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How Happy Are You?

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How would you rate your happiness quotient? How would you rate the happiness quotients of the folks you meet and interact with? This was the topic of a recent Oprah show entitled “How Happy Are You?” I was particularly intrigued by her expert, psychologist Dr. Robert Holden, the founder of the Happiness Project in England. Based on that show, I decided to a check out the Happiness Project’s website.

     But before I googled that one, I logged on to the www.Oprah.com site to check out the “How Happy Are You?” show and its added value information. This turned out to be highly productive. The whole point of the show—and of Dr. Holden’s project—is summed up in one short paragraph:

     Dr. Holden says those looking for happiness often don’t realize they already have it. It’s a lesson that he says he was lucky to learn at age eighteen from a spiritual teacher. “He said, ‘Look, actually, Robert, you're already happy.’ And I said, ‘Well, that's great, but I don't feel it. So tell me, what do I have to do?’” Dr. Holden recalls. “And he said, ‘You have to understand that the pursuit of happiness is a mistake. It's like, you don't chase happiness out there. You learn that you're happy inside you and then you go running. Then you go into the world.’”

     One of the key features at the Oprah.com site is the Happiness Test, a measure of how satisfied you are with your life. It is based on the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the quiz was developed by Ed Diener at the University of Illinois. You rate questions like “The conditions of my life are excellent” and “If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing” on a 1-7 scale (1 = Not at all true; 4 = Moderately True; 7 = Absolutely True). I took the test and scored a 31. According to the answer key, that means I’m extremely satisfied with my life. Fifteen or under means that you are dissatisfied and then there are the levels of satisfaction in between. The answer key states that it’s never too late to be happy. According to Dr. Holden, if you are unhappy with your life or looking to improve your score, there are two things you can do:

     “We have to learn to let go of our past, we have to give up all hopes for a perfect past. Let the past go, it's gone.” After that, he says, “Take a vow of kindness. Be kinder to yourself and to others.”

     Well after experiencing that on Oprah.com, I was really looking forward to exploring Dr. Holden’s site (www.happiness.co.uk). I googled The Happiness Project and got a surprise—there are a lot of Happiness Projects out there. I would check some of those out, too. But first, I went to Dr. Holden’s site. Hmmm ... I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed. I expected to be drawn into his project by stories, research findings, interactive tests and the like. Instead, it’s much more of a commercial site designed to promote Dr. Holden’s books like Happiness Now! and Shift Happens! and his other venues like his public talks, workshops, health and well-being seminars, Success Intelligence masterclasses, and coaching.

     That doesn’t make this a bad site, but commerce was my overall impression. However, on closer inspection, there are some really great added value pages. Click on the “Inspiration Room” and you’ll find a collection of inspiring quotes, articles, games and stories. These include Graffiti for the Soul: Soul Inspiration to jiggle your neurons, open your heart and transform your life; Inner Smile Cards; and daily Relationship Success tips from Ben Renshaw, author of Relationship Secrets. Click on “Links” section and you’ll find a long list of wonderful links to organizations or individuals who are associated or otherwise connected with The Happiness or Success Intelligence Projects. These include links to the official site of The Gesundheit Institute and Patch Adams and the Marianne Williamson website.

     And what about those other Happiness Projects that came up when I googled? Here are a few:

Gretchen Rubin’s blog (www.happiness-project.com)

     This is actually the blog of Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen introduces her blog by stating:

     I'm working on a book, The Happiness Project—a memoir about the year I spent test-driving every principle, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah. The Happiness Project will gather these rules for living and report on what works and what doesn’t. On this daily blog, I recount some of my adventures and insights as I grapple with the challenge of being happier.

     The blog contains posts like “This Wednesday: Six tips for coping with the fact that you don’t remember a person’s name” and “A key to happiness: figuring out to keep your resolutions.” Gretchen includes her Twelve Commandments: 1. Be Gretchen; 2. Let it go; 3. Act as I would feel; 4. Do it now; 5. Be polite and be fair; 6. Enjoy the process; 7. Spend out; 8. Identify the problem; 9. Lighten up; 10. Do what ought to be done; 11. No calculation; 12. There is only love.

     One point that startled me—and brought home the growing importance of blogging and the whole Web 2.0/Social Web movement: Gretchen’s blog was #1 on the list when I googled the key words “The Happiness Project.”

Gross International Happiness (www.grossinternationalhappiness.org)

     The site is dedicated to GIH’s insight that that conventional development concepts such as GNP and Per Capita Income do not properly reflect the general well being of the inhabitants of a nation. GIH is inspired by the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) proposed by the King of Bhutan, which puts the well being of individuals on top of the national development agenda. The GIH Project consists of a series of conferences, seminars, research and publications around the world.

The Oslo Happiness Project (www.hf.uio.no/forskningsprosjekter/happiness/)

     The Oslo Happiness Project is a research project, which aims to investigate ancient conceptions of the good life. The research is organized around three main axes: Greek and Roman views; how the ancient ethical ideals develop by being attentive to considerations about happiness; and the nature of the ancient views on ethics and happiness. Very academic!

The Happiness Project (www.thehappinessproject.net/):

     Billed on google as “The Happiness Project Official Web Site,” this links to a splash page with a snazzy red graphic that states “A Place Where the Avenues Reach the Sea.” There seems to be a CD and official website in the works. In the meantime, folks are directed to www.myspace.com/thehappinessproject. Ah—the mystery is solved. This is MySpace Music and The Happiness Project is a music CD. Another hat’s off to Web 2.0 and the Social Web, albeit a decidedly convoluted one. This link was #3 on the google list.

Why Good Things Happen To Good People: But back to more global aspects of happiness.

     One of Dr. Holden’s important statements was “Take a vow of kindness. Be kinder to yourself and to others.” That brings me to an exciting book that was just published by my friend and mentor Dr. Stephen Post, president of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love at Case Western Reserve Medical School, and Jill Neimark. That book, Why Good Things Happen to Good People, features tons of exciting new research that proves the link between doing good and living a longer, healthier—and happier life. We’ll explore the book and the website (www.whygoodthingshappen.com) next month. In the meantime, why not pick up a copy of the book? I’m happy to say that it was cover-facing-outward in the new non-fiction rack at Borders.

And don’t forget:

     Last month I wrote about www.firethegrid.com. According to these folks, we can “jump-start” the energy system of the earth if we combine the energy of our love and gratitude for one hour beginning at 11:11 a.m. GMT on Tuesday, July 17, 2007. That’s 6:11 a.m. to 7:11 a.m. Central time. We are invited to join in a worldwide vigil for that hour, holding within our consciousness something that brings joy and for which we feel thankful. For information on Chicago area group gathering locations, contact Paula Battaglio at p_battaglio@hotmail.com or 773-427-4234.

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Mary Montgomery is a certified web author and developer. Her company, Montgomery Media Enterprises (“Freelancing with Finesse!”), specializes in public relations, writing projects and web authoring, development and publicity, especially in the non-profit sector. Ms. Montgomery has a Master’s Degree in religious studies from Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) and is working on a Ph.D. with a focus on the new scholarship of Unlimited Love and the Other Regarding Virtues. She is also in the process of completing the Morris Pratt Institute Course on Modern Spiritualism. Contact her via e-mail at monty764@sbcglobal.net.

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