Happiness Plateau

Last updated on: August 3, 2015 at 8:29 am by Ambaa Choate

Happiness Plateau 2015-08-03T08:29:10-04:00 Ambaa Choate

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I think I can safely say that we all want to be happy. What we pursue in life, whether a career or God or a hobby or other passion all comes down to an attempt to feel content, fulfilled, and happy. America was founded on the principal of every individual person’s right to pursue happiness and I don’t think that meant in a selfish way at all. Pursuing happiness doesn’t have to mean doing things to please yourself and focusing on your desires. It means that we are uncomfortable with the restless discontent within us and we want to find what makes that give way to inner peace.

It’s strange to me how elusive happiness is.

What I’m finding is that I often feel very good after I’ve made a change in my life and that good feeling lasts for a few months but eventually it becomes the norm and I go back to the same baseline level of happiness I had before, which is not nothing but it’s not as happy/content/peaceful as I know I can be. Once something new settles into routine my baseless anxiety resurfaces. I find things to worry about even in a life that is nearly perfect.

I’m not the only one who has noticed this effect. Experts are saying now that we all have a baseline happiness that we tend to come back to again and again after periods of greater happiness or lesser happiness depending on circumstances.

The joy and energy that my grocery store job gave me has now faded to the usual anxiety all the time I’m not at work, worrying over going into work. Even though I enjoy my work there, I feel dread whenever I’m not there, anticipating having to go in.

Each change I make in my life to increase my happiness only works for a short period of time.

There has to be a better way. I’m certain that we can fight back against our baseline happiness level and elevate it more of the time, maybe even create a new baseline. I think that is part of being enlightened, having a peaceful joy at all times

But what makes me happy? In my mid-thirties I still don’t know.

There are things I’ve tried that have worked for short periods or not worked at all and it’s challenging to admit that something I thought was going to make me happy doesn’t and let it go.

I like this idea of a Happiness Project. The book tells the story of the author’s happiness project and also gives tips on how to create your own. Another book that I think can help is The Magic. It is a sequel to The Secret and while I have a lot of issues with The Secret and its philosophies, I like The Magic’s focus on gratitude. I found that its gratitude exercises helped me to feel more joy. I’m also rereading Finding Joy one little section at a time. It’s a book that my mom and I discovered when I was about 11 and we found it very comforting and peace-inducing. Nearly every time we get a copy we end up giving it to someone as a gift!

I believe that we can live free from baseless guilt, listlessness, and melancholy. I believe that we can raise our personal happiness baseline. I believe that part of what we are aiming for with enlightenment is to be full of contentedness and contagious joy all the time. That is a gift not only to ourselves but to everyone around us.

So I’m going to be exploring ways to raise one’s happiness level.

the happiness project

white hindu

Previous Post

July 30, 2015

Panel: Honoring or Appropriation?

Next Post

August 5, 2015 What I Know About Myself {Happiness Project}

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Club Hindu Holiday How Am I Being a Hindu This Week? Inside the Life Meet a God Meet a Guru Movie Club Philosophy Corner Resources Scripture Uncategorized Wild Card

Select a Month February 2020 September 2019 May 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which book of the Bible ends with the word 'Amen'?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Philippians Jude Romans Revelation