on Achieving Happiness

This being my 100th Blog post! I thought I would share the wisdom of the awe-inspiring, highly acclaimed James Montier. I rank James as one of the top 5 all-time best investors, and here I share some of his ideas and insights on living a happy, meaningful life. In today's' challenging environment, we can all use it. Enjoy. Saverio

We seek to explore one of Adam Smith’s obsessions: what it means to
be happy. We also discuss why that’s important to investors, and
how we can seek to improve our own levels of happiness. The list
below shows our top ten suggestions for improving happiness.

• Don’t equate happiness with money. People adapt to income shifts
relatively quickly, the long lasting benefits are essentially zero.

• Exercise regularly. Taking regular exercise generates further energy,
and stimulates the mind and the body.

• Have sex (preferably with someone you love). Sex is consistently
rated as amongst the highest generators of happiness. So what are you
waiting for?

• Devote time and effort to close relationships. Close relationships
require work and effort, but pay vast rewards in terms of happiness.

• Pause for reflection, meditate on the good things in life. Simple
reflection on the good aspects of life helps prevent hedonic adaptation.

• Seek work that engages your skills, look to enjoy your job. It
makes sense to do something you enjoy. This in turn is likely to allow
you to flourish at your job, creating a pleasant feedback loop.

• Give your body the sleep it needs.

• Don’t pursue happiness for its own sake, enjoy the moment. Faulty
perceptions of what makes you happy, may lead to the wrong pursuits.
Additionally, activities may become a means to an end, rather than
something to be enjoyed, defeating the purpose in the first place.

• Take control of your life, set yourself achievable goals.

• Remember to follow all the rules.
-James Montier, 2004


Saverio Manzo
www.saveriomanzo.com