Not all kinds of happiness are the same

Happiness

In one of my past blog posts, I had talked about happiness and how it can lead to success. I had also covered some ways in which one can be happy. Now we have some research that suggests that we seek the eudaemonic kind of happiness, whereby the focus is on serving others and a higher purpose, over the hedonic kind, whereby the focus is on seeking personal pleasure.

Research is suggesting that in case you seek eudaeomonic happiness more than hedonic happiness, you may be doing your health a big favor! Such people’s antibody genes are 30% more active and their interferons, which help our immunity, are 10% more active than those of individuals preferring hedonic pleasures. In those preferring hedonic happiness over the eudaemonic kind, the inflammation causing genes were 20% more active and those associated with the production of virus-attacking antibodies were 20% less active.

It looks like Socrates, who advocated pursing a virtue filled life for happiness, was right all along!

In the long run, selfless, public-serving happiness may be winning over the selfish, pleasure seeking kind by leading to better health!

Article written by

Surinder Kahai is an Associate Professor of MIS and Fellow of the Center for Leadership Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton. He has a B. Tech in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay), an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rutgers University, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Michigan. Surinder has an active research program on leadership in virtual teams, computer-mediated communication and learning, collaboration in virtual worlds, CIO leadership, and IT alignment. His research has been published in several journals including Data Base for Advances in Information Systems, Decision Sciences, Group & Organization Management, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management Information Systems, Leadership Quarterly, and Personnel Psychology. He is currently serving on the editorial boards of Group and Organization Management, IEEE-TEM, and the International Journal of e-Collaboration. He co-edited a Special Issue of Organizational Dynamics on e-leadership and a Special Issue of International Journal of e-Collaboration on Virtual Team Leadership. Surinder has won numerous awards for his teaching, including the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Surinder has spoken on and consulted with several organizations in the U.S. and abroad on the topics of virtual team leadership, e-business, and IS-business alignment, and IS strategy and planning

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