Why are we so unhappy?

I’ve been wondering recently why so many of my friends seem to so unhappy. Life is, broadly speaking, so much better for us than for our grandparents.

Part of the reason I think we are unhappy is a lack of stimulation. Our brains were originally developed to help us deal with a range of real threats. In fact some studies indicate that the human brain has actually shrunk by about 10% as we no longer have to take on the broader ranges of tasks that adult humans needed to have to take on to stay alive. We no longer need a massive level of local group knowledge to stay alive in the developed world (although the broader group knowledge of the medical profession does keep us alive longer.).

As industrialisation increases and people moved into cities they started to study as a hobby, with going to scientific lectures and hobbies such as botany and rock collecting being normal ways to spend a weekend. On the home front people would throw themselves into hobbies such as woodworking or knitting and dressmaking. These could be practise and perfected, and people could feel satisfaction and stimulation.

A lot of the hobbies that we take now on are not giving us the same feeling of completion that older crafts used to. It’s no mistake that video games make people happy as they also give a feeling of satisfaction and stimulation. Runners and weighlifters are also often happy as they can constantly measure their performance and work on ways to make them feel better. On the other hand binge watching TV and social media doesn’t allow us to reach an feeling of mastery or completion.

So what does this mean? I know that I need to work on throwing myself more resolutely into hobbies and work on constantly improving my writing. I also need to challenge my friends and family to do the same thing.

Do you want to join me? Post your goal below.