When are you most happy?
It’s a tough question, I know, but just take a moment and think about it.
Personally, I always feel most happy when I’m deeply engaged in something. It could be anything really, but always something that requires my complete and utter attention.
Whether it’s writing an article, a deep conversation, playing a video game, or preparing an elaborate meal – – I get into a zone and never want to get out of it.
I’m most productive in this state, and it is often accompanied by a sense of accomplishment.
But apparently this is not the only reason I end up in a happy state. A study by Matt Killingsworth posits that “stimulus-independent thought”, or “mind wandering”, actually causes people to be substantially less happy.
The reason for this is mostly because when your mind wanders, it usually goes to an unpleasant place. But in fact, the study showed that even if a mind wandered towards a pleasant thought, people still reported being slightly less happy on average.
You can read more about his method and findings here: Science Mag – A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind
So what can we take from this?
I think the most important lesson is to live in the moment. To be ever-present and engaged in whatever we are doing.
Even if you are just watching TV, do it with some passion and focus!
Enjoy the moment, don’t waste it by thinking about something that you need to get done later.
Time is your most precious commodity. If you’re deciding to spend it on something, make sure you maximize the enjoyment.
Related articles
- The mind wanders but it can go home again (coolintl.com)
- Letting Your Mind Wander (drvitelli.typepad.com)
Hart Helps 
This is something I’m striving to achieve. Great post. Feel free to check out my blog. I think you’ll be able to relate. 🙂
Thanks, and I know it’s something that is easier said than done. Just becoming conscious of it is the first step, I think. Knowing to look for the times when you’ve lost focus makes it a lot easier to correct.
I should have also added that it’s important to still make time in your life for daydreaming and personal reflection. 🙂 I still enjoy letting my mind wander, but I try to keep it headed in a positive direction.
And thanks for the link. I enjoyed your site a lot and added you to my reader. Looking forward to reading more.
Thank you! I look forward to exchanging more ideas and perspectives with you. Have a great day!
Thank you so much!
nice one
Thank you for liking my post on Finding Contentment is Finding Happiness. I’ll go for mindful though mind full would be good too 😊
Something I need to work on..
Thanks for liking my post. I like yours too! Keep ousting. Good luck!
great work…i agree with what you say, both from a “human” perspective and from a clinical perspective…
Love this!
Couldn’t have put it any better 😉
So true! Loved this, and I have to admit I accomplish less and enjoy less when my mind is full of the mundane things I have to do. I think I am happiest when I am writing – it consumes me, which for some reason feels great! Time flies by and I know that I am doing my “bliss”. Thanks so much for posting this, it’s a great reminder to enjoy the moment! And thank you also for stopping by my blog. Cheers!
Wonderful perspective – it’s so hard to keep our busy minds from wandering but it’s so true that I feel the happiest when I’m completely engaged and focused. Everything else disappears in that moment. Great post!
Enjoyed visiting your blog and am looking forward to reading more! I appreciate your visit to Spirituality, Therapy, and The Good Life.
Thank you for liking “Damned Love” in inspiration 360 degrees. I loved this post and that’s why am writing.mmmm…am writer tho..Loved this post once again^^b
I am thoroughly enjoying your balloon on this post. My mind is often full, I strive to be more mindful. thanks 🙂
This past year, I began attending meditation sessions at the Mindfulness Center, and it definitely is a great thing: to be MINDFUL! Thich Nhat Hahn is one of the significant people we read. I find his books most helpful. But, like any religion, I have found there are even fanatical Buddhists. Balance…always the balance! Thank you for visiting my blog!.I have enjoyed my visit to your blog as well! Blessings!
Reblogged this on kwelisays.
I love this – especially the way your title really gets me thinking before I even read further! I find that I’m more mindful when I’m really enjoying the task – when things come to me easily. I write a lot, like most of us, and sometimes it’s easier than other times. During those “easy” writes, I know that my mind is clicking away just right and it feels really good – like I’m actually skilled at something! The same goes for when I’m cooking, etc. I agree that it’s when you’re really aware of what you’re doing and putting yourself into it that you find yourself. Thank you for giving me so much to think about today! 🙂
Thanks for checking in on our Ray of Hope Ministries web-sites (rohmnj.wordpress.com and rohmbible.wordpress.com. We appreciate what we see on your web-site.
Grace and peace, Ray Gough and Patty Perez
Reblogged this on The Positive Elephant and commented:
I may be reblogging as much as I post original stuff, because there is so much wisdom out there that I want to share with you guys. Thank you, Hart Helps. (By the way, if the post doesn’t show up with my commentary, click on the blue link at the top of the post. Thanks.)
Very interesting. I’ve found it true also that “mind wandering” isn’t conducive to joy.
Rich blessings,
Tricia
Beautiful!
Thank you for stopping by my blog. I enjoyed your post on Happiness.
I love your writing. You have a very valid point with this one!
Hmnn…Happiest when not thinking about how happy we are because our minds are fully engaged otherwise? Ok, that seems to ask for a corollary too: besides keep your mind busy, don’t spend time wondering about your state of happiness…
Happiness is a state of being, not a product of cerebration then?
Thanks for the like on my blog. I think living in the present moment is key to positive mental health – really enjoyed your post. I will follow with interest!
Pingback: Mind Full, Or Mindful? | Gemlakshmi
This was great, so well-written!
Reblogged this on jaydecourtney and commented:
This is such a mind opening post. When i read this, all i could keeping saying in my head was ‘that is so true’
I love to be mindful of my thoughts. I get to choose only a few things in life so I choose to perceive my world as loving, myself as worthy and to focus on being grateful for everything. :~) Love your posts!
We can constantly worry about what we haven’t got, what we aren’t doing, and what we have to do that we forget to enjoy the choices that we have made in this moment. It is better to engage in the present moment that be constantly fretting. There was a lot of work done on flow, that total engagement in the moment – Daniel Goleman (I think that was his name) wrote about it in his book on Emotional Intelligence. Great post! Thank you!
Hey Hart Helps, thanks for liking my recent blog post. About a week ago, I wrote a post called “Cake” on my blog that is about appreciating life and the little moments that make you happy. Check it out, it might help you see things in a new light.
This is very good, and I love your cartoon. Perfect way to illustrate mind full versus mindful. I loved it! And thanks for stopping by to like my blog Sonnische.wordpress.com. I think we’re on the same page…
Metta.
Reblogged this on The Trials and Tribulations of Being a Pie and commented:
So incredibly true and why I get stuck in a rut when at home
Thanks so much for liking my post on reading. I agree – it’s important to live in the present As Bruce Lee said, “Don’t think, feel!” Best wishes, Gemma
Reblogged this on Aquarius Junkie.
most Happy? Driving nowhere on a saturday morning, with nowhere to be until 5pm that evening. No phone, no radio, just me alone.
Absolutely! I am “in the zone” when I’m cooking, photographing, gardening. even reading. Live in the moment is the best way to go. If it doesn’t work, do the necessary change to get back into the good moment for you.
I love this! I was just thinking today how the wandering mind can be such a thief. Thank you for sharing this.
Incredibly timely. Thank you for the look-see and “like” and now I shall be doing the same. The mind is incredibly powerful. I love all your graphics by the way. So creative.
Will also check out the book! BHarmony
I’ve noticed it too.
Love the blog title and your posts. Will follow, and thanks for dropping by my place. Sometimes the best things happen from little visits!
Reblogged this on Red Unscripted and commented:
Excel
So true (and so necessary to be reminded!) Thanks!
Thank you for reading Thoughts to Ponder, “Which Path?” and following me. I’d like to follow your blog. What do I click on to do that?
No problem, I enjoyed it! To follow the blog, you should be able to click my name and go to my blog. Once there, there should be a button in the top left somewhere beside my name that you can click that says ‘follow’.
Thanks to major mental, I get episodes of what I call “brain fog,” which amount to losses of concentration where I lose contact with the external world. The research you reference makes me more determined than ever to battle brain fog and make sure I’m fully involved in whatever I’m doing, whenever I’m doing it. Thanks.
I couldn’t have read this at a better time. Thank you.
You’re very welcome! Hope it helped
Thank you for liking my stuff. It’s nice in here.
Hello,
Thank you for checking out my site, and for liking my first post! I can appreciate your post about mindfulness–it’s something I’ve been learning about and attempting to practice on a consistent basis in order to overcome my anxiety and depression.
Thank you again and best of luck! 🙂
Crystal
I have returned to read this again…I think Happiness is overrated…Really…what does happy mean? Joyful? Content? Unending Bliss? I think I would rather have peace, than happiness…
Thank you for liking my first post. I now have a reason to continue writing. Keep inspiring other people. Fighting!! -lcamir
This made my day! Keep on writing! Even if it’s just for yourself, you’ll be happy you did when you look back on it years from now.
I could have written that, but I never put those thoughts together. My mind does wander a lot — ADD and anxiety (treated), but I am happiest, or less anxious when I’m fully engaged in something — as you say, it doesn’t matter what the activity is, and the sense of accomplishment is rewarding too. i try so hard to stay in the moment, but as we know that’s hard to do. I’m getting better, sometimes I’m even strident about it, refusing to stop what I’m doing until it’s done! Good post! I appreciate how you spoke to me! Thanks for stopping by my blog.