Just a standard deviation or two from happiness!

I read a headline in a business journal recently that said, "Happy people are productive people"-now that is an interesting thought, but maybe it is the other way around.

Happiness has intrigued mankind since time immortal, and while there are as many definitions of happiness as there are philosophers and prophets, the most commonly held is that happiness comes from within when we do something that we feel matters to ourselves or to others. Are happy people then productive people? Recent works in the field of positive psychology have certainly shown that the converse of this statement, productive people are more happy, to be largely true. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychologist at the University of Chicago makes a strong case in his book "Finding Flow" that we are happiest when we are actively engaged in an activity that is challenging and requires a degree of skill and commitment.

Since wealth is the usual reward for productivity, many people link money and happiness. Even the philosopher and economist Adam Smith reasoned that the delusion held by most people that wealth brought happiness was the single most important motivator for people to produce and consume enough to sustain an economy. No matter the work, whether working to get a degree, working in a job, or “working” on the street, money or wealth is usually what drives us to finish the job. But is it really that simple?

Most of us, at least those who have the time and resources to be here reading and writing on the Net have solved the food and shelter problems, and probably have managed to acquire considerable “stuff” that we just knew would make us happier. And while some may still work in repetitive, boring jobs, many of us have been able to find work that allows us to feel we have some control over the process. But as I climbed higher up the food chain of wealth, I found it harder to “earn” each new degree of happiness. Most research shows citizens of wealthy nations are happier than those of developing nations, but citizens of super wealthy nations are not really more happy than their less wealthy cousins, perhaps in some small measure due to the fact that what they are now “producing” has little or no challenge or the marginal increase it brings in stuff no longer motivates. If your passion is driving, does a Ferrari bring you a huge amount more pleasure than a Lambrogini?

There are countless stories of those who have been wealthy and, by most measures, productive; but claim true happiness came only after they found work, in whatever form, that matched their passion and made them feel that what they were doing really made a difference in the world. The worker slaving away in some sweatshop in India may be no less happy than you are I because that job, however marginalizing and demeaning the conditions, allows him or her to feed and shelter a family, which is certainly a strong reason to be happy. It seems to me then that happiness does not drive productivity, but rather productivity drives happiness. I know for myself that I am most happy when I believe what I am doing really matters beyond this month's P&L statement. But, maybe thats just me.