"A picture of happiness"

“ A picture of happiness” was just one of the workshops run on the New Economics Foundation “Interdependance Day” on 24th October, 2009 at Oxo Tower, London.

The NEF sees itself as;
“an independent “think and do tank that inspires and demonstrates real economic well-being... aiming to improve quality of life by promoting innovative solutions that challenge mainstream thinking on economic, environmental and social issues. (They) work in partnership and put people and the planet first.”

“So, the economy is in ruins...unemployment is still rising and we are running out of resources...we are at a cross roads and we need to start thinking about a way forward.”(Samaah Abullah, researcher, NEF)

So, where do we start?

We were asked us to remember a time in our life when we were really happy.

You can do this now. (Don’t look at the themes below the line of asterix yet if you want to think clearly of your own first.)

What was it that made you feel so happy? What are the themes? (Come up with your own- don’t look at the ones listed below for a moment.)
Also, what helped and what detracted from this personal happiness? (Put a + or a – next to them.)

Write them on different coloured paper hexagons, (orange paper hexagon for main themes, green paper hexagon for positive or negative influences.)

Now you could try to slot them together to see if or how they fit together.
This may help you to redress the balance in your life and perhaps to enable you to achieve greater personal happiness?

**********************************************************************************
The themes that our group felt brought us feelings of happiness were;
Achievement
Freedom and creativity
Relationships

Friends
Love
Nature
Spiritual

Other groups’ additional universal happiness themes were;
Peace and tranquillity
Support
Connections

Letting Go
Humour
Shared values

“Instant happiness”
Being what you are
Autonomy- freedom to do your own thing
Making a positive contribution

Community
Carefree time
People joining together

Excitement
Thrill and variety
Beauty

Learning
Empathy

Happiness differs for each individual as it is personal view and no two people are completely alike. Of course the list is different for different people. Not everyone wants to be creative, not everyone derives happiness from exciting pursuits or thrilling exploits! So, different groups came up with different ideas. Some people don’t like variety, whilst others relish change.
Some themes are shared by all people, (universal) whilst others are not. However, amongst all the themes, there are numerous common “threads” of experience; albeit, there are many different ways of achieving happiness.

So, can we blend our ideas and come up with some interlocking ones that will benefit each other?
That way we can perhaps help to rebuild a society in which people feel more included and not isolated. We were asked to think of things that would either help or detract from ability to achieve the above happiness themes.
We had to put a plus or a minus next to them.

The positive themes that PROMOTE the goals of happiness were;

Achievement
Good relationships
Peace

Compromise and balance
Collaboration
Individuality and autonomy

Focus
Trust
Confidence

Stress (+/-)
Resilience
Opportunity

Time (to think)
Positive thinking
Acknowledgement and acceptance

The negative themes that DETRACT from and prevent happiness goals are;

Stress(+/-)
Poverty
Isolation

Empathy ( +/-) ie. can be both a positive and negative force
Inequality(+/-)
Individuality (+/-)
Depression
Lack of confidence
Low self-esteem


The elephant in the room was, of course, money. Money and its role in happiness is very relevant.

Money acts as “a sort of points system, with status attached to people who gain money. It’s a symbol of power and is connected to positive self-esteem.” (Samaah Abdullah, New Economics Foundation)

Making lots of money is associated with thrill, status , addiction, achievement and other less tangible aspects of happiness, such as speed and excitement (an Investment banker.)

To date, happiness has been wielded into the argument for achieving economic success or power, to such an extent that we may sometimes forget what our goals originally were when we started out.

In view of the current economic crisis and rising unemployment, research into happiness is vital. This will enable the potential and talents of individuals to be unlocked, achieving happiness and improved quality of life for more people and arguably, a better society as a result.

You can join the growing debate on how we can measure and achieve happiness other than in economic terms.

We came up with the above list on Interdependance Day, which was organised by NEF.

You can add you comments below
or email researcher Samaah Abdullah at well-being@neweconomics.org

Landvision.