Some Happy Scribbles…

“It’s amazing how much happier this good weather makes me feel,” Jim said while getting ready to leave for work yesterday morning.

I smiled and agreed. We have had a stretch of glorious spring weather: the grass is emerald green, and the trees and flowers have burst into bloom. Everyone is talking about how easy it is to feel good now that winter is over.

Maybe nice weather is the key to happiness; I’ve been thinking. But then I remember those famous studies that show that Scandinavians are consistently the happiest people in the world. Their weather is mostly terrible, so how can that be?

On top of that, I grew up in Brisbane, a place that never gets cold and is famous for its proximity to stunning beaches; but I hated those sticky humid summers and vastly preferred the mild, blue-sky winters.

And then again, the 10 million Americans who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder definitely feel blue in the winter.

I decided to find out how much impact weather has on our happiness. I wanted to know: is a certain temperature the key to feeling good, or is it spring specifically and the relief that another long, cold, dark winter is over?

After several hours spent very scientifically researching (= Googling) these questions, I turned up some answers that surprised me!

The first surprise: we mistakenly think the weather has a more significant effect on our mood than it does. Arthur Brooks, in this piece in The Atlantic…