The Secret to Happiness

And, think hard before you abandon that shopping cart

By Anna Maria Jakubek Posted 05.18.2009 at 10:37 am 1 Comment

Shopping Cart Dano (CC licensed)

What makes us happy? There's no simple answer (sorry), though this 70-year-long longitudinal study on well-being offers some fascinating insight. Humility helps, so do our reactions to life's woes, and "the only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people."

Also in today's links: customer-unfriendly shopping innovations, it pays to be tall, and more.

In other email news, a new way to catch spammers is in the works. Because we email at consistent times -- some of us press send from dawn to dusk, others stick to workday hours -- any deviation in account activity signals the work of a spambot.
Whenever I puzzle over something, a good friend of mine who's both older and taller will jokingly say, "You'll understand when you're taller." Now, it looks like there's even more incentive for me to push past my 5 foot 2 inches: according to a new Australian study, tall people earn more.

Online shopping used to mean no harassing salespeople -- but that's about to change. Web stores will soon be able to follow up on incomplete purchases with remarketing emails and phone calls.
I had high hopes for this one when I saw the title: "The plant that can water itself." Doesn't that make you think of a Venus-flytrap-like individual tilting a watering can over its little head? Alas, it's not that exciting.

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CindyPotts

06/03/09 at 8:37 am

I was particularly struck by the "the only thing that matters is your relationships to other people" comment. In a recent interview with Dr. Robert Holden (author of Shift Happens and the forthcoming Be Happy) that you can read here: http://www.journalofnursingjocularity.com/2009/06/01/happiness-is-already-inside-you-jnj-talks-to-dr-robert-holden/ Dr. Holden says the following:

Happiness feels good, but it feels even better when you share it. There’s a strong link between happiness and altruism. Happiness is our gift to those around us. This is particularly relevant for healthcare professionals: your joy is a gift for those you’re caring for.

He goes on to talk about the impact our personal happiness has on those we interact with. Perhaps it is essential to bring some measure of happiness to the table in order to really have strong meaningful relationships with those people who surround us. Then we will have what matters!

Cindy Potts
Editor
The Journal of Nursing Jocularity
Humor By and For Nurses: www.journalofnursingjocularity.com

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