In our constitution, we have the right to pursue happiness. Research done on happiness lately all agrees that the definition of happiness includes overall life satisfaction. This can be problematic as sometimes one may rate their own life as very satisfying and very unsatisfying at other times. We all do this, for example if we choose to go play all weekend instead of studying for our exams: in the moment we are likely to be very satisfied with our life choices but a couple days later when we are suffering because of it, we are likely to be unsatisfied. Researchers have linked this research to the potential life choices one can make. One example is as follows: if a couple decides to have a child, they will sacrifice almost everything and say that it was well worth it, but on the other side if they remain without children they are likely to assert that children are too many sacrifices. The article goes through a series of examples to prove the 'diagonal happiness theory' while looking at regret, possible life choices in personality and in directions and comparing different options.
To bring this idea back to something that we all can relate to, was anyone else close to going to another school? I almost went to Furman. Thinking about myself now I cannot imagine going to Furman as it is way too small and very limiting. I also think about how I would be a slightly different version of myself if I went to Furman because of my social surroundings. I could, based on the 'diagonal happiness theory' make a chart based on myself and these options to see which college I would prefer. Currently, I feel like Clemson is the ultimate place for me to call home, as I really do love it here.
Does anyone else have a similar story of weighing possible personality differences and life circumstances?
Bykvist, Kristler. 2010. Happiness in a Flux? The Instability Problem. Journal of Happiness Studies. 11:553-565
I can't think of anything right off hand, but I do know that alot of times I am kicking myself in the butt for not studying, when I chose to play. Sometimes I often decide to go to sleep early knowing that it's a good decision so that i'm not terribly tired the next day, but when the next day rolls around I feel like I should have stayed up to get the mounds of work that I have so I wouldn't feel so behind. So I guess I could think of something by the time I wrote this comment.
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