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Emotional Health Key to Happiness
December 24, 2014
To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent — that is to triumph over old age.
-Thomas Bailey Aldrich
-Thomas Bailey Aldrich
The Guardian recently posted this provocative headline: "Emotional health in childhood is the key to future happiness." The article reports ...
"Richard Layard and his colleagues at the Wellbeing Research Programme at the London School of Economics Centre for Economic Performance conclude that a child’s emotional health is far more important to their satisfaction levels as an adult than other factors, such as if they achieve academic success when young, or wealth when older. The authors explain that evaluating the quality of a child’s emotional health is based on analysing a range of internal factors in a person’s early life, including whether they endured unhappiness, sleeplessness, eating disorders, bedwetting, fearfulness, or tiredness....
"Many people have assumed income is the most important factor in an adult’s life satisfaction. But the academics say their data makes clear this is far less important than emotional health — both in a child and in an adult. Income only explains about 1% of the variation in life satisfaction among people in the UK — one-sixth of the fraction explained by emotional health, they note. Or, to put it another way, money really cannot buy you happiness."
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Comments (1)
Displaying 1 Commentgrowingwonder
Shaker Heights, Ohio, United States
I am grateful for this study. Now the question needs to be asked as to what brings happiness to people. My research is on spiritual development. I completed a social constructivist grounded theory that attempts to define spiritual development as it might exist at the beginning of a child's life. The system includes a discussion of positive and deep relationships between a young child and others, self, nature, and big questions. It speaks about a caring adult seeing the disposition of each child and nurturing that disposition with moments filled with wonderment, awe, joy, and inner peace. The outcome of this is a child who naturally exhibits pro-social behaviors of kindness, caring, empathy and reverence. Reverence is reflected in self-regulation, an ability to follow rules, and a desire to be responsible to one's environment. The last comment references children's attention to cleaning up after themselves. All of this can and should be in place before a child's first birthday. Finally spiritual moments were discussed by participants in the study. This is where this study matches up with the study being reflected on....children experience contentment and happiness when they spend time in spiritual moments - spiritual moments in time, within beautiful spaces, in and with nature, within relationships, and when they ask big questions capable of taking one beyond oneself. Happiness also is achieved, according to this study, as child develop a strong sense of self as opposed to self-esteem. The later is about filling oneself up while sense of self or self awareness is about knowing oneself in relationship to that which exists all around. Mindfulness becomes a part of this discussion as well. Healthy and happy children are always present in the moment. As readers step back and observe the components to this definition of spiritual development it should become clear that happiness or personal contentment is a by-product of this system of spiritual development. Yet, spiritual development is not included in any curriculum within the United States, except for Waldorf and religious schools and none look at spiritual development in this way.
Hope this add perspective to this dialogue.
Dr. Deborah Schein
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