The happiest person in America: what's sex got to do with it?
by David Leonhardt

604 words

Who is the happiest person in America? USA Today featured
Happiest Person in a cover story in its USA Weekend magazine.
Bad news: it's not you. Nor is it me.

Just how did they find Happiest Person and determine that he is
indeed the happiest person in America? The USA Today research
team appears to have used an elegantly simple three-step process.

First, they identified "the world's leading authority on
happiness", Martin Seligman ... which must have come as a wee bit
of a surprise to several of his equally well-known and equally
well-respected peers. How they picked Seligman remains more of a
mystery than how a land-locked nation of mountains and yodeling
became home to the holy grail of yachting, but we are working
feverishly to crack the code.

Next, they asked Seligman to name six principles of happiness.
Seligman listed couple strengths, a win-win approach, savoring
success, playing to one's strengths, opening doors to opportunity
and finding meaning in life.

Finally, they applied Seligman's principles to determine who best
matches them. Naawww, just kidding. That would make way too
much sense. Instead, USA Today created a make-believe process
of its own that stands out from Seligman's list like the Jolly
Green Giant at a dwarf convention. Here is the USA Today
process.

Geography. It seems that Happiest Person must live in the best
place to live, which is Virginia Beach, in case you didn't know.
If somebody even happier than Happiest Person lives in San
Francisco or Vermont, the USA Today research team does not want
to know.

Why confine their search to one town? Could geography be the
secret to happiness that Seligman failed to mention? True,
research does show that people living in free societies tend to
be happier than others, but there is no evidence that where you
live within the free world makes a difference.

Sex. Women are prone to higher emotional highs and lower
emotional lows, whereas men are prone to more constant emotions.
So Happiest Person must be a man, concludes USA Today. While the
science does hit the bull's eye, the conclusion misses the barn
wall. I suppose they'll be telling us that Seattle is the
sunniest spot in America because the weather fluctuates less than
in The Sunshine State.

Family. Happiest Person is married, has children, and is
healthy. People with intimate relationships do tend to be
happier, and marriage is a fairly good indicator (especially for
men). And health is important. These may not be among
Seligman's six principles, but let's not argue against good
health.

Money. Happiest person has a "good, dependable job" as a
stockbroker, a 2,300 square foot house (with an eat-in kitchen
and a deck!). The truth comes out - money does buy happiness,
according to the USA Today research team.

In fact, studies show that money makes a difference only if it
elevates a person above the poverty level. When a person has
means enough not to struggle for basic necessities, money rarely
buys happiness.

Brand-awareness. This one must have made the big ad agency
tycoons drool in their Corn Flakes. Happiest Person is for real
because he likes all the right brands! He "digs" Coca-cola, so
he must be the real thing. And he loves Craftsman tools and Dell
computers. Say no more.

Where does the USA Weekend expos+ leave the rest of us? If you
are a little old lady enjoying retirement in Atlanta or a student
conquering new fields of knowledge in Ann Arbor, you clearly are
not happy enough for USA Today. But cheer up, even The Happy Guy
eats "donuts" rather than "Krispy Kremes".


RESOURCE BOX:

David Leonhardt is the Happy Guy, author of "Climb your Stairway
to Heaven: the 9 habits of maximum happiness". Sign up for your
free "Daily Dose of Happiness" at
http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html, or
visit the Self-actualization Resource Center at
http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/self-actualization-articles.html.

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David Leonhardt
The Happy Guy
Info@...
http://www.thehappyguy.com
http://happyguy.MYUW.biz