I don't think it takes much for me to be happy. Perhaps that is because I am fairly easy going, am not highly driven (or even especially purposful.)
As long as I am not drowning in a hurricane of self-criticism, I'm pretty OK.
I do have mixed ideas about whether this is "good" or "bad."
If I were more highly driven and purposeful without a tendency to drown or sabotage myself some other way, I might have more to "show" for my life so far. More muscle tone. More children. More money. More "stuff." More power and authority.
On the other hand, I know lots of people with "more" who are miserable.
As someone interested in the optimal life, psychology and philosophy, I picked up David Gilbert's book Stumbling on Happiness. I've only read a few chapters. He has already toled me he will not be offering a magikal formulas for happiness, or even against depression. What I can say for sure, is that I've laughed out loud at every page turn along the way.
And he's good looking compared to my expectations of Harvard Professors who didn't finish high school! Or Phi Beta Kappa's.You probably think it would be good if you could feel perfectly happy at every moment of your life. But we have a word for animals that cannot feel distress, anxiety, fear, and pain: The word is extinct.
Ouch!
There are different kinds of happiness. Some are emotionally "felt," and others are marketed and encouraged by societies and institutions with ulterior motives.
If you have ever been surprised by joy, defeated by depression, or blase about terror and bored with enthusiasm, you'll love this.
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