Appendix A

Ben-Shahars Happiness Model

Due to the rapid growth of technology and the hectic pace of life, people are often a part of the rat race where they compete with others, little realizing that they are losing so much or so little. People often search for precious stones elsewhere, not realizing that they have gems at home. They often think that they will be happy at a later stage, if they work hard today. However, there is no certainty about happiness at a later stage. That does not mean that you should stop working hard today. There must be a balance between today and tomorrow. In this context, we will discuss Ben-Shahar’s Happiness Model which is a thought-provoking model. It helps busy people read and find meaning in their lives.

Dr Tal Ben-Shahar

Dr Tal Ben-Shahar is an author and lecturer, teaching at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya. He taught the largest course at Harvard on ‘‘Positive Psychology’’ and the third largest on ‘The Psychology of Leadership’, with a total of over 1,400 students.

Tal consults and lectures around the world to executives in multi-national corporations, Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, and the general public. Topics he speaks about include leadership, education, ethics, happiness, self-esteem, resilience, goal setting and mindfulness. He is the author of the international bestsellers Happier and Being Happy, which have been translated into 25 languages.

An avid sportsman, Tal won the US Intercollegiate and Israeli National Squash championships. He obtained his Ph.D. in organizational behavior and B.A. in philosophy and psychology from Harvard.

He has designed a Happiness Model which is also known as ‘The Hamburger Model’. It contains four quadrants representing Nihilism, Hedonism, Rat Race and Happiness. Here are the inputs taken from his book ‘Happier’ to bring awareness about this model for your benefit.

Ben-Shahar’s Happiness Model

Let’s look at each archetype in greater detail

Nihilism

Nihilism falls in the bottom left-hand quadrant of the Happiness Model. Nihilists are people who have given up hope of finding meaning in life. They don’t enjoy happiness presently, nor do they have any sense of purpose or hope for the future. As a result, they’re ‘resigned to their fate’.

Figure 1: Happiness Model

When people fail repeatedly in life, they tend to give up hope and lose sight of their goals. They believe more in destiny and are dictated by an external locus of control. Mostly, old people having lost their energy and passion resign themselves to their fate. Of course, a few young people may also belong to this category as they are not confident of themselves and are also not sure about their future.

Hedonism

Hedonism falls in the lower right-hand quadrant of the model. Hedonists focus on present happiness only, and give little thought to future consequences. They may think that ‘working hard’ is painful and tedious, and may avoid this. As a result, hedonists feel unchallenged, and are often unfulfilled.

People from this archetype prefer to live in their comfort zone. They are pleasure seekers. They think of today, not tomorrow. They live life at their own terms. They are unmoved by competition. They don’t set goals and work hard. The people who are born rich or blessed with a lot of wealth may think in this manner. However, this sort of an outlook doesn’t provide any meaning to life. These people care about themselves, not others.

Rat Race

The Rat Race falls in the upper left-hand quadrant of the model. In the Rat Race, we detrimentally put off present happiness in the hope of some future benefit. This archetype is the most familiar one to many of us. Here, people constantly pursue goals that they think will make them happy. When those goals are achieved, however, a new goal almost immediately takes its place. While Rat Racers may experience brief flashes of satisfaction when they achieve goals, any thought of present happiness is then quickly pushed to the side.

These people never stay in their comfort zone. They keep moving from comfort zones to effective zones. Once an effective zone becomes a comfort zone, they shift immediately to another effective zone. These people keep shifting from one orbit to another constantly. They are highly competitive and like to be challenged by others. They take a lot of risk and lead an adventurous life.

Happiness

The Happiness archetype falls in the upper right quadrant of the model. This is the ideal quadrant. This archetype reflects a good balance between present happiness and future benefits. These people seek happiness and like to make a difference in the lives of others. They know what life is and provide a meaning to life. They understand how to balance their personal, professional and social life.

Precisely, the Happiness Model defines four happiness archetypes as follows:

1. Nihilism: Nihilists have lost the joy in life. They derive no present pleasure in their work or life, and expect no future benefits or rewards. They’ve ‘given up’.
2. Hedonism: Hedonists live for the moment. They pursue pleasure and an easy life, and give little or no thought to future consequences and plans.
3. Rat Race: The Rat Race archetype often sacrifices current pleasures and benefits in anticipation of some future reward.
4. Happiness: True happiness is achieved when there is a perfect balance between present pleasure and future benefits.

The Current Global Scenario

It is rightly said that a young person looks at the future, the middle-aged person looks at the present while the old person looks at the past. However, in this cut-throat competitive world, the young, the middle-aged and the aged are running behind something they don’t have any clarity about.

The present position is such that parents don’t find time to spend with their children. As a result, children find emotional gaps and search elsewhere for the same. Sometimes, crimes shoot up among the children and teenagers as parents don’t find time to guide and groom them. Old people are uncared for by children as the latter are busy with their survival and success.

We are living in a competitive world where people often intend to outsmart others without realizing any meaning to life. God gave us life. We must learn to make use of the most by striking a balance between pressure and pleasure, between rapidity and slowness. Otherwise there is no meaning to life.

Is Happiness a Hope or a Hype?

Happiness is a state of mind. It can come in any way such as through acquisition of wealth, knowledge, power, prestige or love. However, it depends on the priority the person places on different items. People often think that happiness is an end, but the fact is that happiness is a means. People struggle and make sacrifices throughout the journey of their lives, thinking about the destination of happiness. In fact, true happiness lies in the journey, not in the destination.

It is essential to strike the balance between today and tomorrow. There are a number of books that have come up which discuss learning to live in the present than getting bogged down about the past and being overanxious about the future. Hence, let us learn to live in the present rather than be worried about the past which cannot be changed, or be over-concerned about the future which cannot be predicted. Learn to strike the right balance between the past, present and future and also between pressure and pleasure, to find meaning in your life.

Tips for Happiness

Here are some tips that can help you achieve happiness:

• Do what you love to do than doing what is assigned to you by others. Realize that there is only one life. Hence, whatever you want to do, you should do it right now. There is no point in repenting at a later stage of life.
• Do your best today, thinking that there is going to be no tomorrow. While learning, think that you will live longer to learn more each day, and while sharing knowledge, think that today is the last day of your life.
• During later stages of life, you should not regret not having enjoyed your time and spent it meaningfully as the age and stage will never come back in life. Hence, you must learn to strike a right balance between pressure and pleasure.

Make Your Choice

Victor Frankl was a Jewish Austrian psychiatrist. He was put in a concentration camp during the Second World War. He wrote a famous book, Man’s Search For Meaning, which opened the eyes of many towards life.

Life is in your hands. You need to decide whether you want to be in the rat race or lead a pleasant life. You need to decide whether you want to compete with others or remain contented with yourself. You can lead your life the way you want. God gifted us with 24 hours. We must learn to manage our time well by prioritizing our needs and striking a balance between the need and the greed, and the pleasure and the pressure. Hence, make your choice wisely and judiciously to lead your life successfully.