14
Wednesday, July 22, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Commentary...
Conditions for happiness exist in your life
By Mitchell Luftig
Columnist
In <The Happiness
Advantage= Shawn Achor
points out that it is a short-
sighted individual who post-
pones their happiness until a
particular marker of career
success has been achieved,
such as a big promotion.
Not only does this person
miss out on a lot of happi-
ness along the way, once
they achieve their career
goal, their brain, which has
learned to associate hap-
piness with a future event,
simply moves the goalposts
so that now they must reach
a new goal in order to be
happy.
A more effective strategy
for employees is to find ways
to be happy in their present
circumstances. Achor points
out that happy workers are
usually more productive
than unhappy employees
and they approach tasks in
a more creative manner,
leading to better outcomes.
Happy workers are just as
likely to advance in their
careers as employees who
postpone happiness.
But it9s not just in
employment that we con-
dition our happiness on a
future event. People also
convince themselves that
they can only be happy
when they get married to
the perfect partner; produce
brilliant children; achieve
wealth, status, and fame;
write a best selling novel&.
Once we have convinced
ourselves that we can only
be happy when we achieve a
particular outcome, we have
placed arbitrary limits on
our happiness. Rather than
postponing happiness, we
would be better served by
finding ways to be happy in
our current circumstances.
Sufficient conditions for
happiness already exist in
our lives, but sometimes we
need to employ a different
lens to spot them, a lens that
helps us to overcome our
brain9s built-in negativity
bias.
Ancient man worried
about starvation, being
eaten by a predator, or los-
ing territory to a rival clan.
In order to increase the odds
of surviving such harsh cir-
cumstances, evolution built
into our ancestor9s brain a
negativity bias, which auto-
matically prioritized nega-
tive information relevant to
detecting and responding to
danger over positive infor-
mation more relevant to liv-
ing a happy life.
Rick Hanson tells us that
our brains are (still) like
Velcro for negative informa-
tion and Teflon for positive
information.
To discover the condi-
tions for happiness that
already exist in our lives
we must retrain our brain to
highlight our positive expe-
rience, using tools such as
mindfulness.
Thich Nhat Hanh tells
us that when our minds are
caught up in our worries,
our fears, our anger, and our
regrets we are <forgetful=
of the conditions for happi-
ness that already exist in our
lives.
However, when we prac-
tice mindful breathing, unit-
ing our mind and body, we
establish ourselves in the
present moment. <Then
you can recognize the many
conditions of happiness that
are in you and around you,
and happiness just comes
naturally.=
Thich Nhat Hanh tells us
to follow the breath all the
way in and out4<Breathing
in, I know that I am breath-
ing in. Breathing out, I know
that I am breathing out.=
Under normal conditions
we are unable to <pull back
the curtain= to see how the
<autopilot= presents us with
a biased account of our
life, highlighting negative
information, while ignoring
positive information, and
making us susceptible to
depression.
But when we practice
mindful breathing, we dial
up the brain9s direct expe-
rience network (DEN) and
dial down the autopilot. The
DEN brings us closer to
reality, enabling us to view
the events around us with
great clarity, and gives us
an opportunity to correct for
the brain9s negativity bias.
(Returning our attention to
the breath when our mind
wanders keeps the autopilot
Sisters
Dental
offline).
Min d fu l in d iv id u a ls
approach their experience
with curiosity. (Curiosity is
also a strength related to liv-
ing a satisfied, meaningful,
and engaged life). Over time
difficult emotions lose their
power to overwhelm the
person who practices mind-
fulness 4 allowing positive
experiences to rise to the
surface.
Negative thoughts and
harsh self-judgments can
trigger fear, anger, guilt,
and worry, making us <for-
getful= of the conditions
for happiness in our lives.
Mindfulness helps us to
view 4 in real time 4 how
we put ourselves down.
When we mindfully replace
self-criticism with self-
acceptance, we can grasp the
many conditions for happi-
ness inside of ourselves.
The brain9s negativ-
ity bias also sets us up to
assume the worst about
other9s intentions 4 that
they will hurt us or take
advantage. When we prac-
tice mindfulness we view
the intentions of others more
accurately, allowing us to
grasp the conditions for
happiness that exist in our
relationships.
Sharpening our focus on
the positive facts and expe-
riences revealed through
mindfulness does not can-
cel out the negative facts
and experiences. But lead-
ing with the positive makes
us feel happier, it increases
our optimism, and it makes
us more resilient so that
we better manage negative
events when they occur.
491 E. Main Ave. • Sisters
www.sistersdental.com
Hours: Mon., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues.-Thurs., 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
CUBA: Relations
with USA have
been difficult
Continued from page 11
U.S. relationship with Cuba
seems like that of a bully,
coupled with the maturity
of a pouting toddler, simply
because Cuba has a different
way of life.
Our trip to Las Terrazas
lasted all day, and we
barely had enough time
to reorganize for our eve-
ning excursion, which
was strictly entertainment.
The Tropicana is a famous
nightclub founded in 1939.
We9ve seen shows all over
the world and everything
Las Vegas has to offer; this
was the most elaborate and
spectacular show we9ve
ever seen, with 50 singers
and dancers performing on
three levels of a gigantic set
with a 30-piece orchestra.
The next day, we had to
get up early for our morn-
ing <educational= excur-
sion, which was largely a
walking tour of old Havana.
Cuba9s well-known vintage
cars are for real. We thought
those cars would be mostly
a tourist thing, but they
were ubiquitous throughout
the country and actually in
general use; although many
are used for tourist taxis or
guided tours. Chevys are
the most common, but we
saw Desotos, Oldsmobiles,
Dodges and many Fords.
Perhaps the most unique
sighting was a 1951
Studebaker with its bullet-
nosed, battering-ram prow.
The most common car years
are 951, 955, and 956, but we
saw examples from the 940s
through about 1959. New
cars are mostly Toyotas,
Kias, and VWs; there are
no new U.S. cars due to the
embargo.
As our Cuban adven-
ture came to an end, we left
feeling somewhat ashamed
of our country9s failure to
be a good neighbor. Cuba
became a U.S. <protec-
torate= after the Spanish-
American War, a status that
we lost primarily by being
exploitative, rather than
protective.
After 60 years, it9s time
to do better.
Airless
Paint
Sprayer
Walk Behind
String
Trimmer
Deck Sander
WE ARE HERE
FOR YOU!
541-549-2011
Kathi Eisenbeis checks out a vintage 1955 Buick in Havana, Cuba, with
one of the city’s historic forts in the background.
GET THOSE
SMALL
JOBS DONE!
NEED IT, RENT IT!
Trevor Frideres, D . M . D .
Greg Everson, D . M . D .
PHOTO BY CRAIG F. EISENBEIS
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