How your perception of time affects your happiness
We published “Slow Down” a few weeks ago about how “hurry up” affects everyone. Now more research has shown that hurrying makes you less happy.
According to University of Maryland sociologist John Robinson, the people who report being the happiest, about 8 to 12 percent of Americans, “say they almost never feel rushed, and they do not have time on their hands they don’t know what to do with.”
Time has a huge impact on our happiness—how we view our time, that is. Are you always rushing, or do you seldom feel rushed? How often do you have “free” time, that you don’t know what to do with?
The results from the happiest people’s statements suggest that planning your time well makes you happiest. “I think it has a lot to do with control,” Robinson says. “If you don’t feel rushed, that means you’re feeling some control. If you always feel rushed, generally I think that says that there’s outside pressures that are impinging on how you feel.”
“So the takeaway line is: ‘Don’t hurry, be happy.'”
Quotes from wamu.org