Economists on happiness

This is not something new, but still worth reading.

In the past, economists assumed that an individual's choices were always guided by rational self-interest. Today they recognize that human foibles, biases and our hunter-gatherer origins can often be critical factors.

...[T]his unending cycle of serial interests and constant impulse to compare what we have now with what we might have in the future is wired into our brains, and there's an evolutionary reason for it, Rayo explained. Fifty thousand years ago, when we were hunter-gatherers, it served us well. To elude predators, our eyes developed the ability to judge moving objects and colors by comparing them with the background landscape. To ensure there would be enough food and water for everyone, our brains developed the ability to continually look ahead and press on to find new food sources.

...[t]he psychology literature and surveys clearly show that not all happiness is ephemeral and geared to endlessly moving targets. With nonmaterial things, the target does not move.

"Exercise will absolutely make you feel better. Your social network, family and friends can bring permanent happiness. Longtime relationships can bring long-term satisfaction."

If the goal is to impress your peers and friends, "You'll lose the race of winning and you'll be stressed,"...

The last sentence is very much true. I used to run 5 miles or swim for 40 plus laps non-stop 4 or 5 times a week, and I think a lot of motivation at that time came from the bragging rights. Later I bought into evolution fitness and realized that is not right way to exercise, I stopped jogging and started intermittent power training: I work out to be healthy, not to impress guys in the gym. But unfortunately a lot of runners/swimmers/triathlon trainers are still training for the bragging rights.