Sad? Give happiness a try.

I think that the Happiness Project book/blog is a good idea. I quote from Gretchen Rubin:

THE HAPPINESS PROJECT--a memoir about the year I spent test-driving every principle, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah. THE HAPPINESS PROJECT will gather these rules for living and report on what works and what doesn’t.

The Happiness Project

I think happiness studies are so intriguing. I really think happiness has a lot to do with personality and environment or perception of relativity.

Although shifting the topic a little, one of my favorite quotes of all times is by John Tomlinson (although I think he was quoting it from Katz and Liebes) "Unhappiness is the greatest leveler."

Think about that in your social stratification, globalization, and economic welfare studies. Who cares what you've got if you are less unhappy than others? If people who have everything are still unhappy, and people who have nothing are unhappy, is it really a redistribution of wealth that is indeed needed, or something else?