I haven’t posted anything in my happiness category for a long time, isn’t that sad?

One of those postings is about a syndrome I named stuff addiction. News on that front. It might be worse than I thought:

the brain systems for liking and wanting are separate. … a drug like nicotine produces much craving but little pleasure.

A good advertisment induces craving. Golly, the distinction between use and signal value runs deep.

That’s from a Sunday supplement article on happiness research that appeared in the Times of London. That’s light and fun to read.

One teaser in the article is the mention of a 100 “interventions” for building happiness; and even that 40 of these have now undergone at least some clinical testing.

Not that these interventions would necessarily be fun in and of themselves. This frightening one is outlined:

A third technique involves writing a long letter to someone you’re grateful to but have never properly thanked, and visiting them to read it out in person.

Seligman and his graduate students weep tears of joy when they do this exercise, but most Brits would probably rather be miserable than do it.

Same in New England I suspect. Thank goodness! That one’s not particularly effective.

These get higher marks:

In one internet study, two interventions increased happiness and decreased depressive symptoms for at least six months. One exercise involves writing down three things that went well and why, every day for a week. The other is about identifying your signature strengths and using one of them in a new and different way every day for a week.

Of course what’s the point of a Sunday supplement if your not selling something.

Seligman speculates that doing more exercises for longer would bring greater benefits. Hundreds of thousands of people have registered with his website www.reflectivehappiness.com – where, for $10 a month, they are given a happiness programme including instruction in a package of positive exercises.

Cheaper than cable!

To the untravelled, territory other than their own familiar heath is invariably fascinating. Next to love, it is the one thing which solaces and delights. Things new are too important to be neglected, and mind, which is a mere reflection of sensory impressions, succumbs to the flood of objects. Thus lovers are forgotten, sorrows laid aside, death hidden from view. There is a world of accumulated feeling back of the trite dramatic expression–“I am going away.” – Theodore Dreiser in Sister Carrie

I like that my first day with the current employer was Halloween of 1999; and my last day in the office will be Friday the 13th. Four years, shorter than my usual time per employer; I’m such a homebody!

Now the recreation of looking for a new gig; suggestions welcome. I’m particularly interested in working on systems that help small entities leverage the internet – in quantity. email: bhyde at pobox . com

“… what matters is the work itself — the work that is produced, but also the act of work: the task itself…”   — here

I be lame. ‘E be not.

Wonderful and amusing BBC discussion of complaining as a cultural aspect in a British bank. (Click on the Listen again link.)

One thing I find amusing about this was that the researcher was an American. My impression has always been that the British have raised complaining into a national art form, a sport. This sport is best played with a pint in one hand. It’s name is whinging. American’s tend to be suspicious about all that. While meanwhile others tend to be quite suspicious about the enthusiastic nature of American attitudes.

He mentions, at least two kinds of complaining. Deprication – complains about which nothing is expected to happen. These are good for getting everybody together on the same page and provide something to talk about. Derogation – complains about which something should obviously happen but framed in a manner to assure it’s unlikely. This avoids offending those who might do something.

The tail end of the show has a nice enumeration of what makes people happy in the job. Nothing very surprising; but always good to have another list.

• Control over one’s work.
• Working for customers or coworkers.
• Control over small details in the work.
• Minimization of hierarchtical control.
• Higher pay, particularly relatively.
• Rank
• Achievements relative to one’s asperations.
• Smaller rather than larger firms.
• Women are happier than men.

In Britian the blue collar workers are happier than the white collar ones.