Discover Your Flow in the Heartland
So, if achieving our personal and professional goals doesn’t help us achieve long term happiness, what does? Well, the documentary discussed a study conducted in the 90’s that looked at 1,155 sets of twins over ten years in order to determine just that. The study found that 50% of our happiness levels come from genetics. No amount of money or status can affect this 50%. You are born with it. Another 10% of happiness comes from our external circumstances – those things that we grow up thinking will make us happy – life’s ups and downs. However, a whopping 40% of our happiness comes from “intentional activity.” This means that, regardless of your life’s circumstance, you can do a great deal to foster your own happiness. So, what is meant by “intentional activity” and how can it make us happier? The documentary explained that happy people generally have two things in common. The first is that they are part of a community – a group of family and/or friends. We are social creatures by nature and isolation is bad for our potential happiness. The second activity is “flow.” Flow is an activity that that fully engages us. It’s an activity that we can lose ourselves in. This is different for different people. For me, flow comes from cooking. When I’m working on a dish that I have never made before, I can forget the world and only focus on the task at hand. Others find their flow surfing, working out, dancing, painting, playing an instrument, yoga, or home improvement.
Many years before this documentary was created or any academics began studying the nature of human happiness, Abraham Lincoln wrote that “most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” If indeed 40% of our happiness comes from factors that are controllable (intentional activities), then Lincoln’s words were far ahead of his time. So, now that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is behind us, think about how you find your flow, how you find your happiness. And, if it happens to be doing one of the activities offered by the lodge, then we’d be thrilled to help you rediscover your passion.
Nicole
Last Updated: February 15th, 2022