When the legendary musician, Warren Zevon, was dying of terminal lung cancer at the age of 52, he appeared on the David Letterman’s talk show and Letterman asked him, what he had learned about life. Do you know what were Zevon’s parting words?
Looking straight through the camera lens into every soul watching, he just said, “Enjoy every sandwich.” Oh, how we neglect the simple magic of each day in hot pursuit of the trinkets and fascinations that our culture sells us, as the gateways into happiness and inner peace. But they are not. Fame, Fortune and Applause (FFA) will never bring you the sustained riches that Joy, Peace and Freedom (JPF) will allow. Real satisfaction and true tranquillity arise from savouring the basic blessings that hide in plain sight.
“Enjoy every sandwich.” Please don’t wait until your deathbed to appreciate all the gifts that surround you. They are there in greater abundance than you know, just pleading for your attention. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our business that we risk losing our grip on the things that really matter: health, happiness and those who love us. “Enjoy every sandwich” was Zevonese for: “Slow down the speed of life! Listen to a bird! Smell a rose! Hug your loved ones!”
One theory in happiness research puts forward that humans have a so-called happiness ‘set-point’. According to psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, this genetic set-point makes up about 50 per cent of our happiness levels – the rest coming from our circumstances and how we live life.
Our set-point largely determines our overall well-being, and all of us have different levels. Therefore, those with higher set-points will be happier most of the time compared with those that have a less joyful outlook due to their lower set-point. Going through our life journey, we oscillate around this set-point. Unhappy life events shift happiness levels below their set-point while positive or exciting events boost our happiness levels above it.
Many don’t realize until the end that happiness is a choice. Ensuring your happiness is paramount for various reasons, with many benefits you need to consider. First, it enhances both physical and mental health. Second, you are more likely to be engaged, focused, and resilient, even when faced with challenging situations. More important, your happiness can also positively impact your overall success on the job. While there are myriad ways of boosting our happiness, we can narrow these down to three proven strategies duly backed by science.
(i) Schedule downtime. Technology has brought about immense convenience and made our lives easier. Still, it has also presented new challenges that we have yet to overcome. Studies have shown that our constant need to remain connected and productive, even at odd hours, harms our brain. In fact, our brains are being overstimulated due to this addiction, which is making us lose focus and mental clarity.
We must understand the importance of rest and renewal for our brain to stay sharp, focused, and productive during the day. Just like our sleeping brains have 90-minute cycles, where we move from light sleep to deep sleep and back out again, research has found that the same cycle also repeats itself during our waking hours. It has been suggested that we should take a 10-minute break after every 80 to 120 minutes to calm our brain activity.
(ii) Reward yourself by giving. We have all grown up hearing the saying, “It’s better to give than to receive.” But did you know that science has proven this to be true? Whether employed, unemployed, retired, or living off an inheritance, donating your money to others can lead to more happiness. In fact, one of the best feelings in the world is knowing that someone is happy because of you. Happiness will enhance your health, improve your focus, and improve your job performance.
However, there is a catch. According to research published in the International Journal of Happiness and Development (IJHD), the emotional rewards of giving are more significant when giving is connected to others. This means donating to an unfamiliar and anonymous charity will not raise your happiness levels as much as contributing to a cancer-stricken friend’s GoFundMe Campaign would. The findings suggest that “social giving” makes people happier. This is the first study to examine how social connection helps turn generous “prosocial” behaviour, which benefits another person, into positive feelings for the donor.
Life is a compromise between your feelings and reality. At every stage you have to quit your feelings and accept the reality. May God shower his blessings to transform your life into one full of peace, laughter, happiness, love, good health, kindness and achievements as per your choice.
Bhushan Lal Razdan, formerly of the Indian Revenue Service, retired as Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), Chandigarh.