by Came across a nice post The Future of Happiness — Up or Down? by Deepak Chopra on the Huffington Post site. He starts by noting that “that so little is known about what it takes to be happy.” I would add, but “it ain’t for lack of trying.” There has been a veritable boom in happiness research over the last 10 years. I first came across it when researching the Future of Youth Happiness for MTV several years ago. To be fair to Chopra, however, it’s not as if that research has answered the question.
He observes that “As a feeling, being happy comes and goes.” Agreed, but one of my findings in researching ConsumerShift was that happiness might be something of a misnomer in that we’re really not talking about the momentary feeling, but longer term “subjective well-being.” Ah, yes, a dry concept but it perhaps more accurately captures what we’re really looking for when we talk about long-term happiness.
He notes “[despite the] rampant consumerism and the pursuit of diversions, modern society has not found a deeper theory of happiness to guide us.” And we students of values respond, “of course,” as we have learned that a growing segment of the global population, roughly 25-35% of populations in the affluent nations, have shifted from modern to postmodern values. Their priorities are shifting from materialism to concerns such as wellness, spirituality, sustainability, self-expression and the like.
He concludes that “millions of people are in a position to test for themselves if the spiritual model of happiness.” Indeed! This shift is well underway and gaining momentum. Of course, a key underlying factor is the degree of “existential security” that people feel. The more secure one feels that their basic needs will be met, the more willing they are to embrace new values.
The ConsumerShift is indeed underway – time will tell if it leads to great happiness, uh, I mean subjective well-being. Andy Hines
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