a little silver lining

Staying Busy Translates To Being Happy

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:57:28 -0400

psychotherapy:

An interesting new study suggests people who are extremely active are happier than people who sit idle.

The finding may explain why people confess to being so incredibly busy in today’s society.

“The general phenomenon I’m interested in is why people are so busy doing what they are doing in modern society,” says Christopher K. Hsee, of the University of Chicago. He co-wrote the study with Adelle X. Yang, also of the University of Chicago, and Liangyan Wang, of Shanghai Jiaotong University.

“People are running around, working hard, way beyond the basic level.”

Sure, there are reasons, like making a living, earning money, accruing fame, helping others, and so on. But, Hsee says, “I think there’s something deeper: We have excessive energy and we want to avoid idleness.”

For the study, volunteers completed a survey, then had to wait 15 minutes before the next survey would be ready. They could drop off the completed survey at a nearby location and wait out the remaining time or drop it off at a location farther away, where walking back and forth would keep them busy for the 15 minutes.

Either way, they would receive a candy when they handed in their survey. Volunteers who chose to stay busy by going to the faraway location were found to be happier than those who chose to be idle.

Not everyone chose to go to the faraway location. If the candies offered at the two locations were the same, the subjects were more likely to choose to stay idle. But if the candies offered at the two locations were different, they were more likely to choose the far location—because they could make up a justification for the trip, Hsee and his colleagues say.

The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Hsee thinks it may be possible to use this principle—people like being busy, and they like being able to justify being busy—to benefit society.

“If we can devise a mechanism for idle people to engage in activity that is at least not harmful, I think it is better than destructive busyness,” he says.

Hsee himself has been known to give a research assistant a useless task when he doesn’t have anything for them to do, so he isn’t sitting around the office getting bored and depressed.

“I know this is not particularly ethical, but he is happy,” says Hsee.

Source: Association for Psychological Science

Staying Busy Translates To Being Happy

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:57:22 -0400

Staying Busy Translates To Being Happy:

chriszee:

psychotherapy:

An interesting new study suggests people who are extremely active are happier than people who sit idle.

The finding may explain why people confess to being so incredibly busy in today’s society.

“The general phenomenon I’m interested in is why people are so busy doing what they are doing in modern society,” says Christopher K. Hsee, of the University of Chicago. He co-wrote the study with Adelle X. Yang, also of the University of Chicago, and Liangyan Wang, of Shanghai Jiaotong University.

“People are running around, working hard, way beyond the basic level.”

Sure, there are reasons, like making a living, earning money, accruing fame, helping others, and so on. But, Hsee says, “I think there’s something deeper: We have excessive energy and we want to avoid idleness.”

For the study, volunteers completed a survey, then had to wait 15 minutes before the next survey would be ready. They could drop off the completed survey at a nearby location and wait out the remaining time or drop it off at a location farther away, where walking back and forth would keep them busy for the 15 minutes.

Either way, they would receive a candy when they handed in their survey. Volunteers who chose to stay busy by going to the faraway location were found to be happier than those who chose to be idle.

Not everyone chose to go to the faraway location. If the candies offered at the two locations were the same, the subjects were more likely to choose to stay idle. But if the candies offered at the two locations were different, they were more likely to choose the far location—because they could make up a justification for the trip, Hsee and his colleagues say.

The research is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Hsee thinks it may be possible to use this principle—people like being busy, and they like being able to justify being busy—to benefit society.

“If we can devise a mechanism for idle people to engage in activity that is at least not harmful, I think it is better than destructive busyness,” he says.

Hsee himself has been known to give a research assistant a useless task when he doesn’t have anything for them to do, so he isn’t sitting around the office getting bored and depressed.

“I know this is not particularly ethical, but he is happy,” says Hsee.

Source: Association for Psychological Science

NEW OBSESSION.

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:52:05 -0400

NEW OBSESSION.

http://blog.pilobolus.org/2010/07/29/little-inspirations-der-lauf-der-dinge/

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:36:36 -0400

http://blog.pilobolus.org/2010/07/29/little-inspirations-der-lauf-der-dinge/

yessss - new ATL Ballet space!

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:32:47 -0400

yessss - new ATL Ballet space!

thedailywhat: Well This Is Something You Don’t See Every Day of...

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:58:07 -0400

thedailywhat:

Well This Is Something You Don’t See Every Day of the Day: A zebra / donkey cross — or “zedonk,” if you wanna get all technical — was recently welcomed into eminently adorable life at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in Lumpkin County, Ga.

As they say in the parlance of our times: WANT.

[doree.]

(via allcreatures)

This is the kind of thing we have in Georgia. Zedonks, ftw.

chriszee: Eric Holljes :: Cooler Than Me (Stripped) This cover...

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:54:33 -0400

chriszee:

Eric Holljes :: Cooler Than Me (Stripped)

This cover is ADDICTIVE. I dare you to listen just once.

Eric actually worked on Posner’s first mix tape but left the Brain Trust to pursue other projects. If you love his vibe, check out his website or MySpace. I figure if I’m giving Edie my love, might as well send it to an equally talented and sweet Dukie :)

(download)

Love seeing fellow dukies go on to do amazing things!!!

001. a photo of you & your best female friend although i...

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:51:35 -0400

001. a photo of you & your best female friend

although i have lots of “best” friends… this one’s hard to beat. i’m so blessed to have her in my life!!!

this picture was from a picnic we had in the duke gardens when she came up to visit me for a weekend :)

a little photo-blog project :)

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:46:50 -0400

so i stumbled upon this and thought it would be fun to do, since i’m still pretty new to this whole blogging/tumblr deal…

you post a picture for each day for 24 days straight…

DAY;
001. a photo of you & your best female friend
002. a photo of you & your best male friend
003. a photo of you & a friend in summer
004. a photo of something that once meant a lot to you
005. a photo of you & someone you miss
006. a photo of you & someone you’ve become much closer with
007. an old photo of you looking very different
008. a photo of you on one of your favourite hols
009. a photo of you & the one person you can always rely on
010. a photo of you & someone you don’t want to drift away from
011. a photo of you & someone that captures your personalities perfectly
012. a photo of you being silly
013. a photo of you & a sibling
014. a photo of you & your friendship group
015. a photo of you & someone you never speak to anymore
016. a photo of you & your old friendship group
017. a photo which means a lot to you
018. a photo of you in fancy dress
019. a photo of you at school
020. a photo of you at a special event
021. a photo of yourself
022. a photo of you & your pet
023. a photo of you that explains you the best
024. a photo you love so much you could get it framed

so here we go.. :)

My bike, basket, panniers and bell are all in!!!! :)))) Yea, I...

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 01:25:08 -0400

My bike, basket, panniers and bell are all in!!!! :))))

Yea, I know.. I’m a dork.

The surprise party for Erik’s mom was a huge success!!!...

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:47:18 -0400

The surprise party for Erik’s mom was a huge success!!! And complete with yet another amazing Lauren Lonergan cake creation!!! :)

Sooo happy to be home for the summer :)

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:48:35 -0400

Sooo happy to be home for the summer :)

Werewolf cupcakes.. Lauren Lonergan is seriously amazing. I had...

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:04:23 -0400

Werewolf cupcakes.. Lauren Lonergan is seriously amazing. I had the BEST group of HS friends in the world.

When I make a big purchase, it usually means it’s...

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:22:37 -0400

Schwinn cruiser!

Double Pannier

When I make a big purchase, it usually means it’s something I’ve been staring at, deliberating over (A week goes by… do I still want it? A month goes by…still?), and price watching for a long time… Well I’ve had my eye on a Schwinn cruiser for a long time, and now that I’m living on Central next year I feel like I’ll actually get enough use out of it to make it worthwhile… so I finally ordered this beauty!!! Now I’m just anxiously waiting for it to get here so I can break it in before school starts!

I also found this adorable double pannier… Finding a pannier that I liked was actually pretty challenging. More of the ones sold in the US have more of a heavy-utility look to them. This one is actually sold in the UK, but I got it online… This will be perfect for storing textbooks and such.

And of course, a bike needs a basket. :)

Now if everything would just get here faster…

enjoyed HEARTWORK? get ready… show #2 is in the works and...

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:39:10 -0400

enjoyed HEARTWORK? get ready… show #2 is in the works and coming your way this spring… :)

"If God brings you into it, He will be there to get you through it."

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 08:34:26 -0400

“If God brings you into it, He will be there to get you through it.”

- —Ashley Howard’s facebook page

Ashley, we miss you sweet girl…but your unfaltering generosity, love, and faith were, and will continue to be, an inspiration to us all. <3