BEING BUSY AND BEING HAPPY

A common adage says that “an idle mind is the Devil’s workshop.” It goes without saying that one could not possibly be happy in such a workshop, since the Devil is associated with evil, misery, pain, heartache, etc. But does this mean that being busy is a guarantee to happiness? Can everyone who is busy boast a full measure of happiness?

Many researchers have attempted to answer this tricky question. While a lot of scientists feel that happiness has a direct relationship with being busy, others frown at such a generalization. Imagine being busy all day in a workplace that you dislike, stuck at a job where you feel trapped. How can you ever be happy in such a situation? You can’t wait for Friday to come or for the clock to hit 5 p.m. (closing time). And Sunday can’t be enjoyed because of the dread of the Monday to follow.

This type of employment status cannot provide a full measure of happiness because it is bad for our Health and it is bad for our Worth. We are there just because of Wealth. This increases the angle of We, but at the same time increases the distance between Wo and H. This is illustrated in the figure below:

In the figure above, we can clearly see what happens to Wo and H when too much attention is given to We. This is an example of a person who is busy but not happy. They are just working just for money. Their hard work might increase their We angle, but at the same time it reduces the Wo and H angles. The inappropriate focus on We also increases the distance between Wo and H, thus shifting the Happiness Triangle away from balance.

A similar analogy holds true if the focus is on Wo or H. Being busy has a maximum positive effect on happiness when the person who is busy is not being rushed, and when the consequences of being busy do not influence either of the other two angles to their detriment.

Let us take the game of football, for example. When the opposing side scores the first goal at the 10th minute in the first half of the game, the players of the other team will continue to play very well. They will keep their cool and maintain better control of the ball — all because they are aware that they still have 80 minutes to make up the difference. But the mentality changes drastically when this goal comes at the 80th minute of the game. The resulting stress, anxiety, and worry will reduce their skill.

This simple analogy depicts the fact that the same levels of work stress can be perceived differently, and it can affect the level of happiness in different angles. When humans feel like they have control over time in stressful situations, their creativity is enhanced and the stress appears to be less, or less important — unlike in situations when people feel rushed and perceive stress to be uncontrollable and inescapable.

While doing nothing can be the biggest cause of depression and unhappiness, being busy needs to be qualified with control over stress and time, especially if it is to yield the full measure of happiness in relation to being busy. This scenario is demonstrated in the figure below.

This equilateral Happiness Triangle is similar to the one used previously to demonstrate the concept of a sustainable equilibrium level of happiness. When people feel they have time on their hands and are not being pushed, the situation gives them room to keep fit and stay healthy, focus on and enhance their productivity, and hence, increase their Wealth. This equilateral model is somewhat hypothetical; it is not something that can be achieved in a day, but it is worth striving for if we want to be happy.

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