The Pursuit of Happiness: Bed-Making, Ironing, or Weeding

A little comparative analysis on how to be happy ...

Make the bed and sing
Gretchen Rubin’s bestselling The
Happiness Project chronicles her pursuit of certain philosophical, psychological
and organizational precepts in order to be happier, Meghan Daum writes for the
Los Angeles Times. “Chief among her findings: Make your bed every morning.

There may be some truth to this. Making the bed gives you some since of order and accomplishment both key elements to what the Greeks called eudamonia. It gives a little control over a chaotic world. Of course, messing the bed up again creates the reminder that all problems inevitably return, but its important not to think about things too much.

Possible Equation:

Easily Manageable Chore + (resultant sense of) Accomplishment + (resultant sense of) Control + (resultant sense of predictability derived) Peace from an established Daily Routine minus - Discomfort (resulting from time taken away from other more pressing tasks) equals = Happiness

But which Easily Manageable Chore works best? A case for weeding by American philosopher Jack Handy ...

If you ever go temporarily insane, don't shoot somebody, like a
lot of people do. Instead, try to get some weeding done, because you'd really be surprised.

Originally, a joke, but, still, not bad advice. Plus, you get the natural sunlight which is boost to happiness. And, you get your hands in the dirt like our evolutionary forefathers which is important if the new evoluionary exercise and healthy living programmes - which prescribe us to live like its 100,000 years ago on the Sahara - turn out to be true.

Personally, a favorite is ironing. It fulfills all the criteria of the above equation. Further, your clothes represent your most public face, so you reap the social rewards of people recognizing the fruits of your labor. The same can't be said for gardens or beds. This social recognition may, in turn, result in getting a job or getting action, which in turn, increases happiness. As a chore, it has many multi-generative facets for producing happiness indeed.

Hence, the Importance of Ironing.