Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/634167
52 What is Happiness? The pursuit of happiness is booming these days. Last year, the University of California at Berkeley offered a free online "Science of Happiness" course — more than 50,000 people registered. Huge companies, such as Google and Zappos, are appointing CHOs: chief happiness officers. Countless apps like Happify and Headspace claim to help people achieve greater happiness with the swipe of a finger. It makes sense. Research shows that happier people make better lifestyle choices, translating into a stronger immune system, reduced risk of disease and longer life. But despite strong incentive, happiness remains elusive to some — both in terms of defining and experiencing it. "The one thing we think we know for sure is that people aren't very good at predicting what will make them happy," says Kevin Masters, professor and director of the University of Colorado at Denver's clinical health psychology program and editor-in-chief of Annals of Behavioral Medicine. A lot of us assume that money or stuff will make us happy. We think: "If I only had the new iPhone … " But for most people, material things won't create happiness because of "hedonic adaptation," says Dana Steidtmann, clinical psychologist at the University of Colorado's Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Colorado Depression Center. "It's the idea that over time we readjust to the circumstances of things we buy. We might experience a high when we get it. Then we get used to it and are back where we were before." It's a trap that Denver-area life coach Sarah Shin fell into. Today she exudes positivity and helps her clients live fuller, happier lives. But growing up, Shin's idea of happiness was different. "I used to think that if I had a certain amount of money or a particular job or owned a house, I would be happy." When that didn't work, and those tactics landed her thousands of dollars in debt, she thought paying the debt off would make her happy. "On the day that I made my last payment, I didn't feel any differently at all." Her conclusion? "I realized that I enjoyed the experience of paying it off. That was way more gratifying to me than the end result." Experiences, as opposed to things, aren't as prone to hedonic adaptation, Steidtmann says. But over time, even the memories of that amazing vacation start to fade, and we're pretty much back to square one. So then what? There are ways to boost happiness, such as being grateful and socializing (see sidebar), which is part of the point of the laughter yoga group. Anyone Can Find It with Work Linda Davis, one of the yoga group members, was diagnosed with ALS in 2013. Since then, the disease has robbed the 54-year-old of her mobility, some communication skills and more. But ALS didn't steal her ability to laugh and connect with people, even strangers. After her diagnosis, Davis and her 26-year-old daughter, Kristina, started seeing acupuncturist Lisa Lowe of Arvada in an effort to slow the disease's progression. During one of their sessions, Lowe suggested the two of them join her laughter yoga group. "It took one class for us to become hooked," Kristina says. "It's been a huge help in coping with my mom's diagnosis. It allows the two of us to look at each other when something happens and just start laughing. It helps so much with keeping a positive attitude." In the 1978 groundbreaking study that led to the term hedonic adaptation, it was also noted that there's a flip-side to the theory. Researchers interviewed 22 lottery winners and 29 paraplegics to 52