Don Mayhew: So it's not that money makes you happy, but maybe the other way around?
Edward Diener: We're concluding that it's likely there's a positive influence of happiness on success in the workplace. Then you look at studies in the workplace. Happy workers, supervisors like them more. Happy workers take fewer sick days. They steal less from the workplace.
Don Mayhew: What does make us happy?
Edward Diener: Social relationships are very important. You have to have strong, close people who care about you. As far as we know, that's universal. It crosses all societies. It's not like a culture thing.
A second one is, you sort of need goals to arrange your activities around. ... There's something meaningful that you're doing with your time, not just necessarily hanging out with nothing to do. That's OK for a vacation. But in the long run, you have to think that your life has some purpose or meaning.
Don Mayhew: What role does religion play?
Edward Diener: Religious people, on average, are happier. I'm not trying to get you to be religious. You don't have to be necessarily religious. But I do think thinking about why religious people are happier can help you, even if you're not religious.
Religious people have social support sometimes in their church. They have a value system and a meaning system. It's given to them, so it's easier than making up your own. Now you can make up your own value system. But it takes more work.
Don Mayhew: Did being called "Dr. Happiness" in Time magazine make you happy?
Edward Diener: It's embarrassing in the sense that sometimes it can sound frivolous. There was one reporter, from a different magazine, came and wanted to take a picture, and he wanted me to wear clown shoes.
I'm like, "Wait, I'm a scientist." ... But you have to take the good with the bad.
Don Mayhew: What's the most surprising thing you've learned after studying happiness for 25 years?
Edward Diener: One is people's ability to adapt. ... People under-estimate that. They think, "Gee, if I don't get a raise; gee, if I don't get a promotion; gee, if I don't get tenure; if this happens or that happens, I'm going to be miserable." You might be miserable, but you're going to be miserable for a month. Then most people bounce back.
I used to think happiness came because you got all your goals, and you got everything just right. I really don't believe that anymore.
If I win some award -- the Nobel Prize, right? -- I've really made it. I now believe, you know what? I'll be happy for a month. But you better have some new research to start doing, because you really get the most pleasure from working toward new goals.
You know, the princess lived happily ever after. It doesn't work (by itself). What did she do after that? How did she spend her time? She marries the prince, and then what? She did volunteer work. She had kids. She had to keep doing things that would make her happy or unhappy.
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