The Evolution of Happiness

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The Evolution of Happiness

• Why do I Hate to Lose More Than I Like to Win?
• (Some Old Answers to Modern Questions About Life
  in the Fast Lane)
• Presented by Mark Warren
• Texas Association of Counties

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The Happiest Days?
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Barriers to Improving the Quality of Life

• Modern living has made so much better.
• However, with progress, there is regress.
• Our overall level of happiness is a victim of
  success in three areas
• Discrepancies between modern and ancestral
  environments.
• Subjective distress mechanisms.
• Adaptations that cause competition.

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3 Tragedies of Happiness

• The hedonic treadmill
• The more we have, the more we want, and the more
  we have, the less happy it makes us.
• Instance failure - unpredictability
• When what usually works, doesnt - people get
  nervous, or one bad evaluation and 100 good
  ones?
• Affective experiences following comparable gains
  and losses.
• I hate to lose more than I like to win. Jimmy
  Connors

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Improving Human Happiness

• Close the gap between modern and ancestral
  conditions. Live more simply.
• Increase closeness of extended kin. Value age and
  experience.
• Develop deep friendships be there in good times
  and bad.

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Promoting Cooperation and Shared Fate

• What does shared fate mean?
• The psychology of cooperation can lead to an
  improved quality of life for all cooperators.
  Specifically?
• Manage competitive mechanisms.
• Teach reciprocity
• Develop a reputation as a reciprocator.
• Enlarge the shadow of the future.
• Insist on no more than equity.

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Enhancing Relationship Behaviors

• Commitment
• Participation/Co-creation
• Trust
• Consciousness/Awareness
• Facilitative
• Personal Responsibility
• Empathy
• Openness
• Effective Communication
• Being Present
• Honesty/Congruence
• Understanding

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Depleting Relationship Behaviors

• Lying
• Narcissism
• Withholding/Withdrawing
• Facilitative
• Blaming/Doubting
• Judging/Righteousness
• Sabotage others/self
• Manipulation
• Prejudice/Discrimination
• Acceptance
• Sexual Harassment
• Victim/Martyr

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7 Blunders

• Gandhi believed that out of these blunders,
  violence emerges and infects the world. The
  blunders are
• wealth without work
• pleasure without conscience
• knowledge without character
• commerce without morality
• science without humanity
• worship without sacrifice
• politics without principles

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Stay hungry, stay foolish

• Your time is limited, so dont waste it living
  someone elses life.
• Consider 0 ___________ 78
• Dont be trapped by dogma which is living with
  the results of other peoples thinking.
• Dont let the noise of others opinions drown out
  your own inner voice.
• And most important, have the courage to follow
  your heart and intuition. They somehow already
  know what you truly want to become. Everything
  else is secondary.

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And now, its your turn to exercise

• With each of these, think and consider
• What is an example that youve always tried to
  follow and live by?
• Stay Hungry. Stay foolish. Steve Jobs, Apple
  Computer, June 2005.
• What are you doing at work?
• What enhancing and depleting behaviors are
  present at home? At work?
• Work individually, then collaborate as a group
  and create a best practice.