Why does the measure of human happiness continue to decline?

According to an 11-minute read published on the self-described “world’s foremost publication on global well-being and how to improve it”, the World Happiness Report, Americans have reason to be happier than they have ever been.

“The violent crime rate is low, as is the unemployment rate. Income per capita has steadily grown over the last few decades. This is the Easterlin paradox: As the standard of living improves, so should happiness – but it has not.” (Twenge)

While we are gaining on being a decade removed from the year this report initially came out, 2019, I was listening to a broadcast the other day asking the question I used as my title, “Why does the measure of human happiness continue to decline?” Happiness is still clearly moving in the wrong direction.

My mind whirred for a bit and landed with a thought not researched, without data to prove, but worthy of consideration. Here’s my thought: We were made to be unique individuals, working together in unity and relating with love. We were made to thrive optimizing our God-given time, talents, and treasures–what I call our MettlEdge.

But we’re not living like thriving in our God-given design delivers us our “best life”. We’re living as though we make ourselves, working more to fit in more than to find fulfillment in work. Instead of experiencing fulfillment, we seem to be experiencing the burden of needing to maintain our ability to control things that are, by design, out of our control. And I think this has a lot to do with a decline in happiness.

Are we working harder to control people and possibilities and fit in than we are working to enjoy people and possibilities and thrive in our God-given uniqueness?

I was a college athlete and the idea of practice, of repetition, as a means of developing a skill is real. The things we practice are the things that grow. What do you want to grow? You can choose to grow your ability to control people and possibilities to guard yourself from them or you can choose to grow your ability to enjoy people and possibilities by giving yourself to them? And I don’t mean giving yourself in a doormat sort of way. I mean giving yourself with uncommon generosity and relationship-building limits.

So, the question is, athlete or not, what are you growing? Because you are practicing something.

If you’re not practicing enjoying people and possibilities by giving yourself to them, relating with others in love, mistakes and all, how will you not be stuck, unhappy and wondering why it’s difficult for you to handle grief, vulnerability, and judgment?

You may or may not believe you were made to be a unique individual working together in unity with others and relating with them in love.

You may or may not believe that you’ll find satisfaction in sharing your unique time, talents, and treasures, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when you feel like you don’t fit in.

But it seems to have been proven that happiness is not the product of living with ease and conformity. So perhaps we were made for more.

Perhaps we were made to find satisfaction in sharing our time, talents, and treasures with one another in a way that stirs up love and good works—and happiness.

What it comes down to is I’m proposing happiness is not the product of living the easiest life, the life with the highest standard of living. Happiness is the product of living a life of effort, personal conviction, and love. And when I say love, I mean the kind of love that I learned from a dear mentor and friend, Sonya: Expect everything. Demand nothing.

Let that sink in. How would this change the way that you approach people and possibilities? How might this tip the scales of your happiness measure?

I’ve been striving to let it change me in deeper and deeper ways for almost two decades now.

As you practice sharing your always unique, sometimes quirky and ever beautiful time, talents, and treasures, you grow up and refine the things you were made to share with the world. If you’ll do what you can today, giving yourself permission to fall short of your expectations and the expectations of others at times, you’ll deepen your ability to do more in days to come in the way that best stirs up people to love and good works—and happiness.

Finally, as you trust the process, you’ll allow the creator of everyone and everything to put himself on display to his watching world. And that brings the greatest measure of happiness to any who will see.