I like the idea of measuring the success of a nation not solely based on productivity, but on the happiness of its citizens.

As a parent, the wishes I and my friends have for our children always begin with “happy and healthy…”

But, if you believe television, happiness is defined as success, which is defined (by the television programs that are funded by companies that want to sell us things) as having stuff. Happy with a diamond…a BIG diamond. Happy driving a car. It’s great to love the outdoors, but you need a sweet ride to get there. Happy having an attractive person next to you. PS: all the products and surgeries needed to be attractive are available if you just pay for them. Earn a LOT of money. Then you can buy all this stuff. Then you will be happy. Hmmm…

If you’re producing something that is required for survival, like wheat, or vaccinations, then efficiency and productivity are also required for survival. But in what case is efficiency actually less productive?

There is a balance between quantity and quality. If you’re a doctor and can crank through twenty patients in an hour, you’ll earn more money that day. But will you and your patients be happy and healthy? Depends. It costs a lot, on many levels, to miss a diagnosis.

When teaching, I was able to help struggling writers be more successful when the number of students was limited such that I could respond in writing to their journal entries. (Well, if I stayed up most of the night :-D) Having the time to know their interests made writing stories for struggling readers possible; they persevered, decoding and comprehending difficult vocabulary, when the protagonists in the stories were them. Fewer students, but I would argue, more productive.

Is “Meaningful Productivity” a term? I think it brings a lot of happiness. Sometimes exhausted happiness. Satisfaction. Compassion.

Here is the wonderful TED talk that got me thinking about happiness as success: The Happy Planet Index

I hope you enjoy it. Be happy 🙂