This final week of the psychology sub-chapter of Supermorning will tackle a very complicated subject: happiness. 

People have been chasing happiness for centuries. In this quest, we’ve built a world of riches beyond our forefathers’ wildest dreams. And yet, the search for happiness has grown more intense than ever. 

Will we ever find nirvana? Probably not.

Is it worth continuing the search? Definitely! 

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s start with the basics. 

For starters, let’s reduce global suffering

We may never find the key to everlasting happiness, but we can definitely do a lot to reduce global suffering.

About 70% of the global population still lives in conditions of material lack (<$20/day), and more than half of those in serious poverty (<$5/day). 

Aside from poverty, there remains a lot of exploitation and discrimination against those unlucky enough to be born into disadvantaged social classes. This only compounds the suffering brought by poverty.  

I maintain an extremely frugal lifestyle that costs me a little over $30/day (adjusted for purchasing power). It really pains me to see how many people still reside below this mark in the graph above. This is one of the key motivations behind my dedication to sustainable development. 

People reading this are probably with me safely above the $30/day mark (you can easily calculate your number by dividing your average daily living costs by the purchasing power of your country’s currency given here). 

Be very grateful for your good fortune of being born into affluence. 

Rich world problems

Us fortunate few who have enough income for a comfortable life (and don’t face serious exploitation or discrimination) can move on to the next step in the quest for happiness. 

And we do give this our very best shot, spending trillions on various happiness-on-demand activities like entertainment, sugary and fatty foods, alcohol and other drugs, luxurious treatments and holidays. Then we spend trillions more on status symbols like oversized houses, fancy cars and fashionable clothing.

But despite all this effort, that blissful state of happiness remains elusive. If anything, the rich world has a higher incidence of mental disorders than the developing world. 

This is not all that surprising, given that the three topics coming up most frequently in happiness studies have little to do with such direct pursuits of happiness: 

1. Nourishing relationships
2. Stimulating work 
3. Physical and emotional health

In fact, keeping these elements of your life in good shape often requires plenty of effort and sacrifice. But they provide one decisive benefit: meaning. 

Those who find real meaning in caring for themselves (health), their friends and family (relationships) and their community/society (work), can find contentment in almost any situation.

Without such a clear sense of purpose, no amount of pleasure can ever bring lasting happiness. 

Chasing ghosts

Yep, the more directly you pursue happiness, the less likely you are to find it. In fact, the amount of time and money you spend on happiness-on-demand products and services is an excellent measure of unhappiness. 

This bring us to possibly the biggest fraud of our modern civilization: the false promise of happiness through consumption. But let’s leave that for tomorrow.  

See you then!