When you think of happiness as a perspective, you can take it with you regardless of any circumstances you find yourself in.
A lot of people think happiness depends on what we gain and lose in our lives, but the truth is that one of the most important contributors to our happiness isn’t what happens to us, but our perspective of what happens.
There was a ground-breaking study published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that compared the happiness of individuals who just won the lottery with individuals who just experienced paralyzing accidents.
At first, the individuals who won the lottery reported much greater happiness than the paralyzed victims; however, the effect was increasingly diminished over time, and after just a few months both reported very similar levels of happiness again.
This concept is known as happiness adaptation theory (or the hedonic treadmill). The basic idea is that we each have a “baseline level” of happiness, and over time we tend to adapt to both the “good” and “bad” events in our lives – so neither really have a major influence over our overall happiness in the long-term.
We all experience the inevitable ups and downs in life, the question is how well we can navigate between these highs and lows – that’s what determines our overall baseline of happiness, not any single event.
If you have the right perspective, you don’t get easily attached to any one event in your life, whether “positive” or “negative,” because you see everything within the context of the “bigger picture.”
Nothing that happens to you dictates who you are or who you become, that’s up to you, your attitude, and how you choose to respond to your circumstances.
Some people have really good and fortunate circumstances (like winning the lottery), but they don’t have the right perspective, so they never find happiness.
Meanwhile others have some really terrible and unfortunate circumstances (like suffering a paralyzing injury), but they do have the right perspective, so they find happiness despite their circumstances.
There is a classic Taoist story titled “Maybe” that is a great illustration of how our perspective can completely change how we see a situation in our lives. It’s a short but inspiring read that really gets to the crux of this philosophy:
Zen Story: “Maybe”
Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“Maybe,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“Maybe,” said the farmer.
The farmer never commits to labeling any situation “good” or “bad,” but instead treats all the events in his life with the same balanced perspective.
The more you focus on your perspective and the less you focus on your specific situation, the easier it is to find happiness in your life.
And the best part is that when you think of happiness as a perspective, you can take it with you regardless of any circumstances you find yourself in.
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