Cooler Dirt

The angriest Americans exhibit the following traits;

1.  They are under 30 years old.

2.  They are uneducated.

3.  They have kids.

A new study has revealed that while anger is a common emotion in all people, those who fall into the above group are more likely to be angry more often then those who aren’t in those groups.

It makes sense to us.  Apart from the obvious financial concerns of those who are young and uneducated, having kids when you don’t have a lot of options or money has got to be tough.   Worrying about someone else’s life when yours isn’t going as well as you like, that can’t be easy.

But it makes us think of a conversation we had with a friend of ours.  She is a substance abuse counselor, and in talking about what makes her job rewarding/difficult, she told us that invariably it is the stupid clients who are the most frustrating.  Ok, that might be a little crass.  But it’s true.

Smarter people are better able to understand their own emotions and can adapt or change the way they react to things more readily than those who aren’t smart.  The less intelligent feel the same things (be it anger or anything else) but aren’t as well equipped to handle them.

(Photo courtesy dboy’s flickr page.)

Uncategorized happiness, intelligence

According to a new study, happiness is more contagious than the ebola virus.

Well, not really.  But it is contagious, at least as far as social circles are concerned.

The study showed that people tend to be happier when they associate with people who are happy.  Essentially, if you have happy friends, you too will be happy.

And though the corollary didn’t show as strong a relationship (being around sad people doesn’t necessarily make you sad), there was a clear indication of an increase in happiness up to the third degree of separation.  How much? Look at these numbers:

• First degree of separation (Immediate contact): Increase your happiness chances by 15%.
• Second degree of separation (Friend of a friend): 10% increase.
• Third degree of separation:  (Friend of a friend of a friend): 6% increase.

And while having more friends also increased your chances, the deciding factor was whether or not you had happy friends.

Which brings us to our question:  Do you have a duty to be happy? If your happiness increases the happiness of others, and by inference, makes everyone’s life better, do you have an obligation to be happy?

If it isn’t a duty (ethical or moral), is it just a good idea to surround yourself with better (i.e. happier) friends? Quality over quantity seems to be the deciding factor in increasing your chances at happiness.   If you want to increase your chances at happiness, it seems like you’d be better off getting rid of the downers in your life.

And on that note, we’ll say:  Excelsior, True Believers!

(Photo courtesy Swami Stream’s Flickr page.  Thanks, Swami Stream!)

Uncategorized friends, happiness, study