The dividends of choosing our activities
RESEARCH BRIEF
I recently discovered Sonja Lyubomirsky and colleagues’ (2005) model that proposes an “architecture of sustainable change” in our happiness. They suggest that an individual’s happiness is informed by three factors: our individual biologically-based happiness set-point; our current life circumstances (where we live, demographic factors, life status factors); and our intentional activities. They recommend that while we can’t do a whole lot to budge our hard-wired set-point and may not be able to change many of our circumstances, we can improve our chronic happiness (i.e., subjective well-being) via shifts in our intentional activities. They emphasize the importance of choosing activities that fit for us – align with our core values, signature strengths, personal resources etc. For anyone who has taken the Compass Course, does this sound familiar?
Research question: Does changing our activities improve our sustainable happiness?
How researchers studied this question: Sheldon and Lyubomirsky (2006) conducted 3 studies in which college students reported on changes in circumstances and/or activities in their lives at multiple time points and also things like the intentionality of the change (was the change of their own doing?); adaptation to the change (have they gotten used to the change with the passage of time?); mood; happiness; psychological well-being.
Answer: Yes, changing our activities seems to have a sustained, positive impact on our happiness and psychological well-being more so than a change in our circumstances. Here are a few specifics of their findings:
· Making activity changes requires more intention and effort than circumstantial changes.
· Activity changes appear to have a more sustained impact on positive mood than changes in circumstances. It seems that we get used to a change in circumstances (like getting a new car) such that after a while the change no longer provides a boost.
· Activity changes predict enhanced psychological well-being in the future whereas circumstantial changes do not. This is of particular interest to me because investigators used a measure of psychological well-being that incorporates purpose in life.
So What? This research offers a blueprint for improving our happiness by shifting some of our activity choices versus waiting around for life circumstances to change. I guess that’s a worthwhile reminder for all of us.
But here’s what really grabbed me: Might the three factors that influence our happiness also drive our sense of purpose in life, with our activity choices representing a dimension that we can change? We have an early indication of that in data we are analyzing from one of our recent purpose renewal studies where increases in purpose choices in daily life have a statistically significant relationship between how people feel about the purpose of their lives. This further motivates me to put forth effort to intentionally act on my purpose palette, those daily life enterprises that align with my values, strengths, and sources of personal meaning.
How about you? What are the colors of your purpose palette and how might you choose these activities more often?
Sources:
Lyubomirsky S, Sheldon KM, & Schkade D (2005). Pursuing Happiness: The Architecture of Sustainable Change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111-131. doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111
Find the abstract here: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-70034-003
Sheldon KM, Lyubomirsky S (2006). Achieving Sustainable Gains in Happiness: Change Your Actions, not Your Circumstances*. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7, 55–86. doi.org/10.1007/s10902-005-0868-8
Find the abstract here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10902-005-0868-8#citeas