happiness and you

i happened to attend a meditation session 1-2 months back in our office (ye i have just too much of time @ my disposal ;) ) that guy casually mentioned that "happiness is dependent on efforts and expectations" (i do not really remember the exact sentence ... its been lil long n i was occupied with other personal stuff so these thoughts had taken a backseat for a while) and that was sufficient to ignite a spark for me. and after a lot of thinking i have related many things together ;) and come up with my own thoughts (in addition to his statement) :D

most of the times we associate happiness with tangible things / assets.
but two people with same set of assets are equally happy ? no .... why? coz lot of other factors play role.
the general level of happiness is dependent on the aggregate result of individual happiness achieved from various processes/actions.
at a lowest level of granualirity i.e. happiness from one particular act / process, is a complex function of efforts, expectations, outcome and last but not least personal objectives in life (these r the minimal factors and the list may not be exhaustive ;) )
where inputs = the value of inputs (time, efforts, money) that go into achieving something.
expectations = the minimum outcome that we expect from the process (this also determines the level of satisfaction)
outcome = the actual outcome of the process.
personal objectives = how the process/ actions have contributed towards the overall personal objectives of an individual.

ceteris paribus (all ther factors being equal .... my fav phrase from economics ;) this wud go in all of the definitions lol)
inputs: inputs show an inverse relationship with happiness. i.e. more the efforts lesser the happiness and vice-versa.
expectations: expectations also show an inverse relationship with happiness.
outcome: it shows a direct relationship.
meeting one's personal objectives: this also shows direct relationship.
the weights of these factors vary from person to person.

i used to argue with my friends that the so called upcoming stars who make crores of rupees overnight based on some soap (TV) contests and on general public (who really have no clue wot the contest is about ;)) votes mus be really lucky coz the people who were in the judges' place actually took years of hardwork to earn that much of $$$ , fame (some may not have earned so far) . i agree that even the contestants put in efforts some have actually been performing since their childhood ... i really appreciate their true talent but its's nowhere compared to the one who r judgin them and frankly speaking most of the times u'll see that the winner is decided based on the votes from general public (mob). Y is life so unfair ? but when i gave it a deep thought i realized that happiness is not only about $$ n fame for these (judges the real artist) ppl. in the process they have also contributed towards their personal objectives and i was ignoring that factor earlier. for a true artist its the joy of performing rather than expecting appreciation (fame, $$) from the public. also if u notice .... those who made it overnight are more or less lost in the crowd now and the newer upcoming stars have taken their place and it continues. so basically easy come, easy go.

out of all the factors, only inputs and expectations can be controlled by an individual rest are not predictable. so the point is try to concentrate on things which can be changed. that is what is mentioned in bhagwadgeeta "karmanyewa adhikaraste, ma phaleshu kadachanam" ( i aint really good at sanskrit so plz excuse any typos) i.e. do ur duty without expecting any outcome. so when you lower down your expectations that does not mean that your actions have no objective. end objective and expectations are totally different things.

sometimes u'll find that the inputs are high, outcome is not what we really expected (in short the process was a failure) but still the person might be happy coz in the process he has contributed towards his long term goals. this often happens with ppl involved in R&D, scientists, artists etc.

having said all this .... it is really very hard to put it in practice and will require some concious efforts (and you may alos feel that it will ruin the entire happiness .... lol) . but then with time it'll come easily. you will be surprised if i tell u that healthy breathing techniques also require concious attempts initially :)

most of u might feel we already know al this but its the joy of relating things, putting them together and sharing through blogs is what caused this action ;)


- ameyas7