Are you happy?

I believe that anyone who says that they wouldn’t change a thing can only mean that in the sense that they are happy with the way things have turned out. We all have regrets but the road not taken takes us somewhere else. Do things work out best for those who proactively set their course and shoot for a target or do things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out? Although I believe the latter, it ultimately all gets down to attitude and outlook.

A recent study on happiness found that most of us have our own internal happiness “thermostat” set at a place that is unique to each of us as individuals. So the paraplegic crash victim and the lottery winner both pretty much return to their own “setting” within a year after their life altering event. That said, financial happiness, appears to be relative. In Costa Rica where the median income is about $3,000 per annum, the people seem to be just as happy as in the USA where annual income is, of course, much higher. We may strive to “keep up with the Jones” but that can work at almost any level, assuming basic needs are covered.

One advantage of getting older, I’ve found, is that as I age into official geezer-hood, my give-a-shit level declines accordingly. I prefer to concentrate on things other than the material. So the money becomes less important as we can say “been there, done that”. After all, most of us spend the first half of our lives acquiring two of everything Ron Popeil has to sell and the second half of our lives trying to get rid of that stuff. Turns out the kids don’t want it either (they want to collect their own junk) so it sits in the garage until we move or make a conscious effort to simplify our lives.

So when you ask me: “are you happy?” Knowing that we all choose our reaction, I choose to react with gratitude...and, yes, I'm happy.

Thanks for asking.