HAPPINESS: PSYCHOLOGY OR COMMON SENSE?

December 14, 2005
By Lionel Ketchian

Is happiness psychology or just plain common sense? Does it really matter which one it is? Let's take a look and see if we can figure this out!

Happiness is an interesting subject and fascinating to study. The new field of psychology, named "positive psychology" by Martin Seligman, Ph.D. deals with happiness. Dr. Seligman's book Authentic Happiness, is a very important work. It is a breakthrough in the field of psychology to enter into the subject of happiness. Dr. Seligman does a good job of helping us understand the usefulness of happiness. Dr. Seligman is a pioneer in the happiness research that is now sweeping the media. I am delighted that psychologists and psychiatrists are interested in spreading happiness to all of us. I think this is a wonderful trend and it is about time that it happened.

It still does not answer the question of happiness being psychology or common sense. I have been thinking about the question and I am starting to consider that happiness may just be common sense. I will tell you why I am coming to this conclusion.

Starting in 1999, I taught courses in happiness at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT. It was a four-week course, with four sessions of two hours each. When our first happiness class was ending in 1999, Joanne Cisek, one of graduating students suggested we keep meeting to practice and discuss happiness. I thought it was an excellent idea and that was how the Happiness Club was created. The interesting thing was that the class did not want to call it the Happiness Club. They thought it should be called the Common Sense Club. My feeling was that people would wonder whose common sense are we talking about, so I stayed with the name Happiness Club.

It is interesting to note that many people consider what we have learned about happiness to be just plain common sense. It may seem like a theory to those who are unfamiliar with the concepts, or have not used them in their lives. Many people have realized that the concepts of happiness are common sense and much more logical than might be imagined.

Happiness is more like mathematics than psychology. It is more like math because it is logical and practical. If you have learned something about happiness by reading my column or my web site or watched me on the Happiness TV show, you may agree with me. Happiness is more like philosophy than psychology, but happiness is much more stable than philosophy. You can experience happiness, you can only think about philosophy. This is the tremendous part of happiness because you can keep repeating the profoundly beneficial aspects of being happy all though your life.

The important thing about happiness is to understand that it is what you want more than anything else. Richard Owen Cambridge said, "What is the worth of anything, but for the happiness 'twill bring?" Can he be any more correct? Yes, according to Aristotle who realized the same fact over 2,000 years earlier and that is because it is just plain logical. Aristotle wrote, "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence."

Once you realize that, you have found common sense. The next important thing is to make happiness more important than the things that happen to you and around you. Why? Because then, you can control the one thing, the most important thing, and that of course, is yourself. By being happy, you engage the most powerful aspects of yourself and reality to deal with whatever difficulty life may throw at you.

On December 24, 2005, I will be happy for exactly 15 years to the day. How does it feel to be happy? The best part is not having to feel unhappy. How have I been happy for 15 years? By experiencing the fact that being unhappy is not what I want, nor is it helpful to me, whatsoever. So I have been happy for all those years by being happy "one moment at a time." This moment, for example, is an excellent moment for being happy. It can only start now! The best reason to be happy is that you deserve to be! Why be happy, why not? Put a few of those moments together and before you know it you are being happy for a long time.

Aristotle has already told us, "Happiness depends upon ourselves." Now is that common sense or psychology. What do you think?

I wish you a very happy holiday, and a healthy and happy New Year! The best New Years decision you can make is to Be Happy No Matter What!

Our next Happiness Club meeting will be a presentation on Happiness. The meeting will be Thursday, January 19, from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the newly renovated Fairfield Public Library, in the Rotary Room at 1080 Old Post Road, Fairfield. Meet some wonderful people using happiness in their lives like Joanne Cisek, who comes to meetings since 1999. Thank you Joanne, for your collaboration in starting the Happiness Club. Admission is free; everyone is welcome.

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The Web site is www.happinessclub.com.