Dr K K Aggarwal
Padma Shri and Dr B C Roy National Awardee
President, Heart Care Foundation of India
According to Deepak Chopra Happiness = The Brain’s Set-Point (S) + Conditions of Living (C) + Voluntary Actions or Choices (V).
1. S: The Brain’s Set-Point: Are the pre conditioning of the body and the mind based on the experiences of this life. We are conditioned by our environment, our people but we have the power to change these responses and reset our “set-point.” This can be accomplished through meditation and cognitive therapy. The “Set-Point” has been evaluated as making-up 40% of our ability to be happy.
3. V: Voluntary Choices: include intentional activities and can be of two types, personal action and fulfillment. This makes 40% of our happiness.
Personal actions include daily activities that bring us happiness, such as sex, eating good food etc. The happiness is short lasting.
Fulfillment, however, gets to our core and what drives us as individuals. These choices give meaningful fulfillment and purpose. The example of this long lasting happiness is when you treat adversity as an opportunity. The fastest way to feel happy is to make someone else happy.
(Excerpts of Deepak Chopra’s talk at IHC)
