the best time to be alive?

When was the best time to be alive?

I've always thought I had pretty much the best of it - born at the end of World War 2, living when our western societies were becoming increasingly wealthy and jobs were easy to come by, and growing into adulthood during the 1960's when there was plenty of idealism and good music (for me, Bob Dylan represented both of those). So I missed the war and the depression, but also missed the pressure of today's mad rush to get a university place and a job while avoiding drugs and depression and shallow relationships.

But Michael Duffy, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, reckons differently. He thinks "the luckiest generation" was the one before mine, which was born in the 1930s. This is how he figures it:

• They missed the great Depression and were too young to serve in the war.
• They would have been buying houses in the 1960s, when, in relation to household income, they cost a third what they do today.
• Society was more stable. "The divorce rate increased in the mid-'70s, a period when crime, single parenthood and chronic forms of mental and physical illness also started to boom. In the '60s only 3 per cent of working age Australians depended on welfare. That figure was to rise to about 16 per cent." Job insecurity also increased.
• He says welfare and tax policies have been shown to have most favoured this generation, especially in retirement.
• Social researcher Hugh Mackay has found that this generation has stronger values: "loyalty, saving, the work ethic, the sense of mutual obligation, and patriotism". These helped them cope less selfishly with the prosperity of the 1960s than a later generation dealt with the prosperity of the 1990s.
• "There has been a sharp increase in fear of all kinds in recent decades", and people have grown less happy. The less stable society, loss of values and decline in religion have all been suggested as reasons for this.

I'm still not sure I agree. Studies indicate that despite the negatives Duffy mentions, Australians are, on average, pretty much just as happy as we were a decade ago and half a century ago, and it is the same generally right around the world. But we are agreed that it is tougher growing up and living today than back then.

does religion make you nice?

In does belief in god harm us?, I looked at how religious belief affects the way people behave. Now a psychologist has looked at the question, seeking to explain:

• why atheists in the US are less happy, less healthy and less altruistic than believers, yet the church-tolerant non-believers in Scandinavia are happy and altruistic; and
• why religious belief seems to make people more honest.

I would have thought the answers were obvious - believers have a stronger reason to behave ethically and be altruistic and their greater sense of purpose makes them happier, while the differences between Scandinavians and Americans relates to other aspects of the two societies - but he has some interesting ideas.

He thinks the main source of all these positive behaviours and characteristics are good social networks - which the religious have in the US and the Scandinavians have, but which the atheists in the US don't have.

Bizarrely, he blames the christians for making the atheists outsiders and (more sensibly) for thinking them immoral and unpatriotic. Read about it in this article from Slate.

happiness, 2008

The latest information on what makes people happy continues to confirm that happiness doesn't come primarily from wealth or possessions. A recent study compiling a Happiness Index found that experiences such as relaxation, eating, sex, spending time online and spending time with friends all made people happier than material things.

Some of the results:

Activity	men made happy	women made happy
Relaxation	63%	63%
Meals & time with family	45%	55%
Online activities	50%	39%
Sex	48%	40%
Drinking with friends	38%	28%
Shopping	14%	30%
Buying a gift	19%	36%

The Happiness Index is determining what makes people happy at the time (something other surveys may describe as "pleasure"). It is not the same as the Australian Wellbeing Index, which measures wellbeing and satisfaction of a more lasting nature.

Nevertheless, we learn again that it is who we are, what we do and what we value that make us happy more than what we own and how wealthy we are. So it is ironic that this survey was conducted to help Australian businesses better target their customers.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald's report, or background information on happiness.

a girl's best friend?

The teen years are a time of uncertainty, a time when most people need every bit of encouragement they can get. So it is sad to read author Nikki Goldstein reporting in the Sydney Morning Herald on "the broad and insidious rise of "mean girl culture"".

Goldstein has a forum on her website where girls across Australia discuss and receive advice, and "the most pressing topic, every week, has been how to handle the bullying, bitchiness and isolation girls experience at school."

She refers to teen TV shows that seem to promote nastiness and put-downs among teen girls, and says: "Our culture has spawned a new version of womanhood that promotes a kind of sharp-tongued nastiness ...."

The SMH article offers few clues as to the reasons for this behaviour trend, but an earlier book about girls in the US, Odd Girl Out by Rachel Simmons, suggests that it is “a mean and merciless competition for relationships”, as girls seek popularity and membership in a popular clique, even if they have to destroy previous friendships to do it.

It seems to be one more evidence of a society that too often cares more for popularity and image than for friendship and lasting values.

exercise makes you happier, smarter, and .......

Photo: Morguefile

Most of us want to be happy. Most of us want to be smart. But probably most of us don't want to exercise all that much, or else we just don't have time. I have some good news and some bad news .....

the good news .....

A new book, "SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain" by John Ratey MD, outlines a whole range of benefits of exercise:

• It makes you happy - it affects the brain in a similar way to anti-depressants.
• It reduces stress and ameliorates the effects of stress by purging brain toxins and building up antioxidants.
• It improves our brain, increasing intelligence and improving memory.
• It reduces the likelihood of responding to threatening situations aggressively.
• It can help fight addictions - e.g. it reduces the desire to smoke.
• And of course, exercise is good for health and fitness.
  

and the "bad" news ....

These beneficial outcomes require at least a 30 minute walk 5 times a week. Better is to make that an energetic walk, or to include some short intervals of sprinting. But even a little is better than none.

Read the article by Simon Usborne which was reprinted in the Sydney Morning Herald recently, or read further information on what makes people happy and do we REALLY know how to be happy.

no dark sarcasm in the classroom

Photo: Morguefile

Dr Martin Seligman is one of the gurus of positive psychology, the study of what makes people happy, and what doesn't. Currently he's in Australia conducting research, and an article of his in the Sydney Morning Herald is illuminating.

He starts with the following points:

• When surveyed, people want their children to be happy, or, as Seligman sums it up, have wellbeing. But when asked what they want their children to learn at school, their answers can be summed up as "accomplishment" - to learn discipline, to achieve. he comments that the two lists are totally different.
• He then points out, what is well known, that accomplishment doesn't lead to wellbeing. After all "almost everything is better now than it was 50 years ago: there is about three times more buying power, houses are much bigger, there are many more cars, and clothes are more attractive. .... there is more education, more music, more women's rights, less racism, less pollution, fewer tyrants, more entertainment, more books, and fewer soldiers dying on the battlefield." Despite this, Australians are no happier than they used to be, and there is greater incidence of depression and suicide.
• So something is wrong with our thinking, and our education.

Seligman offers evidence that happiness can be taught and learned, and that happier people perform better in life. And he is teaching it, in a program aimed at both teachers and pupils at the prestigious Geelong Grammar school. He thinks all schools should teach and apply the principles.

Studies show that we can be happier if we aim for three things:

• positive emotion through pleasurable experiences,
• more important is to be "engaged" or well occupied with things that interest us, especially our work, and
• most important is building our lives around something that is meaningful, a cause we believe is more important than ourselves.

It is therefore no wonder that people who are generous and forgiving, people with good relationships (especially a good marriage), people happy in their work but not driven by it, people who do voluntary work, and people with a religious faith, tend to be happier than people who seek self-gratification through material wealth.

Read more about what makes people happy and do we REALLY know how to be happy? in an earlier blog.

listen

I read this in a book recently, based on a study of teenage prostitutes in San Francisco:

"When asked what they lacked at home that caused them to run away, the girls' answers came down almost universally to three words: 'Someone to listen'."

new generations and religious belief

Some recent studies have given interesting insights into the impact of religious belief on younger Australians.

One study by the Australian Catholic and Monash universities found the following beliefs among Aussie teenagers (aged 13 to 17):

• 47% said they were Christians, although only 17% were active in their faith,
• 31% had no religious belief,
• 15% had new age beliefs, and
• 7% had other beliefs.

The same study also found that "those with serious spiritual and religious beliefs were likely to donate more money, participate more in their communities and be more concerned about their society than their non-religious counterparts."

The press release for the study says: "Noting that strong engagement with a belief system is related to good citizenship, the authors pose the question: where will young people of the future learn civic values and a commitment to the common good? Who, apart from parents, is going to pass these values on to them and lead them to participate in community service?"

A University of Queensland study has found that only 8% of young adults attend church weekly. Among young adults, "Moving away from traditional religious beliefs to trendy, self-focused religions and spirituality is not making young adults happier."

Causes of lower happiness include greater risk of poor mental health and anti-social behaviour, and higher levels of anxiety and depression. "Their focus on self-fulfillment and self-improvement and the lack of emphasis on others' wellbeing appears to have the potential to undermine a person's mental health and social relationships.”

buy bye

Ever felt like you've accumulated too much stuff, and it's just getting in the way? Does Xmas shopping take away your peace of mind? Or have you ever bought something you didn't really need, or even want all that much?

You're not alone.

But doing something about it is another thing. It's simply hard to break out. But there are people taking a stand against corporate consumerism.

Compact is one such group. It was formed by a group of friends in San Francisco who were concerned about the environmental damage of the enormous amounts of waste we generate in western societies. So they did something very radical.

They agreed to not buy any new stuff for a whole year, except for a few important items such as medicines, food and safety items. Instead, they would buy second-hand, borrow/lend, barter or make what they needed.

The idea caught on, and thousands of people have joined the Compact Yahoo Group, and Compact Groups have started around the world. People have found the freedom from consumerism to be very liberating, sometimes even helping to create new community feeling. But not everyone is impressed - some have labelled these ideas as "unAmerican" and undermining economic growth.

The Sydney Morning Herald recently (They're just not buying it, Jacqui Taffel, Oct 27-28) reviewed the efforts of several people trying to live by the Compact principles in Australia. It seems that not everyone is able to keep it up, and some live by less stringent principles. But as with the original San Fransisco group, most do not miss the products they are doing without, and feel positive about the idea.

One said: "It made me think about what is our purpose - is it just to go and buy stuff? And I don't think I've worked that out yet."

I find it ironic that America is at the same time both the world's strongest exponent of capitalism, and supposedly the world's most christian nation. Yet Jesus warned against excessive consumption: ".... guard yourselves from all kinds of greed, because a man's true life is not made up of the things he owns, no matter how rich he may be." (Luke 12:13).

What do you think? Do we consume too much? Have we been conned by advertising to do what doesn't make us more fulfilled and happy? What can/should we do about it? Do we need to go to such lengths, or is there a more moderate approach to resisting consumerism?

Read more about Compact from the SMH; read an interview with one of the founders; or read the Compact blog.

marriage, infidelity and singleness

Back in April I reported on marriage strategies - how living together before marriage reduces the likelihood of the marriage lasting. Now the Sydney Morning Herald has reported on some more interesting facts about marriage.

cohabiting & singleness

A new study by Ruth Weston shows that in the last 5 years there has been an enormous increase in the number of people in their 30s who are not in a live-in relationship, married or otherwise. While the divorce rate is now more or less stable, living together has become more unstable.

In the 1980s, couples tended to live together as a "trial marriage", but now live-in relationships tend to begin more casually. This apparently makes it more likely that couples might live for years in a relationship with little commitment that ends up going nowhere. If or when they finally separate, this time has been "wasted", and the prospects of finding a marriage partner much reduced.

marriage & infidelity

Pamela Druckerman has researched marriage infidelity in several countries, and found some slightly surprising conclusions:

• The French are among the more faithful in marriage. They do not make a fuss about infidelity, but nevertheless value faithfulness very highly.
• Americans too value fidelity, but are slightly less faithful than the French. Those who are victims of infidelity tend to suffer more than in other nations, get angrier and almost always seek extensive counselling.
  
• Britons, Japanese and Russians appear to be among the less faithful. The instability in Russian marriages seems to be a related to other social problems, like poor health, crime, alcoholism and a growing AIDS problem. In Japan, infidelity seems to be related to an unrealistic approach to marriage, and is beginning to lead to women delaying marriage because of male propensity for discreet affairs.
  
• Togo has a level of infidelity many times that of western nations (which may help explain why AIDS is such a problem in Africa!).
• Most faithful of the nations investigated are Kazakhstan, Bangladesh and ...... Australia.
• Overall, wealthy countries tend to have lower rates of infidelity, especially among men.
  

Not sure what all that proves, except maybe that we can flout the conventional standards but it doesn't seem to make anyone any happier.

what is "rich" anyway?

Yesterday's blog about wealth isn't the whole story. In Australia and elsewhere in the western world, we've never had it so good, yet it's not doing us any good.

Real income trebled in Australia (The Age), and more than doubled in the US (SMH), in the second half of the twentieth century, yet surveys indicate people are no happier.

In Australia, people are working longer hours than they did a few decades ago. 35% of male and 19% of female full time workers put in more than 50 hours a week, and a third work "unsocial" hours which take them away from families on weekends. About half of the overtime hours are not paid. "Australians work some of the longest hours in the industrialised world." writes Adele Horin in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Photo: Webshots

Elsewhere in the SMH, Australia is described as "one of the world's most intensely work-focused countries", yet at great human cost.

• A recent report by Paul Shepanski found a strong link between long and unpredictable work hours and the breakdown of family and other relationships. "People are feeling that, despite all this wealth, there is something rotten in the system."
• Housing affordability is at its lowest in 30 years (B van Wanrooy).
• While wages are increasing in real terms, they are falling as a percentage of overall wealth, as business profits take an increasing percentage of the gains (Ross Gittins).

What is the remedy? Surely it is for each of us to be clearer about our goals. If we value family, or life generally, more than wealth, then maybe we should try to structure our lives accordingly. If increasingly large houses with rooms and spas we don't need, filled with wide-screen plasma TVs that don't enhance junk programs and other material possessions don't make us any happier, why do we keep swallowing the lie and working long hours to buy them all? Read more about what makes people happy.

Of course it's sometimes easier said than done, but realisation is the first step. Meanwhile, three quarters of the world, who lack so much that we think is essential, look on with amazement.

the flabby country?

We Aussies tend to think it is other countries that eat too many Big Macs and become supersized, but a new study shows alarming obesity trends in Australia.

Photo: PDPhoto.org.

A 20-year study of 5000 young people has shown that:

• in 1985, when they were children, 9% were overweight and 1.5% were obese;
• in 2005, when they were in their 20s and 30s, 40% of men and 20% of women were overweight, and 13% of both genders were obese;
• boys who were obese as children are 5 times more likely to be obese at age 30 than healthy weight boys; for girls, the risk is 9 times.

Experts conclude that hormonal changes, poor diet, lack of exercise (partly caused by increased computer usage) and increased consumption of fast foods may all be contributing causes to this alarming trend.

The study was carried out by Professor Alison Venn from the Hobart-based Menzies Research Institute, and seems to show that adolescence is the key period of life where excessive weight gain occurs. However the figures may illustrate an increasing problem in society that just happens to be occurring in adolescence in this particular generation.

Researchers have found that obesity is a major factor in other health matters. for example, 90% of Type II diabetes is preventable if people maintain a healthy weight.

But what should be done? Obviously most of us need to be self disciplined enough to change our lazy eating and exercise habits. But this is unlikely to be enough.

Research in the UK, reported in "in touch", indicates that trying to change individual behaviour across society is not very effective. Far better is to try to change "patterns of food production, marketing, and social norms of consumption" by improving the availability of affordable and nutitious food, making it easier and safer for people to walk for exercise, and finding some way to reduce the availability of junk food in locations where it is not necessary, and its aggressive promotion for profit (popcorn in movie theatres anyone?). Jamie Oliver's crusade for better school food in the UK showed us some of this.

So obesity is not just a problem for individuals, especially parents. Politicians and society need to begin to address our "‘obesogenic environment’, where consumption (of food and many other things) is promoted as the pathway to prosperity, health and a happy life, but actually drains our prosperity into avoidable health care expenses, threatens our health and wellbeing, and shortens our lives." We need to think a little harder about what life and happiness are really all about.

Read more from the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Radio and "in touch".

Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth .......
We're idiots, babe. It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves.
Bob Dylan, "Idiot Wind", 1974

personal peace and affluence

A recent study reported in today's Sydney Morning Herald suggests Sydney's most affluent people may be among the most selfish in South East Asia. A survey of the richest 20% of 5 cities showed that Sydneysiders' highest saving and spending priorities were for their own pleasure, such as retirement, travel and new hobbies, well ahead of their children's education and leaving an inheritance for their children, which are generally the highest priorities in the other cities.

There may of course be reasons other than selfishness for these preferences, but the study does support the conclusions of other observers, such as psychologist Oliver James, who visited Sydney recently and met people who were affluent but, he felt, had empty lives.

Author Francis Shaeffer observed decades ago that the main ethical values of modern capitalist society were "personal peace and affluence". Psychologist Ed Diener said: “Materialism is toxic to happiness”.

I think we mostly all know that focusing our lives and energies on becoming wealthy does not bring satisfaction and wellbeing (see how to be happy? for more detail on this), so why do we so often fall into the trap?

the happiest person in the world?

Neuroscientists believe they can measure how happy a person is by measuring the activity in the left and right cortex of the brain. Heightened activity on the left is associated with pleasant emotions, but on the right indicates negative emotions.

Of the few hundred people tested so far, the scores generally ranged from +0.3 (negative emotions) to -0.3 (happy). However one man has scored -0.45, making him the happiest, or most peaceful, person tested so far. He is French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, he has just released a book titled Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life's Most Important Skill, and you'd have to think he may know something about the subject. I haven't read the book, but I've read a few newspaper interviews and reviews.

Ricard distinguishes between happiness (which we might also call wellbeing, and is a fairly settled state of mind) and elation (which is more transitory and related to pleasure), and says that developing happiness is a skill we all can learn. Keys to happiness include:

• don't allow circumstances or other people to determine your state of mind;
• avoid anger - "anger is a destructive emotion";
• practise meditation, or, as Ricard prefers to call it, mind training, daily and learn to manage your thoughts - think about past happy occasions and identify what it was that made you happy;
• if necessary, participate in a program of stress reduction.

Cynics and critics argue that being happy isn't very interesting or challenging, and a life of peaceful acceptance doesn't provide the energy to change things in the world that should be changed. But Ricard seems to have a strong sense of social justice and contibutes the profits from his writing to charities.

Although Ricard is a Buddhist, believers in other religions and non-believers should not ignore his insights. Some people believe Christian prayer, acceptance of God's will and forgiveness have a similar effect as meditation, and secular "positive psychology" teaches similar approaches to being happy.

Perhaps the biggest question I have is whether we should make happiness in life our goal, or whether our aim ought to be something, or some cause, greater than ourselves, which positive psychology says is the greatest single factor in a happy life. But I feel Ricard would agree with that.

• Read more about Matthieu Ricard and his book.
  
• Read a summary of what makes people happy.
• Read more about the research that found Ricard to be exceptionally happy, a summary of positive psychology or visit a positive psycholgy website.