Research Shows Happiness is Born of at Least a Little Stress
November 4th, 2009 |
A GoodTherapy.org News Headline
In the gym, the notion that one has to suffer a bit to succeed in building muscle or losing weight is a common one, yet this idea is rarely applied to life in general. Seeking to discover the roots of happiness as they relate to stress or discomfort, a study sponsored by San Francisco State University has found that this same principle is relevant in the mastering of skills which in turn promotes happiness. Asking participants to report both during skill-aquiring and honing activities, and at a later point, the researchers found that momentary stress and discomfort were present initially, but that a positive memory emerged at a later point, in which the participants described the activities as adding happiness to their day. The work has recently been published in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
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6 comments so far
Happiness is something that is not very simple.It is a judicial mixture of many ingredients,with each ingredient having different levels of importance and quantity.We need to make this mixture very carefully as even a slight change will lead to a different result.
Anything worth having comes at a price of sorts, I find. You don’t experience that same feeling, the happiness you get that’s rooted in achievement, by doing an easy task. Only a goal you’ve worked hard to reach brings that out in you when you finally get there, and there’s no feeling like it.
True happiness is not made in getting something. True happiness is becoming something. This can be done by being committed to lofty goals. We cannot become something without commitment. -Marvin J. Ashton
First give of yourself. Then you will get.
Happy and sad moments alternate in life…nobody has a constant run of good luck or even bad days… there is both.
We appreciate things more the harder that we have to work for them.
I completely agree. People do not appreciate at all the things that are given to them on a silver platter. Oh sure they may enjoy them for a while but then they become disposable to them, just like all of the other things in their lives that they have simply been given and had not had to work hard for and earn. I want to give my children the best of everything but I also want them to be able to place some value on their accomplishments and I think that sometimes the best way to do this is to make them work hard for the things that they get and they are sure to appreciate them more in the long term. And personally I think that this is one of the greatest life lessons that we can ever give to our kids.