The Emotional Life: Rethinking Happiness

I came across a show on PBS the other day called The Emotional Life: Rethinking Happiness. Right after switching to it, the researcher who was hosting the show said the following quote that grabbed my attention
pretty fast.

Human beings have a talent for adapting. A talent for finding happiness were we least expect it. But if we can adapt to a life time in a wheel chair or a decade in prison, then why can't we adapt to the ordinary misfortunes of every day life? The answer is that adaptation is something the mind does when there is nothing else it can do. We adapt to misfortunes when we know we can't change them. But when we stand a fighting chance, we fight. And that's why we struggle so much with temporary misfortunes.

I have some thoughts about this. There is definitely a reason why it grabbed my attention enough to save the program, transcribe the quote, then type it out to blog about it. But before I share, I would like some additional perspectives.

Do you agree? Is there more to adapting (and possibly acceptance) than just the brains subconcious decision of possible change? If you would, please share your response in the comment section or blog about it and leave a link to your post. In a few days I'd like to come back to this topic and share what I've been hashing out in my brain.



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