Why is happiness like a stock price?
Maybe, we are asking our questions about happiness wrongly. We don’t separate ideas of short term happiness (a good meal, a good sleep, a funny film) with long term happiness (eudaimonia, fulfilment of having children, higher purpose). We seem to think or be asked about happiness in a way that suggests happiness is finite. It seems we don’t want to maximise for “happiness” in any case (a reason why Danny Kahneman left the happiness field)
As I look to my last decade, I believe we should re-think happiness or life satisfaction more like a growing pie. It may have no end. It will have ups and downs, but it can and should continue to grow through life.
Strangely, the best businesses can also have stock prices which - in theory - don’t have a maximum value.
Happiness - particularly long-term eudaemonia happiness - is hard to tackle directly. You can’t say I am going to be 23% more happy in a month. You have to work on the matters that give you long term happiness - relationships, meaningful work, creativity - and as a by product on working on these matters, happiness accumulates.
Typically, a CEO can’t say her share price will be 23% higher in a month, or a year, what she can do is work on the matters her business can create value in - her business purpose - her innovation, products, customer service, employees - and by improving the value in those direct matters, as a by product profit and share price will also improve. It’s not a fixed pie. You can’t access it directly. It’s oblique.
As I think back on my last decade, by this definition, I’ve grown my happiness and should expect to keep growing.
Let’s look across the major elements of this. You could think of them of the “capitals of happiness” as a metaphors which is not the greatest turn of phrase, but I can’t currently think of better (cf my thoughts on Progress Capitals)
Financial/Work
Human/Social/Relationships
Skills/Intellectual
Health
Natural
Purpose
As I think of all these elements, I feel pretty happy that they have all progressed. Physical fitness remains my worse one, which I’m working on.
I’m not going to review all of them here. I have some jottings, but it’s going to take too long to turn them into blog form. Suffice to say working on relationships, family; purpose in work as well as writing plays and now my grants giving scheme are leading to a full and satisfying time. I hope the next decade goes well too despite its challenges.