MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors

What Kind of Happiness Do People Value Most?

Five takeaways:

1. This article asks us to ask ourselves: What kind of happiness do we want? “Experienced Happiness,” or “Remembered Happiness”?
2. Happiness has different versions. Experienced happiness (where you experience happiness on a moment-to-moment basis) is far different from “remembered happiness” (where afterwards you will reflect back and feel happy)
3. A recent survey of 1,145 Americans in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that 79% of respondents chose experienced happiness over remembered happiness for the rest of their lives.
4. When asked about what type of happiness they would desire to experience the following day, most respondents chose remembered happiness, indicating a desire for an immediate feeling of pride and purpose.
5. We are all busy, the article concludes, but spending too much time on pursuits associated with success and work-based pride might result in a person turning down far too many opportunities to feel happy in the moment.

From Cassie Mogilner Holmes at Harvard Business Review:
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