beijing: February 2010 Archives
And the month of February is upon us. This to me of course means two very important things:
1. My birthday (aka birthweek or birthmonth; this year spanning from Jan 27 to Feb 10)
2. Chinese New Year (aka Spring Festival; this year beginning Feb 14).
Not only because today is my birthday but also because this is MY blog, for this post I am going to talk all about ME! (some of you are saying: "what's new?" right?)
I have spent a decade now as an independent adult. Most of this entails making bad decisions and big mistakes. But through all of that I've seemed to become more and more satisfied, happy, at peace, and closer to my goal of being a wise old woman who makes the world a better place. Is it just me or do other people not have these sort of goals? Am I in a minority of people who chose to assess their life in the amount of time I can laugh with someone in a day? Or am I just crazy? A crazy wise old happy woman is a fine goal to have.
I was lying in bed last night thinking about this last decade of my life. I was wondering how one sums up a life; a decade; a year. But more importantly I was curious to know how other people do this. As a scientist I automatically want to break it down into parts - Is life to be qualitatively or quantitatively assessed? How should it be analyzed? It seems to me like many people determine 'success' and quality of life based on quantitative measurements: how much money they have accrued; how many friends they have; how many places they've been to visit; how many shoes they have; their education; their job's status; how much they weight, etc. I think this is both ridiculous and useless as it neither reflects a person's success nor happiness.
So then, if I vehemently disagree with this method of judgment, how then do I think one can assess these things? How can we qualitatively assess a year; a decade; a life? I read an article a while ago about the "World's Happiest People". Along with being a very healthy person, I'd have to say a very prominent focus I have for my life is to be one of these sickeningly happy people. The thing is, everyone attains happiness in a different way, right? Furthermore, how can it really be qualitatively analyzed? Like, how do I even know if I am happy or not?
Well, some hot shots are already on it. Below, the happiest countries are in blue, the least happy are in red.
The first place I found reports on happiness indices was of course wikipedia GNH
GNH (gross national happiness) is ideal in my opinion because it is more qualitative.
"GNH refers to the concept of a measurement of well-being and happiness. It is not measured directly, but only the factors which are believed to lead to it. There is no exact quantitative definition of GNH, but elements that contribute to GNH are subject to quantitative measurement. Low rates of infant mortality, for instance, correlate positively with subjective expressions of well-being or happiness within a country. (This makes sense; it is no large leap to assume that premature death causes sorrow.) The practice of social science has long been directed toward transforming subjective expression of large numbers of people into meaningful quantitative data; there is no major difference between asking people "how confident are you in the economy?" and "how satisfied are you with your job?"
The GNH guys have come up with a way to measure happiness. "GNH can be measured using the day reconstruction method, which consists in recollecting memories of the previous working day by writing a short diary. A second-generation GNH concept, treating happiness as a socioeconomic development metric, was proposed in 2006 by Med Jones, the President of International Institute of Management. The metric measures socioeconomic development by tracking 7 development area including the nation's mental and emotional health. GNH value is proposed to be an index function of the total average per capita of the following measures:
1. Economic Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of economic metrics such as consumer debt, average income to consumer price index ratio and income distribution
2. Environmental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of environmental metrics such as pollution, noise and traffic
3. Physical Wellness: Indicated via statistical measurement of physical health metrics such as severe illnesses
4. Mental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of mental health metrics such as usage of antidepressants and rise or decline of psychotherapy patients
5. Workplace Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of labor metrics such as jobless claims, job change, workplace complaints and lawsuits
6. Social Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of social metrics such as discrimination, safety, divorce rates, complaints of domestic conflicts and family lawsuits, public lawsuits, crime rates
7. Political Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of political metrics such as the quality of local democracy, individual freedom, and foreign conflicts.
And just when I started thinking facebook is my friend again, I came
across this article on how facebook uses our information to chart a
country's happiness. This article only focused on the US and along with the graph above summarized facebook's findings by
saying, "Despite a deepening recession and prolonged wars, Americans
seemed to be happier in 2009 than 2008."
This to me is slightly frightening but mostly pure entertainment....I mean, one of your happiest days of the year was when pirates were killed? Gotta love America.
Ok, so we are getting somewhere here. A way to analyze our success in life which to me means our happiness. The term 'well-being' is also thrown out there in the literature regarding happiness and success.
Check out this Wired article on the true measure of success or The New York time's Blog
Then there is this map (similar to the one above) I stumbled upon on each country's average well beings.
"The first World Map of Happiness has been published by scholars from the University of Leicester. The map is a global projection of subjective well-being (SWB), taken from a variety of recent sources, and compared with related data from UNESCO, the UN and even the CIA."
Last and certainly not least (I've been building up to this...hope you are not bored yet) the most brilliant of all:
The World's Data Base for Happiness From which one can learn that "Happiness is defined as the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of his life-as-a-whole favorably. Within this concept two 'components' of happiness are distinguished: hedonic level of affect (the degree to which pleasant affect dominates) and contentment (perceived realization of wants). These components represent respectively 'affective' and 'cognitive' appraisals of life and are seen to figure as subtotals in the overall evaluation of life, called overall happiness."
The most interesting part of this site to me is on a global level looking at the maps
I know, I am a total nerd. Hey, it makes me happy!
Ok, so there are brilliant minds out there who've figured out how to measure and quantify our happiness as nations and the like. But then I wonder if happiness is also linked to brain chemicals; foods/drinks; environment and other such things slightly out of our control. I feel a bit guilty (I learned at a very young age that most people don't like happy people) when I say this but I kinda feel like I am just born to be happy. Or born to see the glass half full. Is it just easier for me than it is for other people? a ted talk if you are super-bored by now
Which brings me to my second point of today: Chinese New Year.
But more importantly, how Chinese New Year relates to ME....
I am a monkey based on the Chinese zodiac. It is frightening how bang-on a history of 5,000 years of observation can be....There isn't a single word I would disagree with in the information below. And if you disagree with some of it, well, frankly, you don't know me well.
Here are Jasmine and I being monkeys.
The 7 words used to describe Monkeys would all be in the 10 I would use to describe myself:
Imaginative, responsible, humorous, witty, curious, clever, sneaky
(If you are curious, I personally would top off the aforementioned 10 with something like: goofy, impatient, awkward)
"Monkeys can run circles around other people with ease. They are curious and clever people who catch on quickly to most anything. Monkey people generally can accomplish any given task. They appreciate difficult or challenging work as it stimulates them and makes them think. Monkeys are fun-loving people who really enjoy a good time with friends, family or anyone else for that matter. They love practical jokes and like to play tricks on colleagues and friends alike. Monkeys tend to stir up trouble simply out of boredom, which can end up being more hurtful than they intended. Often, when this causes trouble, they expect others to understand it was all a joke and to deal with the consequences on their own. The Chinese say Monkey's are just downright curious. Although gifted with a strong intellect, creativity and intuition are nor their fortes. They can't put themselves in your shoes even if they try and will become easily distracted or confused."
HEALTH
Monkeys believe being sick is a waste of time. They don't want to spend their days in bed. They want to experiencing the flavors of life. Usually, Monkeys are very healthy creatures, partly due to their active lifestyles. If they do experience illness, it is usually of the nervous or circulatory system.
AT HOME WITH THE MONKEY
Most Monkeys enjoy the activity offered by the city life rather than the quiet and tranquility offered in a more rural lifestyle. They crave being in the middle of things, enjoying life from a spectator's view. They also enjoy people-watching and can amuse themselves for hours at a time by just watching the people walk by. They need a view, and their homes are usually filled with windows and picturesque drawings.
THE MONKEY AT WORK
A Monkey's good memory and his ability to adapt are two of his most prized possessions. He is intelligent and stoic, able to pick new trades up quickly and easily. Monkeys are also able to do all the work in half the time it takes someone else, but will charge you double what someone else would charge. As such, Monkeys generally take occupations in the world of finance, such as banking, stock exchange or accounting.
MONEY AND THE MONKEY
Monkeys are just as good as spending money as they are at making it. They can't really save it because it burns a hole in their pockets. Occasionally though, Monkeys should put a little away today for an emergency tomorrow.
More specifically, I am a "Metal Monkey" THE METAL MONKEY 1920 AND 1980
Persuasive and passionate, this Monkey is a warm person. She is successful due to her innate determination and ambitious nature. In love these Monkeys are just and loyal as well as loving and affectionate.
Lastly, in the process of reading about my mokeyness I found what Monkey's dislike and completely embarrassed myself by laughing out loud in the very silent coffee shop where I am currently writing... why laugh, you ask? This could not be more true!!!
Monkeys Dislike: Being told to be quiet, not being the most popular, people who don't like their jokes.
I am pretty sure these three things in combination have been the cause of almost every one of my prior work or school conflicts - as well as past relationships ending! If only we had all known.......
1. My birthday (aka birthweek or birthmonth; this year spanning from Jan 27 to Feb 10)
2. Chinese New Year (aka Spring Festival; this year beginning Feb 14).
Not only because today is my birthday but also because this is MY blog, for this post I am going to talk all about ME! (some of you are saying: "what's new?" right?)
I have spent a decade now as an independent adult. Most of this entails making bad decisions and big mistakes. But through all of that I've seemed to become more and more satisfied, happy, at peace, and closer to my goal of being a wise old woman who makes the world a better place. Is it just me or do other people not have these sort of goals? Am I in a minority of people who chose to assess their life in the amount of time I can laugh with someone in a day? Or am I just crazy? A crazy wise old happy woman is a fine goal to have.
I was lying in bed last night thinking about this last decade of my life. I was wondering how one sums up a life; a decade; a year. But more importantly I was curious to know how other people do this. As a scientist I automatically want to break it down into parts - Is life to be qualitatively or quantitatively assessed? How should it be analyzed? It seems to me like many people determine 'success' and quality of life based on quantitative measurements: how much money they have accrued; how many friends they have; how many places they've been to visit; how many shoes they have; their education; their job's status; how much they weight, etc. I think this is both ridiculous and useless as it neither reflects a person's success nor happiness.
So then, if I vehemently disagree with this method of judgment, how then do I think one can assess these things? How can we qualitatively assess a year; a decade; a life? I read an article a while ago about the "World's Happiest People". Along with being a very healthy person, I'd have to say a very prominent focus I have for my life is to be one of these sickeningly happy people. The thing is, everyone attains happiness in a different way, right? Furthermore, how can it really be qualitatively analyzed? Like, how do I even know if I am happy or not?
Well, some hot shots are already on it. Below, the happiest countries are in blue, the least happy are in red.
The first place I found reports on happiness indices was of course wikipedia GNH
GNH (gross national happiness) is ideal in my opinion because it is more qualitative.
"GNH refers to the concept of a measurement of well-being and happiness. It is not measured directly, but only the factors which are believed to lead to it. There is no exact quantitative definition of GNH, but elements that contribute to GNH are subject to quantitative measurement. Low rates of infant mortality, for instance, correlate positively with subjective expressions of well-being or happiness within a country. (This makes sense; it is no large leap to assume that premature death causes sorrow.) The practice of social science has long been directed toward transforming subjective expression of large numbers of people into meaningful quantitative data; there is no major difference between asking people "how confident are you in the economy?" and "how satisfied are you with your job?"
The GNH guys have come up with a way to measure happiness. "GNH can be measured using the day reconstruction method, which consists in recollecting memories of the previous working day by writing a short diary. A second-generation GNH concept, treating happiness as a socioeconomic development metric, was proposed in 2006 by Med Jones, the President of International Institute of Management. The metric measures socioeconomic development by tracking 7 development area including the nation's mental and emotional health. GNH value is proposed to be an index function of the total average per capita of the following measures:
1. Economic Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of economic metrics such as consumer debt, average income to consumer price index ratio and income distribution
2. Environmental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of environmental metrics such as pollution, noise and traffic
3. Physical Wellness: Indicated via statistical measurement of physical health metrics such as severe illnesses
4. Mental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of mental health metrics such as usage of antidepressants and rise or decline of psychotherapy patients
5. Workplace Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of labor metrics such as jobless claims, job change, workplace complaints and lawsuits
6. Social Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of social metrics such as discrimination, safety, divorce rates, complaints of domestic conflicts and family lawsuits, public lawsuits, crime rates
7. Political Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of political metrics such as the quality of local democracy, individual freedom, and foreign conflicts.
And just when I started thinking facebook is my friend again, I came
across this article on how facebook uses our information to chart a
country's happiness. This article only focused on the US and along with the graph above summarized facebook's findings by
saying, "Despite a deepening recession and prolonged wars, Americans
seemed to be happier in 2009 than 2008." This to me is slightly frightening but mostly pure entertainment....I mean, one of your happiest days of the year was when pirates were killed? Gotta love America.
Ok, so we are getting somewhere here. A way to analyze our success in life which to me means our happiness. The term 'well-being' is also thrown out there in the literature regarding happiness and success.
Check out this Wired article on the true measure of success or The New York time's Blog
Then there is this map (similar to the one above) I stumbled upon on each country's average well beings.
"The first World Map of Happiness has been published by scholars from the University of Leicester. The map is a global projection of subjective well-being (SWB), taken from a variety of recent sources, and compared with related data from UNESCO, the UN and even the CIA."
Last and certainly not least (I've been building up to this...hope you are not bored yet) the most brilliant of all:
The World's Data Base for Happiness From which one can learn that "Happiness is defined as the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of his life-as-a-whole favorably. Within this concept two 'components' of happiness are distinguished: hedonic level of affect (the degree to which pleasant affect dominates) and contentment (perceived realization of wants). These components represent respectively 'affective' and 'cognitive' appraisals of life and are seen to figure as subtotals in the overall evaluation of life, called overall happiness."
The most interesting part of this site to me is on a global level looking at the maps
I know, I am a total nerd. Hey, it makes me happy!
Ok, so there are brilliant minds out there who've figured out how to measure and quantify our happiness as nations and the like. But then I wonder if happiness is also linked to brain chemicals; foods/drinks; environment and other such things slightly out of our control. I feel a bit guilty (I learned at a very young age that most people don't like happy people) when I say this but I kinda feel like I am just born to be happy. Or born to see the glass half full. Is it just easier for me than it is for other people? a ted talk if you are super-bored by now
Which brings me to my second point of today: Chinese New Year.
But more importantly, how Chinese New Year relates to ME....
I am a monkey based on the Chinese zodiac. It is frightening how bang-on a history of 5,000 years of observation can be....There isn't a single word I would disagree with in the information below. And if you disagree with some of it, well, frankly, you don't know me well.
Here are Jasmine and I being monkeys.
The 7 words used to describe Monkeys would all be in the 10 I would use to describe myself: Imaginative, responsible, humorous, witty, curious, clever, sneaky
(If you are curious, I personally would top off the aforementioned 10 with something like: goofy, impatient, awkward)
"Monkeys can run circles around other people with ease. They are curious and clever people who catch on quickly to most anything. Monkey people generally can accomplish any given task. They appreciate difficult or challenging work as it stimulates them and makes them think. Monkeys are fun-loving people who really enjoy a good time with friends, family or anyone else for that matter. They love practical jokes and like to play tricks on colleagues and friends alike. Monkeys tend to stir up trouble simply out of boredom, which can end up being more hurtful than they intended. Often, when this causes trouble, they expect others to understand it was all a joke and to deal with the consequences on their own. The Chinese say Monkey's are just downright curious. Although gifted with a strong intellect, creativity and intuition are nor their fortes. They can't put themselves in your shoes even if they try and will become easily distracted or confused."
HEALTH
Monkeys believe being sick is a waste of time. They don't want to spend their days in bed. They want to experiencing the flavors of life. Usually, Monkeys are very healthy creatures, partly due to their active lifestyles. If they do experience illness, it is usually of the nervous or circulatory system.
AT HOME WITH THE MONKEY
Most Monkeys enjoy the activity offered by the city life rather than the quiet and tranquility offered in a more rural lifestyle. They crave being in the middle of things, enjoying life from a spectator's view. They also enjoy people-watching and can amuse themselves for hours at a time by just watching the people walk by. They need a view, and their homes are usually filled with windows and picturesque drawings.
THE MONKEY AT WORK
A Monkey's good memory and his ability to adapt are two of his most prized possessions. He is intelligent and stoic, able to pick new trades up quickly and easily. Monkeys are also able to do all the work in half the time it takes someone else, but will charge you double what someone else would charge. As such, Monkeys generally take occupations in the world of finance, such as banking, stock exchange or accounting.
MONEY AND THE MONKEY
Monkeys are just as good as spending money as they are at making it. They can't really save it because it burns a hole in their pockets. Occasionally though, Monkeys should put a little away today for an emergency tomorrow.
More specifically, I am a "Metal Monkey" THE METAL MONKEY 1920 AND 1980
Persuasive and passionate, this Monkey is a warm person. She is successful due to her innate determination and ambitious nature. In love these Monkeys are just and loyal as well as loving and affectionate.
Lastly, in the process of reading about my mokeyness I found what Monkey's dislike and completely embarrassed myself by laughing out loud in the very silent coffee shop where I am currently writing... why laugh, you ask? This could not be more true!!!
Monkeys Dislike: Being told to be quiet, not being the most popular, people who don't like their jokes.
I am pretty sure these three things in combination have been the cause of almost every one of my prior work or school conflicts - as well as past relationships ending! If only we had all known.......
