they note the effect. I was asked to be a judge for the year end Sovereign Awards (like the Eclipse award in the U.S.), am also now the photo finish operator at our harness track, am politicking to get a permanent position in Toronto helping with the historical archive there, and things are looking up.

Amidst all of this is the constant vigilance that, like the Chinese oracle the I CHING, nothing stays the same forever. I will take what I've got however. It was a choice to be here, not luck.

[chickenhead]

Happiness is relative and a SELECTION most people really have the OPTION to take or not.

Amen to that zilly. Nice post.

[DanG]

Thanks Dean and Happy New Years to you and yours.

Ditto Chick…Nice post 46!

[chickenhead]

I very much agree on the whole news slant. I have completely cut any sort of tv news out of my life, and it is almost startling the amount of meaningless bs I don't even hear about.

[ddog]

The mistake people can make is in letting "happiness" be defined by others.
By the way, i do not believe one needs or should be happy all the time.
I do believe some trial by fire is good for one.
It is how you accept and handle the trials that come your way.

For example someone mentioned a foreman that seemed unhappy with his job.
Why not look at it as helping the others to accomplish their jobs and focus on them.
I bet if he would do that he would notice more "happiness".

As to the news cycle, I am a Cspan/Cspan2 junky along with as much primary source material from the 'net and also including books of all kinds as I can fit in.

Keeping up with events is not that difficult if you want to spend a little time at it and sometimes makes me "happy" in the chasing of it.

All in how you look at it.

As to a lot of the other responses, they really seemed focused on only me or I and I guess some need to keep it at that level.
Nothing wrong with it i guess.

Would make me very unhappy if I thought most people would avoid anything that might bring them down so they could be "happy" and thus not work or be concerned about anyone but themselves.

Some of the happiest times I have had is when someone else has gotten a better shot or a break from something I could help them with.
I know that sounds sanctimonious but anyway....

I tiold you some wouldn't like it.

[chickenhead]

I guess I would look at it a little differently...I can't imagine anyone that was concerned about only themselves as being happy in the first place.

My point was I think we all know people that court unhappiness...which is quite different and separate from striving and failing. At least in my own experience, failure in a given endeavor and unhappiness are not close to being the same thing.

[ddog]

I can respect that.

Is the guy beating himself with a chain "happy"?
Would you be happy if you stopped him?

If you know someone that is starving or homeless are you happy to be concerned with your happiness first? Only? Always?

if you don't know , willfully, are you happy?

It is possible to fail and be happy and succeed and be unhappy of course, they are not the same.

There are things I still want to do and I would be unhappy if I didn't get to do them, but I am not unhappy that I haven't done them yet.

[chickenhead]

zilly said: I will take what I've got however. It was a choice to be here, not luck.

This kind of goes to my thought earlier about matching up with expectation or actions with reality...probably a better way to say it. Wherever you are, for the most part, that is the result of the sum of all the decisions you have made. So don't "wish" things were different, if you don't like it. Set down and figure out what it is about your actions that need to be different to get you where you want to go. And be happy that you're on your way.

[chickenhead]

If you know someone that is starving or homeless are you happy to be concerned with your happiness first? Only? Always?

Who says my happiness can't involve helping them? Some of the happiest people I know are extremely charitable, values driven people. The fact that their actions may not be entirely altruistic, but may in fact also make them happy, doesn't change anything. I give money, and sure, that makes me happy, and hopefully does some good too.

Some of the unhappiest people I know constantly pay lip service and bemoan the plight of others, without ever doing a damn thing.

What makes you think it's an either or proposition?

[bigmack]

Judged by itself, happiness is a fairly large cup O' soup. Fleeting for all, it was never meant to be chronic.

I sat with a table of women recently and they spent most of their time whining about everything you could possibly imagine. I interjected a notion they spend the rest of the conversation on “the good stuff”. They reluctantly agreed, though the conversation took on a less lively tone.

Far too many people distract their own lives in comparison with others. Even worse, they have little clue in their ability to change where their minds gravitate.

For some, positivity is instilled. Others need to work for it. And some revel in the negative.

News stories are tragic & triumphant. I don’t believe it is wrong for me to be void of guilt for every hungry person, or every story that has a tragic ending. The responsibility of my own joy/happiness is not in my circumstance, spouse, location, finance, or what have you.

It’s the amount of time my brain is on +, rather than -

[Tom]

I am happy to know that things are nowhere near as bad as they used to be and nowhere as good as they are going to be.

[Grits]

Last night, 20/20 did an entire show on HAPPINESS. Interesting stuff. Some, even amazing, in that our minds can be tested indicating our happiness level.

I had known for years that happiness, a great part of it is -- genetic. That was the only notion I could've added to the thread until watching last night.

GENETICS accounts for 40% of our happiness levels. Another equal 40% of our happiness levels comes by way of CHOICE. Only 20% of our happiness can be termed, or seen, to do with our CIRCUMSTANCE.

The happiest nation on earth, Denmark. Not the wealthiest; but one of the safest, yes. The people of Denmark ranked as the happiest on earth. The most content. (And Lord, they've got universal ....that damn nasty word.)

A new book is out titled, "The Geography of Bliss."

Now, this will prove exciting for GaryG and myself.

.........the HAPPIEST of all cities in our nation is Asheville, North Carolina. (Why am I not surprised by this.;) )