It is not uncommon to hear your friends boasting about their busy schedules while being idle unknowingly brings about a sense of guilt to some of us. It seems that there is an assumption that keeping ourselves busy makes us happy. However, research has shown that just being busy isn’t quite enough.
Research has shown that most of our minds wander while doing activities and when it wanders to both neutral and unpleasant topics, it makes people less happier than their current activity. And even when we are thinking positive thoughts, they were no happier than when fully engaged with their current activity.
As Killingsworth and Gilbert conclude: “…a human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind. The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.”
This thus reinforces the idea that being mindful is a good thing. Giving all our attention to what we are doing right now makes us happier than letting our mind wander off. In a similar vein, finding reason and motivation to be engaged too make us happier than sitting around idle, even though we are naturally inclined towards idleness. With this new discovery, why not practice mindfulness and infuse even more happiness and contentment in our lives right now?
Category(s):Mental Health in Asia
Source material from Psyblog
