subject: Does anyone really have a clue what they want? [print this page] Does anyone really have a clue what they want?
Five percent of the United States is depressed, which may not seem like a lot, but that is 15,000 people who are suffering every day. As we all notice that the world is changing, and perhaps all too rapidly, we are swept away in new technology, which most people call a blessing. But if we were to look at the situation differently, we would see that we are living longer, not better. We have fast cars, fast internet, and fast foods, that all give us the time in life fulfill our needs and accomplish our goals, right? If this is true, why are 40% of marriages destined to fail? Why is it that every 78 seconds a teenager attempts suicide? The National Survey in 2003 proved that less than half of American families even eat dinner in the same room. So why is it that American's are so unhappy? Although a person's situational happiness is based on whether or not they are doing something they like, and whether they are around people they like, something deeper, feelings that everyone is usually too busy to realize, is long-term happiness. If you eat a cookie now, and it makes you happy for a few minutes, but you regret it later when you step on the scale, was eating the cookie really a good choice? This is an example of the situations we face everyday, should I go to the meeting with the associate I know I don't like being around if I know it will get me a better job a few months down the road? And there is really no straight forward answer, but there are a few to help you make the choice. Do you prefer the excitement of the moment, or the success of the future? This usually changes based on a person's mood. If you're in a bad mood, let's say, after having an argument with your wife, you may choose to spend the night out drinking, even though it will make her angry when she finds your lengthy bar tab. However, if you are in a better mood, for whatever reason, you will generally choose the long-term option; sticking it out and finishing your conversation. If you take a moment to calm yourself, you will probably have the most success, choosing the seemingly nonexistent middle option, in this case, taking an hour or so reading in the library to get your mind off the argument, and coming back to find a solution. In simplest terms, the way to find happiness is to always choose the middle option, the compromise between situational and long-term happiness, and choose options that support what you want most out of life, not just what makes you feel good. Along with choosing extremes, American's have the habit of trading quality for quantity, thus the popularity of huge corporations like Wal-Mart, and the price we pay today for that choice is enormous. As food quality and prices go down and its quantity goes up, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes rates are all skyrocketing- diseases that have been shown to increase the likelihood of depression, and ironically, depression is a major cause of obesity. Thirty-one percent of American's are obese, and heart disease is now the number one cause of death. But no surprise there; obesity has been proven to increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions, as well as the fact that that fattening foods that caused people to be overweight in the first place can clog arteries and cause heart attacks. Our society has become less and less family focused as the years have slipped by, but if we could take a few moments each day to look at our lives on a bigger scale, ask ourselves, are we really happy? If not, how do we change that? We might see more clearly what it is we want from life.
