The search for happiness

Ever since I turned 30, I've spent a good deal of time thinking about what makes me really happy, so I paid attention when a story about happiness popped up on my Podcast playlist last week. (iTunes it! -- while it lasts)

NPR ran a story that featured Harvard professor Tal Ben-Shahar's class on the psychology of happiness. He's also published an eBook on the subject. I've just started reading it, but--in the first few pages--he pointed out something that's worth mentioning.

According to Ben-Shahar, there are four personality types when it comes to the pursuit of happiness:

1. The Hedonist does things that make him happy today while giving little thought to the future or owning up to the negative consequences of his present actions.
2. The Rat-Racer foregoes happiness in the present and lives with the perception that he will achieve a big happiness payoff someday in the future.
   
3. The Resigner has given up hope for happiness. He participates in activities that won't make him happy now or in the future.
4. The Happy Person practices activities that will make him happy both now and in the future.

These archetypes resonated with me because, in recent months, my own happiness situation has changed quite a bit, and I'm finally beginning to make sense of it.

I spent all of my education years (grade through graduate school) as a bona fide Rat Racer. I studied dutifully because there was always another goal waiting around the corner: high school honors, a good college, a prestigious graduate school, and the perfect job. The problem with being a Rat Racer is that the Nirvana Moment--the time when you finally reach happiness--never comes; there's always another milestone ahead that must be met.

Last November, I finally settled into my new job after 15 months. By coincidence (or so I thought), I've also been incredibly happy since then. Most days--provided that I get enough sleep--I spend a good deal of time just feeling good about myself, my lifestyle, and my place in the world.

The reason for this, I think, is that I'm no longer a Rat Racer. At work, I don't have any desire for record-breaking promotions over the next 15 years. The work is challenging and interesting and they pay me enough money, so I have little desire in trying to get more responsibility, money, or both.

Instead, I've been living archetype #4 for the past 5 months, and--until now--I haven't been able to put a finger on why I've felt so good: it's because I do things that will benefit me now and in the future. I've started getting more a lot more exercise. I've cut back on my number of obligations. And I try to grow the relationships that are most important to me.

So, sure, perhaps my current position was made possible by all of those years spent in the rat's maze. I'm just happy that I'm no longer in that game.