Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/479983
Inhisbook,"Happiness by Design: Change What You Do, Not How You Think" (Hudson Street Press), Dolan brings to- gether the latest research on happiness from eco- nomics and psychol- ogy, along with insights, strategies and question- naires to help readers get started. The following is an ed- ited version of our email conversation: Q : You say that in or- der to be happy you need pleasure and pur- pose. Can you explain? A : Becoming hap- pier requires a defi- nition of happiness. You can't know how to be- come happier unless you know what you are aim- ing at. The pleasure-pur- pose principle (PPP) is my definition of happiness — experiences of pleasure and purpose over time — and it resonates with what people tell me is im- portant. Instead of chas- ing stories about what you think should make you happy, I think you should focus directly on your experiences of what feels good. It provides a lens to judge your activi- ties. If something doesn't feel good — neither plea- surable nor purposeful — it probably isn't worth do- ing at all. Lost happiness is lost forever. It's not like money. You can't earn it back. Q : You write about the effect smells and col- ors can have on our hap- piness. A : Research shows that smells and col- ors can change your be- havior, and what you do affects how you feel. If you want to win a sport- ing match, for example, you're more likely to do so if you wear red. Partly you're likely to play more aggressively because red is an aggressive color, and also partly because any- one judging your per- formance will automat- ically think you're play- ing more aggressively, too. Citrus smells remind peo- ple of clean environments, which encourages them to be cleaner ,too. And people recover from ill- ness more quickly when they are exposed to nat- ural light. We're learning more all the time about what effect colors and smells have on our behav- ior, and I encourage peo- ple to be their own hap- piness detectives, figur- ing out how they can use them to structure their environments to automat- ically influence them to do things that make them feel good. Q : What changes, if any, have you imple- mented in your life as a result of your research? A : One thing that comes to mind is my office. It's designed to maximize comfort and creativity. I got rid of my desk last year and brought in an oval ta- ble, to encourage conver- sation, as well as a sofa. The walls are light blue, a color that primes cre- ativity, and I have a light bulb-shaped lamp, too — a form that studies show sparks ideas. I also take care with my atten- tional resources and try to spend them only on what matters most. For example, I've recently re- linquished control of my (daily calendar) to a trusted colleague so that I can focus more on other activities that bring more pleasure and/or purpose. Q : Is there a connec- tion between eco- nomics and happiness? A : Economics has heavily influenced my theory of how peo- ple become happier. Scar- city is a fundamental eco- nomic problem, and the scarcity of attentional re- sources is a problem fun- damental to happiness. Inputs to happiness — like money, sex, marriage or whatever — aren't di- rectly converted into the output of happiness. These things only make you more or less happy depending on the atten- tion you pay to them. Just like a company could pro- duce more widgets if it had a more efficient pro- duction process, you could produce more hap- piness if you had a more efficient way of allocat- ing your attentional re- sources. In "Happiness by Design," I talk about how you can do this. Q : What are your tips for not getting bogged down with wor- rying, which consumes many of us? A : Two come to mind. The first is to make sure you can explain whatever you are wor- ried about. If we can't explain something, we will continue reacting to it and thinking about it. Having an explanation promotes adaptation and helps us to move on. The second is to have new ex- periences. New experi- ences require more at- tention in the moment than routine experi- ences, and help you to focus less on your wor- ries. A lot depends on what you're worried about. Nearly always it's some- thing that hasn't hap- pened yet, and I find that if I remind myself that I don't have anything to worry about "right now," I usually feel much bet- ter. Q : What surprised you the most in your re- search? A : I am surprised all the time — it's one of the great things about being an academic, be- cause I am always read- ing about and analyz- ing the results of new re- search. One thing I am still surprised by is the popularity of life-satis- faction measures to mea- sure happiness, which ask people how satisfied they are with their life over- all. I don't really think this is what happiness is about at all. Satisfaction gets at people's prefer- ences, and what we prefer does not always make us feel happy in our experi- ences. Instead, we need to focus more directly on the experience of what makes us feel good; in particular, our experiences of plea- sure and purpose over time. By Jenniffer Weigel ChicagoTribune Is there a formula for being happy? According to Paul Dolan, professor of behavioral science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, we need to start doing more and worrying less. Howtohaveahappierlife JAMESTHEW/FOTOLIA/TNS Paying attention to the activities that bring you pleasure and purpose will help you create a happier life for yourself, says Paul Dolan. Q&A Behavioral scientist says boosting purpose will get us what we want "Becoming happier requires a definition of happiness. You can't know how to become happier unless you know what you are aiming at." — Paul Dolan, professor, London School of Economics and Political Science Dolan DEAR DOCTOR K: My mother has started showing signs of demen- tia. Will it be all downhill from here? Or can demen- tia ever be treated or re- versed? DEAR READER: There are many differ- ent causes of dementia. We can't do much to slow or re- verse some of them, but we can reverse and even cure others. Dementia is a catch- all term. It covers a variety of illnesses that cause mem- ory loss, confusion, changes in personality and declining ability to perform everyday activities. The most common type of dementia is Alzheim- er's disease. Another com- mon dementia, vascular dementia, is caused by in- sufficient blood flow to the brain. Once these types of dementia develop, treat- ment options are limited. Drugs for Alzheimer's are sometimes used for vascu- lar dementia. However, for both diseases, drugs offer only temporary and mod- est protection at best. However, in a small per- centage of cases, dementia may be reversed. The fol- lowing conditions might cause reversible dementia: TOXIC REACTIONS TO DRUGS With aging, the liver and kidneys become less effi- cient at detoxifying med- icines and eliminating them from the body. As a result, drugs tend to build up in the body. Older peo- ple in poor health and those taking several dif- ferent medications are es- pecially vulnerable to de- mentia caused by drugs. Reducing the dose of med- icines can sometimes pro- duce dramatic improve- ment. VITAMIN B12 DEFICIENCY Nerve cells need vitamin B12 to work. Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause the symptoms of dementia. Vi- tamin B12 is plentiful in eggs, dairy, meat, fish and poultry. However, with age, people become less efficient at absorbing it from food into the blood- stream. Supplements or in- jections can help restore healthy levels, and reverse the problems with think- ing and memory. NORMAL-PRESSURE HYDRO- CEPHALUS Hydrocepha- lus occurs when too much cerebrospinal fluid collects around the brain. This condition affects a small number of older people. In addition to dementia, peo- ple with this condition of- ten lose bladder control and walk in a slow, hes- itant manner, as if their feet are stuck to the floor. A surgically implanted tube (shunt) that drains this excess fluid from the brain often brings rapid improvement. SUBDURAL HEMATOMAS Hematomas are blood clots caused by bruising. Older people sometimes develop them in the brain after even a minor head injury. As blood oozes into a closed space, the hema- toma gets bigger and be- gins to interfere with brain function. THYROID DISEASE Both an underactive thyroid and an overactive thyroid can cause the symptoms seen in dementia. 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