Happiness is subversive
I’ve previously mentioned the reboot conference, how good it is and that you should definitely get yourself some tickets to reboot9, which is happening later this week right here in Copenhagen. If you didn’t listen and get yourself a ticket, it’s now too late – the event has sold out.
I’ll be speaking again this year on a theme that is tremendously important to me: Happiness. Not happiness at work, mind you, but happiness in general.
Specifically, I’ll be talking about the fact that:
- Happiness is really, really important. And really, really easy.
- We don’t seem to know much about what makes us happy. Or we don’t act much on that knowledge, anyway.
- Happiness is subversive.
I’m on Thursday at 15:00-15:40. Read more about my presentation here.
Nicole Simon did a pre-reboot interview with me again this year – and we had another great, fun conversation. Visit her blog or click play below to hear the whole thing.
Russell Quinn Said,
May 29, 2007 @ 12:50 pm
Hi there,
I’ve been reading your blog for a while and your career in “being happy” got me thinking.
Can an occupation in promoting an emotion like your own happiness be compared to something like an athlete? and what happens when it’s over?
For example, you can train yourself to be happier and work at improving your own happiness, in the same way as you can train your muscles to be a better runner. You can eventually become known as a “happiness officer” or an “athlete”.
But, in the same way that something unforeseen and out of your control, like a broken leg, can happen end your athletic career, a major trauma could send you into a spiral of depression and end your career in happiness.
I guess my point of this.. is that i was considering these two statements and how the public would react to them:
“I used to be an athlete, but a broken leg meant I had to give it up 5 years ago”, and
“I used to promote happiness, but a period of depression meant i gave it up”
They are both really the same thing after all.
Sorry for going off at a tangent ;)
Ask the CHO: What if you suddenly stopped being happy? Said,
August 9, 2007 @ 9:15 am
[...] Quinn asks a very interesting question in a comment: I’ve been reading your blog for a while and your career in “being happy” got me [...]
Alexander Said,
August 9, 2007 @ 9:16 am
Thanks for a great question Russell. I took a stab at answering it here:
http://positivesharing.com/2007/08/ask-the-cho-what-if-you-suddenly-stopped-being-happy/
Russell Quinn Said,
August 9, 2007 @ 11:48 am
Excellent, and your answer is great… although my name is spelt wrong in the opening sentence :(
Alexander Said,
August 10, 2007 @ 10:12 am
Glad you liked it. And I fixed the spelling (oops).