Happiness

I just garnered some (relatively) new learning on the topic of happiness.

I didn't know this, but well-being can be generally framed in two distinct categories:

1. Hedonic well-being.  This is the kind of happiness that comes from pleasurable experiences, like sex, winning ball games, parachuting, etc.  It's the product of experiences that give us those brief emotional highs and physical rushes.
2. Eudaimonic well-being.  This state is the result of partaking in acts of service, belonging to a cause bigger than oneself, engaging in meaningful life pursuits, spiritual grounding, etc.  These kinds of activities result in feelings of peace, self-actualization, and a sense of purpose.

Dr. Mark Williamson, director of Action for Happiness, denotes 10 personal practices (shown in the picture below) that lead one toward that Eudaimonic state of well being.

I am especially comforted by this new learning as it indicates that the school I currently serve (Guthrie CSD in Guthrie, Texas) is spot on in its determination to purposefully teach powerful ways of thinking and ways of behaving to our students, through our Guthrie Graduate Profile (GGP).  It's not hard to see Dr. Williamson's 10 personal "Great Dream" practices reflected in the GGP.

Perhaps, just perhaps, our students AND the world will be better off for our efforts.  

(Thanks to Dr. Joseph Mercola for the new learning).