The Futile Pursuit of Happiness- Reflection

       In understanding the meaning of happiness, Jon Gertner references to field experts and the theories they’ve coined. Theories such as “impact bias”, psychological immunity”, “affective forecasting”, and “empathy gap” attempt to explain human behavior. Each idea coined has validity, but perhaps the intertwining of some ideas can further explain the meaning of happiness as it applies to the human race.
         As George Loewenstein states, “Happiness is a signal that our brains use to motivate us to do certain things”. Affective forecasting then says that we “overestimate the intensity and duration of our emotional reactions” to the things that happen to us. In their studies, the researchers of happiness have referenced to the theory of evolution and our human capacity to adapt to adversity. Tim Wilson then states that “we don’t realize how quickly we will adapt to a pleasurable event and make it the backdrop of our lives. When any event occurs to us, we make it ordinary. And through becoming ordinary, we lose pleasure”. In addition, Daniel Kahnerman states that “if people do not know what is going to make them better off or give them pleasure, then the idea that you can trust people to do what will give them pleasure becomes questionable”. At one point, all of the mentioned statements overlap with one another.
      From personal experience, I can attest to the statements made by these experts. From an earlier childhood, I have sought to have ownership of a motorcycle. I have since seen the ownership of a motorcycle as gateway to happiness, so I have been self motivated to work overtime at work. Being that I have never owned a motorcycle, I feel that it would be an amazing experience. Its ownership will bring enormous amounts of happiness to me. This is what I perceive now, but perhaps after the motorcycle is in my possession and I have ridden it for well over two seasons, I may begin to get bored of it. This is something I am not looking forward to, but according to Gilbert, it is bound to occur. Why will I get bored of it though? Well, as Tim Wilson mentioned, we naturally adapt to pleasurable events and thus make them ordinary. In making the purchase, I will be ecstatic, but I hope to not lose interest or happiness in its ownership.
         The theories proposed by the aforementioned field experts provide us with an insight of what happiness means. If we apply our own personal experiences to their theories of happiness, we can better understand the reasons for their suggestions. Ultimately, happiness is a term that differs from person to person, but in understanding its scientific definition, we may better understand our behavior.

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