NY VOTED UNHAPPIEST STATE? SAY IT AIN’T SO!
Ever wonder if you’re the only one out of NYC’s roughly 8.3 million people struggling to find a reason to smile? Preferably a real reason that doesn’t require ingesting something that comes in a can, has its’ own rock and roll jingle, and has been outlawed by the FDC? Well according to a study churned out by two economics professors, you’re really, really not alone. New York has recently been bestowed with the grand honor of being the caboose to a list that rates happiness by state. The study included all 50 of ‘em, plus it threw in the District of Colombia as though it were a state.
According to Professor Andrew J. Oswald and Professor Stephen Wu, New York is the true champion of melancholy matters. In a new study that can be read in entirety online at: http://sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/science.1180606, New York has taken the cake without a shadow of a doubt. You can also read more here – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/nyregion/22nyc.html?partner=rss&emc=rss. We are beyond just being unhappy; we have fallen into a much more ominous existence (and the official title) of the being the unhappiest. We’re still waiting to hear if there’s any kind of prize for being dead last in a race based on remorse, but in the mean time us New Yorkers can take solace in the fact that, while we most definitely are dead-pan, absolutely, back-of-the-line last, misery seems to love company. Number 49 and 50 on the list are the other two legs of the tri-state area: New Jersey and Connecticut, respectively. Whether or not that’s something that should put a grin on our faces is debatable, but the irony of our neighbors being just like us, save maybe a prescription of Zoloft or two, is something to think about.
Now beyond the fact that it’s incredibly alarming that we lost to a “District” where the US Congress lives, it’s also disheartening to be told that we’re not imagining things, that we may really be this bleak. However, any New Yorker will be quick to support the idea that facts aren’t always everything. That in and of itself is a testament to New York and New Yorkers; we all have the potential to accomplish more, to be more. Our state, and state of mind, is in our hands and there are a couple of things we could all take into account next time we’re moping through our day in the most melancholy colony.
1. Look Up
It’ll only take a second and chances are it’ll fill you with some serious child-like wonder you weren’t sure you had. In between getting on and off the subway, in and out of the office, or to and from an apartment, we find time for everything from coffee at $4 a cup to writing e-mails on our phones. Everyone has seen the enraged commuter, distracted student, or stressed out 20-something in their absent commute; most of us know men and women who can rearrange their schedule, buy a plane ticket, or put on mascara before they can get down one cross-town block. But ask yourself, when is the last time you stood and stared and marveled at the awe-inspiring vertical beauties of our city? It’s a quick fix to remind us all we’re capable of something bigger.
2. Be a Tourist
Taking the road less traveled, or (in this case) the one less preferred by HopStop, to ensure you arrive at your destination in the timeliest fashion will remind you there’s an added perk to living in New York besides your job and walk-up in the right neighborhood. Abandon the pride of your encyclopedic subway knowledge for a day and you’ll be sure to stumble into a side of your home you’d left behind for your blackberry. Wander through parks and gardens, go to a museum, “people watch” from the steps of the library on 5th Street, sit on a bench on the pier, or eat a hot dog! Indulge in something the city is famous for while reaping the benefits of restoring your faith in your home. A Saturday “get-lost” wander through any borough will repair any New Yorker’s faith crisis. A day of relaxing amongst the vivid personality that is brimming through this place is all any of us need at times for that pick-me-up.
3. Break the Pattern
Humans, especially “I-wear-black-seven-days-a-week” New Yorkers, are creatures of habit. So craft a new and eco-friendly habit for yourself to add a fresh spark to your rhythm. Learn how to compost, go overboard with your recycling separation, or re-fit your apartment with energy saving bulbs. Fight back against the solitude that can come along with the technology age, and instead make it work for you. Step-by-step directions on all of these simple, economical, and productive ideas are just a Google click away. Or take it more literally and really make the technology work for you by getting crafty with something like this, http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-a-usb-greenhouse. Making a terrarium out of a plastic bottle and a USB cable is just one way we can reach out and use our resources, not only to extend the impact of a green lifestyle, but to help us to reach out and connect to each other. Figure out how to make your MacBook foster a plant’s growth, then teach a friend, a neighbor, or anyone who will listen (Seriously, who doesn’t want a daisy to pop up because their USB is playing Mother Nature).
4. Make the Choice
Our happiness as a whole is undeniably interwoven with all the people that make up this city. That being said, our own choices as individuals set the tone and mood for that weave. We all have the ability to make things better, to improve and progress in any field imaginable. There’s a video someone compiled on YouTube that shows various interviews with the actor Will Smith, discussing his theories on access to greatness. Check it out here if you have a minute, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLN2k0b3g70, because everything you do in your day-to-day routine can and should echo the enlightened respect for human potential put forth in this video. If you want to change something, be it your route to work, your eco-hobbies, your career, or even your relationship with your landlord, it is as simple as believing it is all within reach. Big changes or little decisions, we live in one of the largest, quickest, and most famous metropolises in the world; change starts and ends here daily. If we all commit to believing it’s in our hands and up to us, we will start to see change, for the better, not only in our everyday life, but who knows, maybe we’ll bump ourselves up on the happy list too.
For the record, the #1 slot on the list belongs to Louisiana; the state with the hardship shadow following it’s every move since Hurricane Katrina. The heart of the whole lesson is this: we don’t need to take to the streets begging for New York to be morphed into a commune made out of soy and sunshine, but a widening of what we are willing to embrace as “possible” could help. We all live here because this city has something to offer us. So let it be offered. Slowing down our personal pace, going green in a way that makes us feel good, and remembering to (quite literally) stop and smell the roses simply because we can will encourage all kinds of mood-perking and day-brightening. It’s our life in our city, so let’s believe in it enough to live it.
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