We believe science when it’s about how to grow bigger crops, or when it’s about weed control, swine rations or soil quality. When the science is about happiness, though, many of us turn downright dismissive.
How can happiness be a science? In fact, we might say to ourselves, show me somebody who spends their time thinking about happiness and I’ll show you somebody I don’t particularly want on my farm. All they’d do is get in the way.
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Well, it looks like it’s time for some of those attitudes to change. Thinking about your happiness is neither selfish nor a waste of time.
Studies are proving that happy people are more productive, says John Zelenski, a psychology professor who researches happiness at Carleton University. Happy people are healthier too. Plus they help out, and when they do help, they actually get more accomplished.
So making your happiness one of your business goals isn’t selfish at all. In fact, it’s good for both your business and your family, and there’s good scientific reasons for saying it should be a priority on every farm.
To do that, we need to understand what happiness is and what it isn’t. While the specific meanings of happiness can be different in different situations, Brian Orend, a philosophy professor at the University of Waterloo, says the common thread is that happiness means having consistent, positive feelings and emotions as a result of behaviour that is healthy, non-destructive and sustainable.
Happiness is not the same thing as having fun, Orend points out. While having fun is healthy and while it may help you attain happiness, focusing solely on meaningless pleasure does not bring lasting happiness.
There’s another misconception too. Being happy doesn’t mean you never feel sad. That would be unnatural. It’s normal and healthy to experience both ups and downs as a result of circumstances, although happy people generally feel more positive emotions over the long run.
So what can you do to become happier? Researchers estimate about 50 per cent of your happiness comes from genetic factors and 10 per cent is a result of your circumstances. That leaves 40 per cent, a sizable chunk, under your control. This means you can take charge. You can make happiness a goal.
The first step to becoming happier is to analyze your current likes and dislikes and the situations that give rise to both negative and positive emotions, says Orend. Once you’ve assessed your life, you can make a point of incorporating those activities into your life that bring you the most meaning and pleasure.
“It’s about changing habits so that on a daily basis you consistently reduce the negative emotions you have and increase positive emotions,” Orend says. “You will become reliably, sustainably happier over time.”
This is the point where farmers start to smirk. Yeah right, they say, like I have any say over whether the cows need feeding or whether crop prices are bouncing like a basketball.
In fact, changing habits is achievable, although it isn’t simple, probably for reasons you may not realize. Plain and simple, bad habits are hard to change, says Harvard psychologist, Tal Ben-Shahar in his book, Happier. Sometimes, too, good habits are equally hard to get into. In order to create habits that contribute to lasting happiness, you need to actually schedule them into your life.
For example, if you enjoy golf, you need to put it on your schedule. Maybe you can’t golf during seeding, but there are other times of the year when you can promise yourself that you will golf at least once per week, and then write it into your schedule.
If you don’t plan it, it won’t happen, Zelenski says.
It’s important to know too that even small things can make a lasting difference. Happiness doesn’t have to mean long-distance travel or a cruise. A change of scene can be much closer to home. In fact, if you were to make just one change to create a happier you, says Zelenski, he would recommend taking a 15-minute walk in nature: “Our studies show this gives people a quick boost.”
Although health isn’t absolutely essential for happiness it’s a lot harder to be happy when our health is failing, says Orend. This means that it makes sense to set aside time for exercise to keep physically fit. Your business will keep healthier if you do too.
Having a robust social life is another key to happiness, says Orend. Take the time to cultivate relationships with family, friends and neighbours.
Many people think they’d be happier if only they had more money. However, the science simply doesn’t support this. In fact, if you’re slaving away at work, hating every minute of it but thinking that it will buy you happiness in the long run, the odds are that you’re going to end up very disappointed.
As long as you aren’t living in poverty, says the science, more money doesn’t automatically mean more happiness. After we reach a certain threshold, more income doesn’t improve an individual’s ability to do the things that matter, explains Zelenski. In fact, as a country’s wealth goes up, depression rates actually go up too, he says.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that money and the things that money can buy can’t buy happiness, although these can be overrated. What it often means though is that, too often, the things you trade away for that money actually produce more happiness than what you traded them for.
People who put too high a priority on making more money are often some of the unhappiest people, continues Orend, because the relentless drive to get more money takes away from other fields of life, such as time with friends and family.
There’s always that social comparison factor too, Orend adds. “If you view money as all important, you just burn with envy when you think of all those people who have more than you.”
One of the keys for maintaining a balance is to focus on how you spend your money.
Over time, experiences make you happier than stuff. A vacation will make you happier than a new truck. Contributing to a charity and getting involved with its programs will make you happier than some new electronics.
So, from a business point of view, non-business expenses can sometimes produce greater rewards and a more successful business than if you simply pump every hour and every dollar back into the farm.
Remember, though, that it’s important to focus on the positive when you tell yourself the stories about your experiences. If you go on vacation and when you come home you tell everyone how your flight was late and that the airline lost your luggage, you’re more likely to remember the trip negatively than if you focus on the good time you had with your family at the resort.
Find the points that create happiness; then focus on them.
Education is another happiness factor. Life-long learners tend to be happier so Ben-Shahar recommends pursuing both personal and professional educational goals. With many distance courses available online, it’s easier than ever to take a course for either personal interest or professional upgrading.
Remember too to practise gratitude. This will also help you cultivate positive feelings.
Pursuing activities that you not only enjoy, but find personally meaningful, is the foundation for happiness, say both Zelenski and Orend. While you are happy when your favourite team wins a game on television, this kind of happiness lacks meaning and is short lived, explains Zelenski.
Activities which further your progress toward what you have discovered is meaningful in life (as opposed to what your parents or what society says is meaningful) will bring true happiness, whether that is through your family, your personal relationships, or through the farm.CG
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ON THE ROAD TO HAPPINESS
Pursue meaningful activities, both at work and in leisure.
Have a healthy social network. Cultivate relationships with friends and family.
Avoid destructive habits such as alcohol or drug abuse.
Eat well and get enough sleep.
Participate in activities which give you a sense of “flow.”
Take a 15-minute walk in nature.
Keep a gratitude journal. At the end of the day write down five things that brought you happiness that day.
Be a life-long learner.
RECOMMENDED READING
HAPPIER by Tal Ben-Shahar
THE HOW OF HAPPINESS by Sonja Lyubomirsky
