Happiness—Not an Exact Science

Tal Ben Shahar is a PhD in organizational behavior and a renowned teacher and writer on positive psychology and leadership. He claims that the root of negative sensations is internal—an erroneous concept of happiness that causes prolonged frustration. In an interview with the Israeli newspaper, Calcalist, he says, “Successful people often experience higher levels of depression or dissatisfaction. The main reason for it is that the mechanism operating within many of us makes us think that when we obtain something—a raise, a new car, or a new house—we will be happy. That way, we live with the sensation that we have something to look for. The problem is that when we obtain the goal we had set, the sensation of satisfaction and joy we derive is temporary and quickly fades. We experience an increase in the level of happiness, but we quickly return to the place from which came before we obtained what we wanted, except now we are disappointed, and sometimes lost. That mechanism of happiness is faulty from the core. Paradoxically, it makes us far more unhappy, particularly when we obtain what we want.” [43]

[43] Tal Ben Shahar, “Our Happiness Scheme is Wrong, and Then Comes Frustration, Calcalist (April 17, 2011), http://www.calcalist.co.il/local/articles/0,7340,L-3515186,00.html