Do you ever wonder why you choose one thing over another whether to buy, say, do, or any other action? Why do I buy a certain pair of jeans over another? Why do I speak kind words to one person but gossip about the next? Why do I eat ice-cream one day but not the next (assuming I didn't just eat it all and not buy more...)? A couple of years ago, I was contemplating this very idea and I came to the conclusion that whether consciously or not we always choose what we think will make us happy. For example, I choose the jeans that make me happy whether my standard of happiness is comfort or a certain look that I think other people will like and consequently will make others think well of me and thereby make me happy.
This is not to say that all calculations of happiness are correct or true. If I speak kindly to one person, it may be because I truly want to be nice, or it may be that I think being kind to this particular person will put me in a better position for personal advancement (talking to a boss, etc.) and thereby make me happy. Or, I may think that talking bad about someone else will somehow make me feel better about myself and thereby be happy, but reality is, that never really works. It is a false calculation of happiness that leads to an erroneous decision. If I believe an erroneous calculation of choices to make me happy then I have been deceived...and that is very easy to do.
So why am I writing about what makes me happy or not? I am proud to say that a highly influential Austrian economist came to the same conclusion as I did about making choices based on happiness, though he says it in slightly different terms. He also said that, believe it or not, whether I choose to buy one pair of jeans or another (because it makes me happy) has at least in a small way an effect on how much money I will be required to pay for a gallon of milk at the grocery store. That will be the topic of my next post. Therefore what? For now, consider this question, will what I am about to say, buy, or do or any other action I am about to perform really make me happy or am I just being deceived?
4 comments:
What was the name of the Austrian Economist?
You're right about the deception. I think we all have our own little (or big) self-defeating behaviors: habits or small decisions where our actions, while meant to bring "happiness" into our life, actually end up dragging us down into depression, debt, or expand our waistlines.
Ken, his name is Ludwig von Mises. You should check out his book "Human Action."
congrats on the blog
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