It’s the middle of the week and mostly likely everyone could use a little dose of humor. So to begin a Wednesday tradition, this post is intended to give you a laugh and something to ponder. Do you ever feel that you ought to be happier than you are?  It’s increasingly obvious that ‘stuff’ doesn’t make people happy.  But maybe it’s not really the stuff but the amount of choice and a lack of requiring a commitment that creates the pathways of unhappiness. There is a scientific aspect to what makes people happy and the way people respond to common situations that is often overlooked.

The video below is of Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, giving a talk at a TED conference on the science of happiness. First of all, it’s one of the funnier twenty minute lectures I’ve ever seen. Beyond that though,  the scientific research behind his findings is fascinating. Would you have guessed that one year after their life-changing event that lottery winners and paraplegics are equally happy?

Technorati Tags: science of happiness