How Big is Your Investment in the Ultimate Currency? by AJ Cilliers November 2009
The developed countries of the world are facing a disturbing paradox: as levels of prosperity rise, levels of misery are rising even faster. In the USA people are now financially better off than they have ever been, yet rates of depression are now ten times higher than they were in the 1960’s. A recent study conducted in American colleges revealed that nearly 45 percent of students are so depressed “they have difficulty functioning.” Similar trends (though not quite as severe) are emerging in the UK, despite the fact that Britons are now three times wealthier on average than they were 50 years ago.
Even fast-developing countries like China are not exempt from the phenomenon. Rapid economic growth has been accompanied by equally rapid growth in the number of adults and children experiencing anxiety and depression. According to the Chinese Health Ministry, “The mental health status of our country’s children and youths is indeed worrying.”
Tal Ben-Shahar, a young Israeli psychologist who teaches the most popular course at Harvard University, believes we err by chasing wealth. We should instead be focusing on what he calls the “ultimate currency,” the end towards which all other ends lead: happiness. Ben-Shahar believes that most of us are chronically unhappy because we typically select one of three modes of behaviour, or archetypes. See if you recognise yourself in one of the following:
The Hedonist
Hedonists are pleasure seekers. They live pretty much by a “live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself” philosophy, looking to get maximum enjoyment in the present while ignoring the potential negative consequences in the future. In today’s world, hedonists are probably the one’s taking recreational drugs, drinking and smoking too much, and hopping from bed to bed in a never-ending quest for thrills. For a while hedonists believe they are happy, but without goals or a sense of purpose they soon become bored and unhappy.
The Rat Racer
Rat racers are the opposite of hedonists, in that they give up present enjoyment for the sake of an anticipated future benefit. From the earliest age they are encouraged to work hard and to achieve, sacrificing fun now for future benefits that will bring them happiness. As rat racers achieve each goal, they tell themselves that they can now be happy. But, apart from a brief feeling of accomplishment, they fail to find the contentment they are seeking. So they set the next goal and get back to work. Rat racers are the people working 80 hours a week at prestigious firms, living in luxurious homes in the best neighbourhoods, driving luxury cars, and earning more money than they can spend. They hate their lives, but don’t know how to change. The Nihilist
Nihilists live in the worst of all possible worlds. They have given up on happiness, and have become resigned to the belief that life has no meaning. Rather than living in the present or the future, nihilists remain chained to the past. Because they were unhappy in the past they remain unhappy today, and see no prospect of ever being happy in the future.
Nihilists are victims of what psychologist Martin Seligman calls “learned helplessness.” Because of beliefs developed in childhood (either as the result of particular circumstances, but more from the beliefs of a person’s primary childhood care-giver), nihilists believe that nothing they do will bring about a change for the better. They have “learned” to be helpless. An example would include children growing up in a ghetto in deprived circumstances, being told by their mothers that “our family will never amount to anything.” As this plays out in their young lives they come to accept it as an irrefutable truth, and as adults never attempt to improve their lives in any way.
The Fourth Archetype
Ben-Shahar maintains that there is a fourth archetype towards which we should strive – that of the person who can be happy in the present and in the future. Having said this, it is important to realise that we are never going to experience constant happiness. There may be periods in the short term where we have to suffer present pain in the interests of future gain, for example studying for exams, working long hours as an intern, or doing menial work during an apprenticeship. The long term benefit of a meaningful career, however, will more than compensate for this short-term discomfort. According to Ben- Shahar, the objective of a life lived in accordance with the fourth archetype is to spend as much time as possible engaged in activities that provide both present and future happiness.
You will be pleased to know that you are even allowed to live as a hedonist at times. As long as there are no long-term negative consequences (e.g. as a result of drug use), mindless relaxation such as lying on the beach or watching TV (while tucking into a litre of chocolate ice cream) can certainly make us happier. But the watchword is moderation. Hedonism is fine in small doses, but should never become a lifestyle.
Acquiring the ultimate currency
The good news is that there are certain techniques that can be learnt and applied which will allow us to improve our levels of happiness. These are not the hyped-up methods of some of the self-help gurus, but are instead the tried and tested techniques of positive psychology and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). So, to be consistently happier, we need to understand the Think-Feel-Act cycle of CBT. We also need to identify our explanatory style, and we need to appreciate the two major determinants of lifetime happiness. Let’s look at each of these in turn:
The Think-Feel-Act Cycle of CBT
CBT practitioners know there is a connection between thoughts, feelings and actions. If you think, for instance, that you are fat and ugly this is likely to make you feel down or depressed. And in this negative state of mind you are not likely to take positive actions, such as joining a gym, starting a diet, or having a complete makeover. Think positively, however, and the cycle can work in your favour. In the above scenario, the initial thoughts could be followed by feelings of dissatisfaction. You might then decide that you would look more attractive if you lost weight, and that it was certainly time for a new hairstyle anyway. And so you sign up at a local gym, join Weight Watchers, and book an appointment with your hairdresser.
When we speak above of a more positive mind frame, we are not talking about the “power of positive thinking,” or merely deciding to think happy thoughts. What we are referring to is the difference between optimism and pessimism, and how this is influenced by our “explanatory style.”
Seligman and his colleagues discovered that optimists tend to sail through life a lot more easily than their pessimistic brothers and sisters. Optimists tend to be healthier, more successful, and may even live longer than pessimists. In studying both optimists and pessimists, Seligman found that the major difference between them was the manner in which they explained things to themselves when faced with adversity, i.e. their explanatory style.
Pessimists tend to react to adversity in a personal, permanent and pervasive manner. To understand this, let’s take the example of a pessimist who loses her job in a downsizing exercise. She is devastated, and explains it to herself as follows: “This is all my fault. They retrenched me because I’m a useless worker (Personal). I’m never going to be able to hold down a decent job for long (Permanent). My life is a complete mess! I’m going to cancel my date with Jim tonight because I just don’t feel up to it.” (Pervasive, i.e. negative feelings about the loss of her job spread into all other areas of her life as well).
The optimist sees things very differently, and might explain the same situation like this: “It’s a blow to have lost my job, but the company is in serious financial difficulties and retrenchments were inevitable. Also, because I joined the company recently and they applied a “last-in, first-out” policy, I was always going to be one of those to go (Impersonal – it’s not her fault). I’m not concerned, though; I’ve got good experience and good references, so even though it might take a while in the current recession, I’m sure I’ll find another job before too long (She sees the setback as only temporary in nature). I’m looking forward to my date with Jim tonight – under the circumstances, he can pay for dinner! (Non-pervasive – she doesn’t let adverse circumstances in one area of her life affect other areas as well).
Experience has shown that people can change their explanatory styles, from pessimistic to a more positive approach, by applying what psychologists call the ABCDE model (Adversity, Beliefs, Consequences, Disputation, and Energization). So powerful is this technique that thousands of people have been able to reverse even severe depression by the consistent application of its principles.
To apply the technique, when adversity strikes (A) we should take note of the beliefs that arise (B). If we use the previous example of the pessimist and the job loss, the beliefs would be the negative, “self-talk” that was triggered by the retrenchment, i.e. “This is all my fault. They retrenched me because I’m a useless worker. I’m never going to be able to hold down a decent job for long. My life is a complete mess!” The consequences (C) that resulted from these beliefs were that the pessimist felt down and depressed, which in turn would impact negatively on her chances of looking for and finding a new job. This in turn could lead to financial distress and a vicious cycle of deepening despair.
This is where disputation (D) comes in. At this point the pessimist must dispute (i.e. actively question) her negative beliefs and replace them with a more positive and realistic analysis of the situation. This can be done by considering four aspects of her beliefs: • Evidence? • Alternatives? • Implications? • Usefulness?
By questioning the evidence for her beliefs, the pessimist may find that her beliefs are factually incorrect. This will make it easy to consider alternative (and possibly more positive) beliefs. Should, however, the pessimist decide that her beliefs are correct, she could question the implications of holding these beliefs.
So, even if she didn’t perform well in the job, does this necessarily mean that she will never be able to hold down a decent job for long? The pessimist needs to take a far more realistic and less catastrophic view of the consequences of her beliefs, as they are seldom likely to be as negative as she at first imagined. Finally, by questioning the usefulness of holding her present beliefs, she may decide that it will not pay to dwell on them. Even if they are true and she was doing a bad job, she could ask how she could go about improving the situation in future, e.g.by undergoing further training.
The outcome of the above disputation exercise is that, instead of being paralysed by fear and depression, the pessimist feels energized (E) and motivated to take positive steps to find another job.
The reality is that most of the negative beliefs that follow adversity are inaccurate. As Seligman says, we can learn to be optimistic not through an unjustifiable positivity (“the power of positive thinking”), but through the power of “non-negative” thinking. By breaking negative thought patterns we can greatly improve the quality of our lives and improve our levels of happiness at the same time.
Apart from managing our levels of optimism, the other two “biggies” which have the greatest impact on our happiness levels are the relationship we have with our life partner, and the extent to which we find meaning in the work that we do.
As far as the relationship with our life partner is concerned, psychologist David Myers notes that “there are few stronger predictions of happiness than a close, nurturing, equitable, intimate, lifelong companionship with one’s best friend.” Ben-Shahar believes that the hard work in a relationship is about cultivating intimacy, and that we do this by knowing our partner – their values, passions, concerns and hopes - and in turn being known by them.
Finally, Ben Shahar quotes psychologist Abraham Maslow as saying that “the most beautiful fate, the most wonderful good fortune that can happen to any human being, is to be paid for doing that which he passionately loves to do.” Most of us would agree with this sentiment, but achieving it is a lot more difficult. However, from personal experience I can only confirm that the short-term pain experienced in finding and following one’s calling is handsomely repaid in the “ultimate currency.”
Aristotle maintained that: “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” If you are inclined to agree with him and would like to explore the subject in more detail, some recommended reading is provided below.
May your stock of the ultimate currency continue to multiply!
The developed countries of the world are facing a disturbing paradox: as levels of prosperity rise, levels of misery are rising even faster. In the USA people are now financially better off than they have ever been, yet rates of depression are now ten times higher than they were in the 1960’s. A recent study conducted in American colleges revealed that nearly 45 percent of students are so depressed “they have difficulty functioning.” Similar trends (though not quite as severe) are emerging in the UK, despite the fact that Britons are now three times wealthier on average than they were 50 years ago.