PERSONAL SPECIAL...Meaningful vs Happy Life

Meaningful vs Happy Life 

They are not the same, says a recent study. Happiness is fleeting, meaningfulness can be a more lasting feeling. Given a choice, which one would you choose?

    Arvind Kejriwal must be a stressed man. Living life under the media glare with a vindictive government and angry politicians cannot be easy. A hunger strike, a day in jail, a verbal duel in a TV studio cannot be a source of much happiness. But there is something else that makes it all worth the effort. His life has a purpose, he believes, it has a meaning. So here is the question. Given a choice, which one would you choose — a happy life or a meaningful life? First, a clarification. The two often overlap, are inter-related and together are important aspects of life and are not always exclusive to each other. But the differences are interesting and what they imply is rather profound.
A recent study, “Some Key Differences Between a Happy Life and a Meaningful Life” by Roy F Baumeister of Florida University, Kathleen D Vohs of Minnesota University, Jennifer L Aaker and Emily N Garbinsky of Stanford University, makes an interesting distinction. Here are a few takeaways:
If You Are Happy
Happiness is about having one’s needs and desires fulfilled. It is an experiential state that comes from living a life largely free from unpleasant events. It can be about small things and big things — you can be happy about finding a lost shoe, you can also be happy that the war has ended. Happiness is largely rooted in the present and about here and now. While it does integrate some degree of the past into the present, it evaluates the past from the point of view of the present, says the study.
    Meaningfulness is more complex. It is also about the long term. Meaningful thoughts allow people to think across timelines — and integrate past and future. Purpose is a very important component of a meaningful life. Happiness is more short-lived — one can be happy in the morning and sad in the evening. But meaningfulness is considered more lasting and permanent. Amid the changes in one’s life, meaningfulness is an important tool for imposing stability, says the study.
Family and Friends
Friends and family play an important role in shaping a happy and meaningful life. Both happiness and meaningfulness suffer if a person is socially deprived. But the two play at different levels. At its heart is the fact that happiness is positively related to one receiving benefits and being a taker. Meaningfulness is about giving. This also means that helping others boosts the meaningfulness of life but has little impact on happiness.
    There is a subtle difference in the way friends and family affect our lives. According to the study, spending more time with friends is positively related to happiness but not to the meaningfulness of life. Spending more time with one’s family is significant to the meaningful quotient but not so to the happiness level. Here’s an example: taking care of children requires one to downplay one’s self and devote oneself to caring for them. For parents, the more time they spend with children the more meaningful their lives are, but this does not have much relation to happiness. If anything, it tends to reduce happiness. It throws light on the parenthood paradox: most people want to be happy and want to be parent but these two goals are often in conflict, says the study.
The Stress Factor
    Happiness and meaningfulness have very distinct relationship with stress. Serious involvement with things that are beyond oneself and one’s pleasure often promotes meaningfulness at the cost of happiness. For example, arguing often leads to unpleasantness. The study says that the more an individual regards arguing as something that reflects her, the more meaningful but less happy her life is.
How Different Are They?
Happy life and meaningful life overlap at many levels, but there are also significant differences
Level of Difficulty:
Finding one’s life easy or difficult impacts happiness levels, but means little to its meaningfulness. Considering life a struggle may even have a positive correlation to its meaningfulness
Need: Satisfying one’s needs and wants increased happiness but was largely irrelevant to meaningfulness
Health: Healthy people are happier than sick ones. But healthy and sick people can have equally meaningful lives
Giver-Taker: Happiness is linked to being a taker rather than a giver whereas meaningfulness goes with being a giver rather than a taker
Stress: Higher levels of worry, stress and anxiety are linked to greater meaningfulness but less happiness
Relationships: Relationships that benefit the self should improve happiness. In contrast meaningfulness may come from making positive contributions to others
Time: Happiness is largely present-oriented and more about here and now whereas meaningfulness is more longterm and involves integrating past, present and future
Feelings: Good and bad feelings have an impact on happiness levels. The more often one feels bad the less happy one is. But these have no relation to meaningfulness
Money: Being able to buy the things one needs has a significant impact on happiness levels but is irrelevant to meaningfulness
Source: Study was done by Roy F Baumeister of Florida University, Kathleen D Vohs of Minnesota University, Jennifer L Aaker & Emily N Garbinsky of Stanford University

:: Malini Goyal SET121209