How Happy Are You?

After trying to look busy working hard all morning, I became a total slacker took a rest on the couch and watched Oprah. The topic? Happiness. They presented a short quiz designed to measure your satisfaction with life. Here it is:

Use the 1–7 scale to rate your level of agreement.

1 = Not at all true
7 = Absolutely true

1. In most ways, my life is close to ideal.
2. The conditions of my life are excellent.
3. I am satisfied with my life.
4. So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.
5. If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

They also gave background info on several guests and had the audience guess which of them would score the highest on the happiness scale.

Okay, so you read my blog. You know a little bit about me. What do you think I scored? (If you'd like to individually contact me, perhaps I could share what I think you scored. Or maybe you don't want to know! ;)

I'll post my score in the text below. But meanwhile, a few thoughts...

I can't remember a time in my life where I didn't know what I wanted. From the time that I was very little, I wanted to be a mom. Where that came from, I have no idea. I wasn't a big doll person. I wasn't hugely into babies. But I knew I wanted kids. It definitely stands out in the memory because when my best friend and sister were planning on being multi-billionnaires (how'd that work out? lol!), they were teasing me about my "little white house with a white picket fence" containing TWELVE KIDS. They made up the house part. I assure you that I came up with the twelve kids.

As an adult, the desire for kids didn't go away, but some other things did pop onto my radar. I learned that I loved education, teaching, curriculum, and writing. As a college graduate, my vocational desire (beyond having kids!) was to teach education courses at the college level.

I am now doing some version of both...awaiting child #5 (when I wanted 12 kids I didn't consider my future spouse's viewpoint!) and teaching continuing education courses. When people talk about the importance of determining a life purpose, I feel fortunate because I can't remember ever not knowing. For that I am grateful.

The guest on Oprah, a psychologist who studies happiness, also talked about the problem of "destination addiction," a desire to chase something in the future, thinking that the thing "yet to be achieved/gotten" will bring happiness. I don't think I've ever had that. I don't know why. Is it because I don't care much about "stuff?" Is it because I'm just not very imaginative? ;)

Anyway, I scored 35. Apparently, I am deluded very, very happy.

And I am!

But then why do I enjoy being such a whiner? I enjoy calling up my friends or my mom to complain about this or that. It's fun. Entertaining even. Maybe that's the piece required for sanity when you have 12 four, going on five, kids.

Perhaps my New Year's Resolution should be to shut up share my happiness more.

P.S. I've been dying to learn how to strike. Just one testimony to how puny my brain really is how little it takes to make me happy! ;)

P.P.S. So what are your thoughts on happiness??