So, what is the purpose of making decisions? First, if decisions result in our destruction, then we won't survive very long. We must assume that, foremost, decisions help us stay alive. After that, the quality of survival must be at stake. For most of us, we seek a "comfy" home with plenty of food and amusements over a dungeon with only bread and water to drink. Just the barest level of survival is not enough for us. Survival seems to have different levels of quality, and we strive to for ever higher and higher levels. We want better food, better clothes, and a better home. We strive for more conveniences and more vacation time. And as we gain these lifestyle improvements, we claim to be "happier" or at least "feeling better." Though the purpose of decisions is, first, to achieve survival, decisions also help us achieve a better quality of life. With them we strive to higher levels of living - levels which make us feel better, happier, and produce a sense of "well-being." Even on a moment-to-moment basis, we strive to enhance our happiness and well-being.
If this is truly the goal of decisions, to enhance our happiness and well-being, then it would be useful to understand the process of "feeling good." There appear to be four main categories. Summarizing them, the first method is just turning off the conscious mind or, simply, relaxing. This provides a quick release from stress. The most profound forms of relaxation include meditation and sleep. The second technique, and frequently inseperable from relaxation, is "variety." It can come from a cool breeze on a hot day or from a vivid story told by a good friend. Music, television, humor, and reading are other common sources of this second method. By exposing ourselves to varied sensations or new ideas, we usually gain some measure of pleasure. The third method revolves around "success." Though we feel satisfaction from any accomplishment, we are especially rewarded for success in the face of greater challenge and risk. Sports, games, and gambling provide these thrills as well as greater accomplishments such as getting a college degree, getting a promotion on the job, or helping others. Finally, the last method for pegging the emotive needle is a form of mind control or mind directing. Termed "attitude," not only does it combine the other methods, but it expands them with additional techniques including self-psyching, self affirmation, thankfulness, and positive thinking. "Attitude" enhances the potency of the other techniques.
Though this group of four techniques may not be exhaustive, it encompasses a great majority of our various means for achieving happiness. Since understanding these four techniques will help us keep our bearings as we get out onto the "open road," let's take a closer look at each of them.
The idea of "turning the mind off" to gain pleasure is based upon the premise that consciousness is stressful - especially analytical thinking. As problems faced by someone become more difficult, analytical thinking increases along with stress levels in the body. Consequently, turning the mind off relieves this stress and results in a higher emotional state.
So, why is thinking stressful? Because the conscious mind is primarily a defense mechnism. We did not choose to be conscious; it was forced upon us. The world has many hazards: predatory animals, poisonous animals, toxic plants, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, lightning, polar cold, desert heat, high cliffs, deep crevasses, earthquakes, volcanoes, fires, famine, disease, etc. Any one of them can be a killer. Even "time" is an enemy. Every second, we lose valuable energy to the environment through heat loss. Without food or water, just the heat loss alone would eventually kill us. Our ancestors faced heat loss as well as other hazards and learned to sense and respond to them in the outside world. They learned to find food and water, to run and hide from danger, and to fight if need be. From their legacy of fear and survival, we have learned to think. It is our defense against a hostile environment. (In Part II, I will closely tie consciousness with the sympathetic nervous system - the "fight or flight" system.)
Since we think almost constantly during wakefulness and have grown so accustomed to it, we rarely recognize any draining effect it may have upon us. Nevertheless, as we manufacture products, drive vehicles, use computers, telecommunicate, read, write, analyze, and plan, we slowly get tired as the day progresses. The alertness of the early morning turns into raggedness in the late afternoon, and we look forward to leaving and going home. Though we may take great pleasure in our many accomplishments of the day, the thought processes which enabled them frequently wear us out. Sometimes we are so worn out that we just go home and go to sleep.
And herein lies, perhaps, the most telling sign that consciousness is stressful: our need for sleep. Most of us readily acknowledge that we need sleep sometime during each 24-hour day. Without it, our alertness suffers, we get irritable, and we become lethargic. But our need for sleep is even more profound than perhaps we realize. Not only do we suffer "side-effects" from losing sleep, prolonged sleep deprivation can be seriously harmful. Though extreme studies have not been performed on humans, experiments with rats have extended sleep deprivation to several weeks, and the results are startling: "... Rechtschaffen reported, in 1983, that sleep deprivation, when well controlled and sustained, was uniformly fatal to rats" (Hobson, 1989, p. 114). The time needed to effect this was about four weeks of sleep deprivation. Though claiming the rat was "thinking" while being kept awake may be disputed, clearly, being awake (conscious) for prolonged periods was stressful upon the rat's bodily resources. As mild as it may be, consciousness is a stress state, and some part of the body gets drained and needs replenishing. Whatever the exhausted "part" is, it seems to get replenished during sleep.
Further, it appears that our activities during the day determine the speed of exhaustion. Though physical activity certainly takes its toll, "thinking" is also a primary valve controlling the drainage flow, and it seems to be variable. The more arduous the thinking, the faster the drain. The less analytical we are, the slower the drain.
But let's use your own experience for a moment. Remember taking a high school or college exam? Remember how much FUN it was?! I suspect not much. Smiles usually do not occur during a difficult exam, only afterwards. But education is not alone in this phenomenon. In business or competitive sports or any exacting task, have you ever seen someone smiling while in deep concentration? Not likely. How about yourself? When solving problems at work, at home, or at school, are you typically euphoric? Again, not likely. If excitement accompanies thinking, it is usually born from the expectation of solving the problem - not from the actual thought process itself. Though we may glow when expecting or fantasizing about achievement and success, when actually facing the details of problem-solving, while immersed in the the step-by-step process of analytical thinking, suddenly the glow wanes. If euphoria appears again, normally it happens only after deep thought is over - after the problem is solved, after the exam ends, after one escapes the stress of analytical thinking. (We will pursue this further with the "springboard effect" shortly.)
If thinking, especially arduous thinking, is stressful, then the only way to relieve the stress is to cut back on the level of thought. Beside the aformentioned "sleep," cutting back can mean relaxing through simple activities - watching television, reading a book, listening to music, or communing with nature. Though these also crossover to the the second technique, "variety," as long as they involve a lowered level of mental exertion, they can be included in relaxation. By cutting back on thought and focusing more on sensing - listening, watching, touching, feeling - the stresses are relieved, and a more pleasant emotional state can be achieved.
Another very effective way of disrupting analytical thinking is humor. Many have pointed out how humor focuses on the "unexpected" having unusual twists and turns - sort of a mental rollercoaster. By breaking "mental rules" and shaking up our thinking, humor can "derail" the analytical mind. As our ability to concentrate is cast into disarray by humor, we begin to become free of the stress of thinking. And with our rising euphoria, our threshold for laughter comes closer, too. This threshold may eventually get so close that almost any drivel will instigate more laughter (the proverbial "you had to be there" situation). Many comedians take note of this and have a lesser known comic "warm up" the crowd before stepping on stage, thus, making the well-known comic's humor more potent from the onset.
Perhaps the most profound means of turning off the mind is meditation, a form of self-hynosis. Typical techniques include focusing on the body (especially breathing) and repetitive thoughts or words (chants or mantras). "The flickering of the candle has a hynoptic effect. ... take three or four deep breaths to aid in relaxing ... give yourself suggestions ... repeating it several times as you watch the candle" (LeCron, 1964, p. 52). Fundamentally, consciousness is enlivened by change, so repetition and monotony tend to quiet and disengage consciousness. Focusing on breathing and a flickering flame while chanting a phrase repetitively should quell almost any active mind.
So consciousness is a stress state, and we can escape this unpleasant feeling by relaxing. Extreme relaxation includes meditation and sleep. Lesser levels include hobbies, travel, and other diversions requiring little or no thought. The result from any of these will be a heightened sense of feeling "good" or "happy."
Yet, trying to escape stress to become happy poses a dilemma. If we stop thinking in order to escape stress, suddenly we become more vulnerable to the hazards of the environment. Born of this danger, natural selection continually drives us to get smart and do something. Of course, both "getting smart" and "doing something" are conscious activities requiring thought and, frequently, stress. So, how do we achieve happiness without sacrificing the benefits of thinking? How can we become happy without shutting down our thought processes? We can do it through the remaining techniques: variety, the springboard effect, and attitude.
As noted in the previous chapter, all things within our environment have an emotive trace. Additionally, whether by genetics or experience or both, our emotive traces reflect our individual personalities. Our choices in food, clothes, music, art, and other diversions of pleasure reflect our unique growth and existence. Some traces are positive, others are negative, and a large portion are neutral. For each object or sensation which we find pleasurable, it has a "positive emotive trace." When we sense one, the emotive energy from a positive trace gets dumped into our reward systems and a positive feeling occurs. Conversely, those things which we find unpleasurable have a negative emotive trace which feels bad - the emotive energy gets dumped into our "fight or flight" stress systems.
As we live each day, we constantly receive stimulation from the outer and inner worlds. If we think of each emotive trace as like a string of a musical instrument, such as a piano, then each stimulation will "pluck" the emotion associated with it in our minds. If we like colorful maple trees, then "colorful maple trees" will have a positive emotive trace and seeing "colorful maple trees" will give us a little surge of euphoria. Similarly, if floppy, soft puppies makes us feel good, then we have a positive trace for it, too. Seeing a puppy will "pluck" its positive trace, and we will receive a little surge of euphoria. Of course, negative emotive traces will work similarly. Seeing a cockroach or a drunk driver weaving toward us will "pluck" an associated negative trace killing euphoria and increasing stress. (Refer to Wilder Penfield in Part II for experiments supporting the existence of emotive traces.) Since everything around us carries an emotive trace, even ordinary and seemingly "unemotional" items, every experience will "pluck" many emotive traces creating a "melody" of emotion with harmonic chords, beautiful interludes, quiet pauses, and jarring cacophony and discord. Life plays concerto after concerto upon our emotive pianos.
Seemingly, if we could find one outstanding euphoric experience, one situation where our most powerful positive traces are stimulated, and then repeat the experience endlessly, we could exist in a constant state of bliss. Unfortunately, nature seems to frown upon this. If we get stuck in one behavior, we suddenly stop learning and our repertoire of behavior suffers. We may be doing something, but we certainly are not getting smarter. In many respects, such a circumstance would reduce us to no better than vegetables which are almost defenseless. To prevent us from getting stuck in a singular rut, natural selection has created two emotion killers, "tolerance" and "habituation." With these two "thugs," nature prevents us from finding eternal bliss in one repetitive action. Only through variety can we escape their neutralizing effects.
"Tolerance" and "habituation" are both born of the brain's naturally tendency to seek emotional "cruising speed" which conserves energy and allows low energy ideas to compete for control in the mental arena. The brain keeps a constant vigil for imbalances and attempts to compensate whenever anomalies arise. It strives to keep us from getting too hot or too cold, too hungry or too full, too sedentary or too active - or virtually too anything. Seemingly, as Aristotle indicated, too much of anything is detrimental, thus, moderation should be sought in all things, and the brain appears to embody this rule.
"Tolerance" has been used to describe the body's natural tendency to deflate the effects of drugs such as alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, cocaine, morphine, and heroin. With the sudden ingestion of these emotion altering chemicals, the brain attempts to compensate by altering the body's own responsiveness to natural, emotion altering neurochemicals. "When the brain is flooded with an unusually large quantity of a drug, the nerve cells respond by cutting down the number of receptors." (Restak, 1988, p. 132). Every time we get intoxicated or "high," the brain busily tries to bring us back to cruising speed. Worse, to achieve the same "high" again, a drug abuser must consume an even higher dosage. The result is frequently a vicious cycle requiring higher and higher dosages of drugs. It is this effect which scientists and researchers term "tolerance." "Tolerance simply means that the neurons in the central nervous system respond progressively less and less to the drug. In other words, large doses of the drug are required to produce the same effects on the nervous system that smaller doses produced earlier." (Buskist and Gerbing, 1990, p. 106).
What is important here is not drug abuse but the brain's fervent effort to achieve cruising speed. And something similar to "tolerance" seems to happen in areas other than drugs. Do you have a favorite food? Does it taste wonderful two, three, or four meals in a row? Would it taste wonderful if it was the only food you could eat at every meal for the next two years? Probably not. How about a favorite song or record? As a teenager, I used to play any thrilling, new record six or eight times in a row and still get a "charge" from it. Unfortunately, the thrill the second time was not quite the same as the first. The third time was even less titillating, and the remainder trailed even further behind. After six or eight plays, I had to put the record away for a while. After a few days, I could hear it again and be able to feel some measure of the original enjoyment (though not totally). And so it is with clothes, books, television shows, paintings, and virtually everything else in our lives. Repetition and monotony are not rewarded with excitement and bliss. Rather, they are first rewarded with increasingly less positive emotions culminating in seemingly "no emotion" (cruising speed) or boredom.
Not wanting to confuse this seeming apathy with drug "tolerance," scientists gave it another name, "habituation." As defined, "... habituation is a decrease in the strength of a response that occurs because a given stimulus has been presented repeatedly. ... In many everyday situations human beings respond more and at greater length to a new stimulus than one to which they have become accustomed." (Krech, et al., 1982, p. 267). Though tolerance and habituation have been separated technically, they seem to have a similar if not equal effect within the body. With both, some stimulation creates an emotional "high." With drugs, the stimulation comes through the ingestion of chemicals. With the arts, the stimulation is visual, audible, or from one of the other senses. After allowing the first effect to wear off, upon a second, third, or fourth "dose" of the same stimulation, the emotional huplift begins to decline. Though tolerance and habituation may not be identical in terms of neurotransmitters and parts of the body affected, clearly, they have a similar design. And the net effect of both designs is "cruising speed" - a homeostatic energy state devoid of high emotion, thus, conserving energy. Cruising speed is an efficient state for any organism, and natural selection favors it through the emergence of tolerance and habituation.
This is not to say that we cannot enjoy something many times during the course of a lifetime. It only points to a need for variety; nature demands that we not get stuck in one behavior. A favorite song can remain a favorite as long as it is heard sporadically and not continuously. The same is true of a favorite book or movie or work of art; the euphoric emotions tend to respond to variety. The cliche is true - variety IS the spice of life.
Varied stimulation appears to be one part of life we all need and enjoy, and it is the first technique for achieving pleasure while still retaining consciousness. We seek it through physical pleasures such as biking, dancing, or sexual intimacy, through varied entertainment such as watching television, reading, or listening to music, and through companionship such as chatting and joking with friends, shopping in a busy marketplace, or attending some social or public event. "It has long been known that animals seek at least moderate amounts of novelty." (McClelland, 1985, p. 139). And even though some limits exist, variety is, perhaps, the most accessible and reliable of all sources of pleasure. If we take time to listen, to see, and to feel, we can find variety all around us. Even more, we can find variety as ever present within us; it can come from memories of our past or from creating new ideas - melodies, jokes, fantasies, or other imaginings. Living in a non-threatening, ebullient environment can be a main staple for attaining conscious pleasure.
For some, the simple joys of variety are much too tame. Sure, sitting in the forest and communing with nature may be beautiful, but what if you want a real jolt of joy? How do you "turbo charge" happiness? The answer lies within competition - achieving a goal, winning a game, overcoming opposition. Though variety has many merits, the next step upward in achieving ecstacy is experiencing competition, and especially, the "springboard effect."
Winning and losing, success and failure, and the springboard effect all start with a concept which B.F. Skinner claimed was the essence of all behavior: "We often overlook the fact that human behavior is also a form of control. ... We cannot choose a way of life in which there is no control." (Skinner, 1974, p. 208-209). In essence, we control the muscles of our eyes to focus and see. We control the muscles of our mouth and throat to talk. We control the muscles of our arms, hands, and fingers to write a memo or to throw a ball. Our brains control our body temperature to prevent us from becoming too hot or too cold. Every facet of our being is based in control; each action has a purpose, a goal. Basically, either we succeed or we do not. If you want to get to a meeting by 8 a.m., either you make it or you don't. Excuses about traffic problems or other mitigating circumstances typically point to influences we claim as "outside of our control." Nurturing behaviors also follow suit. If you try to console a friend, either your friend is consoled or not. Either your efforts succeed or fail. Even simple tasks are attempts at control subject to success/fail evaluation. If you pick up a spoonful of cereal and want to put it in your mouth, either you do or you don't. Either the control you exert over the spoon succeeds and the cereal ends up in your mouth, or it fails and cereal ends up in your lap. Consequently, any behavior can be regarded as an act of control which will either succeed or fail; either we effect control or we do not.
From a natural selection point of view, success ultimately boils down to effecting control over the environment in order to survive. Either we succeed at living, or we fail and die. Given this, natural selection has guided us over the eons by sculpting our emotions to reverberate to success and failure, winning and losing, life and death. Natural selection has taught us to feed energy into successful behaviors and drain energy from unsuccessful ones. When we effect successful control, when we do something good for our survival like eating or finding safety, we are rewarded with "happy" feelings - positive traces. Emotionally, we are given a "pat on the back" for acquiring a home, finding a mate, getting a promotion, or any other beneficial, life promoting act.
Moreover, we are rewarded for escaping danger and overcoming obstacles. If we overcome any stressful threat, nature rewards us with a surge of elation. And the key to the strength of the reward is the degree of risk we face. Overcoming small threats with little risk provides little reward for success. Overcoming greater threats holding great risk results in greater rewards - greater joy. Risk and reward go hand-in-hand. This is the basis of the "springboard effect." The more risk we face, the greater potential for reward.
Born from Richard Solomon's Opponent-Process Theory (Buskist and Gerbing, 1990, pp. 343-4) (McClelland, 1985, p.113-115) and David McClelland's Achievement Motive (McClelland, et al., 1976), the "springboard effect" is found in sports, gambling, sales, and all other competitive and suspenseful situations, and it explains the euphoria which accompanies winning, succeeding, or escaping. Basically, when the body is released from stress, some measure of euphoria is usually experienced. It appears very much like a recoil reaction, hence the name, "springboard." In competitive springboard diving, as the diver jumps on the end of the diving board bending it downward, stress and tension builds in the board. As the board springs back, the recoil vaults the diver into the air. Similarly, when we place ourselves at risk, tension and stress builds emotionally. Upon release, this energy must be vented somewhere. Since stress drains precious resources from vital bodily functions, it would be most appropriate for any excess energy to get dumped into those rationed or sacrificed body parts. Encompassing what is know as the "reward system," the sacrificed body parts should get the benefits of any left-over or undirected energy after success is achieved. This after-surge of energy feels pleasant if not euphoric. If left-over energy is sizable, as can be the case in high-stress situations, the resulting venting of energy can be sizable, too - a powerful recoil. Such a surge can vault us into high states of euphoria or ecstacy. The farther we go downward into tension and stress, the greater the buildup of energy from which to vault us into elation. As a result, high stress can breed high emotion through the springboard effect.
The springboard effect is quite obvious in sports. A sports team erupts in joy when "the tension" is high and some milestone of success is achieved - a great play, a score, or when the game is won. Only then, will smiling players jump around and hug each other. Rarely do you see such joyful displays at the game's beginning when the umpires or referees are announced. Timeouts also seem bereft of glee - especially when the game's outcome is still in doubt. The cliche "you could cut the tension with a knife" is born of hard-fought, close games when the suspense is highest. Such times are when the "springboard" is "cocked" and ready to explode in a euphoric recoil. And if the "home team" scores or wins, the euphoria of the fans can be thunderous.
Sports, however, are not alone in showing the springboard effect. Business, too, and any personal challenge can show this effect. After a long sales compaign, elation frequently accompanies the signing of contracts and purchase orders. A successful hobby or other personal achievement can also evoke the pleasures of the springboard effect. Restoring an old automobile, getting a top grade in school, mastering a musical instrument, growing a church congregation, or any other goal which is sought and achieved can bring a deep sense of satisfaction and happiness. In all of our activities, if a challenge is met and overcome, the body tends to respond with a measure of euphoria. Natural selection rewards us for success in overcoming new and/or difficult challenges. The higher the risk, the higher the recoil potential.
Yet, the springboard effect has two primary nemeses. The first and foremost is failure. Anytime you jump down on the end of a springboard, it may break or you may slip and fall off, thus, destroying any recoil effect. Since risk is always inherent in the springboard effect (the greater the risk, the greater the potential recoil), the possibility of failure always exists. Failure, of course, is never rewarded with pleasure. (Even clowning adheres to this. The goal of clowning is to evoke laughter from others. Regardless of pratfalls and self-deprecating humor, failure to evoke such laughter inhibits joy to the clown since he/she has failed in achieving the intended goal.)
What we call "confidence" is the second euphoria killer, and it is much akin to habituation. The more we succeed at a task, the more in control we feel, and the more confident we become. But as our confidence grows, the task becomes less challenging, less risky, and our euphoria wanes. When in complete control, risk virtually disappears as does the tension of stress. Of course, as risk and tension diminshes, so does the potential for the springboard effect. As we master any task and grow confident in it, we seem to build up a "tolerance" for it. The task becomes mundane - easily overcome and a "no-brainer." Though confidence has a "warm glow" since it has a "positive emotive trace," it does not compare with mega jolts which can be attained through the springboard effect, and the springboard effect quickly becomes a victim of complete and repetitious mastery. Consequently, as a general rule, "as confidence gains, ecstacy wanes."
In the face of the two main joy killers, confidence and failure, each potential challenge must be evaluated according to an individual's strengths and weaknesses. Too great of a challenge which goes well beyond the person's confidence level and requires great luck or divine intervention, should be avoided as raw material for the springboard effect because the potential for failure is too great for such undertakings. On the other hand, tasks which have minimal risk and pose little or no challenge should also be passed up since confidence will prevent any surge of happiness after success. Finding goals which hold some risk, but not too much, provide the best opportunity for the springboard effect - "... individuals with a high need for achievement ... set moderately difficult but potentially achievable goals" (Blanchard and Hersey, 1982, p. 38).
I have chosen "attitude" as a name for the last technique, not because it is the best term for the method, but because it is the most easily recognized and understood of any which represent this group. Underneath this method is the belief that we can take an active role in creating our emotional state. We are not victims of outside experiences. In fact, we can control our own internal feelings in spite of what is happening around us. We can actively choose to be happy or elated, caring or loving, calm or at peace. In other words, we can move the emotive needle up into the positive range by an act of sheer will.
Perhaps one of the most well-known proponents of creating positive thoughts is Norman Vincent Peale. In his popular books, he makes frequent references to people facing severe adversity, such as poverty or disease, and he relates how a change in mental attitude empowers them to overcome their troubles and misfortunes. Other well-known advocates of positive mental conditioning (attitude) include Norman Cousins, Tony Robbins, Robert Schuler, Earl Nightengale, Jeff Salzman, and Zig Ziglar.
Many more of us who are not so famous also believe that our attitude can be shaped and guided. A pep-talk from a sports coach or a sales manager or a theatrical director is testimony to our belief that our attitude is within our control. The coach believes the athlete can be motivated in a positive way. The sales manager similarly believes her sales force can be encouraged. So, too, does the theatrical director believe that actors can be positively focused. Pep-talks and encouragement, whether from someone else or from within ourselves, underscores an innate belief that we have the power to shape our feelings and attitudes. We have the power to choose how we feel about circumstances around us. We can choose to find the best in others rather than their weaknesses. We can choose hope over despair. We can expect victory rather than defeat. We can will ourselves to see think positively and to feel good.
As an example of a positive technique for use in the face of adversity, my wife and I believe that life's experiences hold lessons to be learned. If we get hurt or fail, it is because we have not paid attention and are overlooking something important. Does this mean that some divine plan is in place? Who knows! The importance of the belief is not in its validity (though it may be true) but in its use as a tool to redirect destructive, negative feelings in a positive way. It is useful in that we focus on what is to be learned from a given situation. Suddenly, we are not focused on guilt, revenge, or some other destructive behavior. Instead, we are on a "treasure hunt" looking for hidden meaning and truth. We anticipate gaining insight and greater sensitivity. We look forward to self discovery and to bettering ourselves. The net result is that we rechannel negative feelings into positive, constructive ones. We can look back and see the pain as a learning experience from which we have grown and become better persons.
Regardless of the validity of our premises, the technique has many benefits. First, the technique has an inherent expectancy of recovery. This is hope, a positive feeling. Not only do we have hope of getting beyond difficulties, we also anticipate a better future by learning from our new insights. This anticipation is also positive. Finally, though we must be humble in acknowledging our past failings, we can stop them from haunting us by believing we have grown and become better people through this introspective process. In the end, our positive outlook carries us through the pains and troubles of everyday life.
Other, more powerful techniques may also exist which we can tap into. On the deepest level, joy and fulfillment are just manifestations of energy flowing within us. If we can master this flow, then our sense of well-being becomes independent of our outward experience. We will not need new cars or big houses or lots of money to find euphoria. Elation will be under our individual control, and we can call upon it whenever we wish. We will no longer be victimized by circumstance. We will become masters of our feelings.
I have a friend, Ed, who realized quite a while ago that he could summon feelings of euphoria. While at Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs in Colorado, he stopped at one vista and decided he would summon feelings of beauty. He said to himself, "This is a most beautiful spot." And with his affirmation, pleasant feelings welled up within him. Ed reaffirmed this over and over such that now, every time he is at that spot, the euphoria returns to him. Even if it is cloudy and raining or on the darkest night, the euphoria returns. Through sheer will power, Ed has created a place where he can find beauty no matter what the circumstance.
Attitude is the cornerstone of well-being. If you do not want to find beauty, you will not find it. If you do not want to be happy, you won't be happy. If you constantly deprecate your achievements and drag your worries with you everywhere, you will poison every opportunity for enjoyment and fulfillment. Yet, if you want to find beauty in a trash heap, it will be there. If you want to be happy even as death stalks you, you can be happy. If any of the four methods to achieve happiness is most important, it is this fourth one. Without a positive attitude, without the desire to see beauty and to experience joy, the other techniques either may not function or may be severely dampered. The power of will is an amazing influence upon our emotional state.
As we embark upon "the open road," few of our activities will be soley "relaxation" or "varied stimulation" or "the springboard effect." A quiet hobby like sewing may be very relaxing, but the pattern being sewn creates variety, and the garment created becomes a new and lasting achievement to be savored. A game of basketball is certainly highly competitive and wrought with "the springboard effect," but the game is also highly varied with changing action, crowd reactions, and different plays. Riding a rollercoaster may seem strictly a pleasure of sensation and variety, but it is also relies upon instinct reactions and is pretty brainless allowing us to "turn off the mind." Additionally, it entails a measure of risk which creates a "springboard" euphoria as you survive each drop and turn. And certainly "attitude" is always a part of any and all of the above activities. During our test drive, though I may highlight an activity as exemplifying one method or another for achieving euphoria, please remember that frequently all methods co-participate.
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