Can we be too happy?

Can we be too happy?

I asked this question on the closing panel of the Ignite Leadership Conference at St. Mary’s University. It was in response to another panelist lamenting how much Haligonians (and I’d argue, Atlantic Canadians) spend whining about the state of things. In fact, this panelists said, we have much to celebrate.

This is true. One of those things should be our high scores on a slew of happiness rankings. A key indicator behind these happiness indicators is the strength of one’s relationships. Atlantic Canada is well known for strong ties, so it shouldn’t be surprising that we rank particularly high.

But we don’t rank high on a host of other issues that also matter – education, health, innovation, business starts. We’re close to, if not at, the bottom.

Recently Jim Meek wrote a piece in Progress Magazine about the dark side of happiness - being happy may lead to complacency. If one is happy, why change? Why stick your nick out and maybe fail if life is good? As another panelist said yesterday, Halifax seems to have a lot of people devoted to the status quo.

Many of the young leaders going through our programs have tapped into wells of motivation by recognizing how their efforts make a real difference against these challenges. Whether that’s through starting a business, adapting one’s behavior and getting better results, or working with their mentor on a particular challenge, achieving one’s goal brought satisfaction.

This isn’t a post against happiness –I wish everyone supportive families, friends, and community. But we can’t be blind either. When our leaders become more willing and able to do something about the challenges before them, that makes me happy.