I have been holding on to this one for a while, but it is
just too good not to share. One of my
favorite thought leaders in the areas of creativity and well-being posted this
article on Scientific American’s Beautiful Minds blog just before he left to
start his own.
He outlines two kinds of well-being. And neither of them is
the experience of positive emotions or the lack of negative emotions. We all
feel both of these, and they can be either deep or shallow, real or
imagined.
No, the secret to well-being and true happiness depends on
knowing the difference between hedonic pleasure and eudaimonic pleasure. Hedonic pleasure you probably already know
about. It is the experience of physical pleasure and indulgence. “Go ahead, treat yourself well. You deserve it.” The Greeks made hedonism famous, but there
have been hedonists in every culture in every generation. But that is not the ticket.
The ticket to true happiness and well-being is eudaimonic
well-being. This is a deeper kind of
pleasure. It is more related to a
virtuous and meaningful life rather than an indulgent one. He cites six dimensions of eudaimonia:
·
Autonomy: I believe in my opinions, even if they
run counter to the general consensus.
·
Mastery: I have the ability to manage the
responsibilities in my life.
·
Personal Growth: I engage in challenging new
experiences and ideas.
·
Positive Social Relations: I share time with and
care about others.
·
Purpose: I have some sense of what I want to get
out of life.
·
Self-acceptance: I like most aspects of my life.
This really resonates with me and I hope to focus more on
these dimensions than the hedonic ones. I
think I have autonomy, self-acceptance, and some purpose. I am good at telling myself I have positive
social relations, but have my doubts. I
used to engage in personal growth all the time, but lately have lagged. And I totally lost mastery about 10-15 years
ago. But at least I know where to
concentrate now.
