How to be happy.

  The original English title of the book is 'How of Happiness'. Anyhow, I read it in Korean since I got it last winter and haven't touched it. As you probably guessed, this is a self-enhancement book focused on happiness. Many books in such genre is written based on the author's experience, but this one is based on scientific researches and reliable sources. It interested me since I was able to understood many parts of the book by heart. The ideas that were introduced from this book is nothing special but what we heard it before or probably knew it before. However, those are the things that most affect our happiness, still.

 When I was in grade 8, I wanted to get PSP (PlayStation Portable) so badly. Between my parents and I, the deal was made and by the end of the year, I was able to achieve it. I still remember the feeling of getting in a car heading to the Future shop. That day, I was able to get the gadget I dreamed for a year, which exactly two months later, became an ordinary gadget along with the others. I'm sure many people had similar experience as I did, because humans have tendency to return to a stable level of happiness over time. 'Hedonic adaptation' is the theory. This the reason why people can't have permanent happiness from material values. The related researches have shown that the raised of income increase the happiness for only certain time. Although the theory of 'Hedonic adaptation' sounds like the negative factor that affects our happiness, it's not always the case. Imagine yourself suddenly disabled or incarcerated. It feels like impossible to live in such condition with limits of freedom and ability, but as you go through the 'hedonic adaptation', your happiness will become stabled again through out the time. It might sounds hard to go against the process of adaptation, but there is various ways to keep the high level of happiness for long time. Because your happiness is depends on how much you perceive it.