“Are you a Driver or a victim of Enterprise Growth”

Dr. Frank Njenga19th June 2012 Nairobi

What is the Hedonic Treadmill?

Is better to be rich or to be happy?Why Vision 2030 and quality of

life?

More Is Less

Interviews with 2,00 American managers, revealed that company Presidents earning over $40,000 were more dissatisfied with their rates of pay than supervisors on less than $15,000.

Oliver James

Super Rich

A study of 49 super-rich people from the American Forbes magazine’s ‘top 400 wealthiest people’ found that 37% were less happy than the nationwide average. By contrast, 45% of a non-wealthy comparison group were considerably happier than average.

Oliver James

Prince CharlesThe future King, Charles, has

made no secret of his personal unhappiness, his dissatisfaction with modern life and his aspirations for a better one.

Oliver James

Diana His wife Diana’s depression, bulimia,

unhappy childhood, dissatisfaction with her husband’s ‘cold, uncaring’ personality and messy divorce – including a struggle for control of her sons’ futures – strike such a chord with the many millions of modern women who have also suffered these problems.

Oliver James

Sarah Ferguson Sarah Ferguson, is also emblematic,

but of other features of recent culture including a lifelong struggle to control her weight, a tendency to spend beyond her financial means and the way she responded to a loss of sexual interest in her ex-husband.

Oliver James

Europe BathroomsThe proportion of European homes

with bathrooms zoomed, 1950-81, from an average of 10% in 1950 to 90%, whilst the average number of persons per room fell.

Oliver James

Suicide Rates of suicide have increased since

1950. The average number of people who committed suicide in European nations increased and in the last decade, rates among young men have rocketed (and especially in Britain, where they have trebled since 1970).

Oliver James

Wisdom & Madness Then I applied myself to the

understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.

Ecclesiastes 1: 17 & 18

Anxiety Be self-controlled and alert. Your

enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

1 Peter 5: 8-9

Psychiatrist Some distance from them a large

herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."

He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.

Matthew 8:30 - 32

Depression

Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 2:11

ConclusionEverything is meaninglessPleasures are meaninglessWisdom and folly are meaninglessToil is meaninglessRiches are meaningless

Ecclesiastes

Psychiatric disorder accounts for 5 of 10 leading causes of disabilitySuicide is equal to road accidents,

as a cause of death

If Kenyans are to enter the global economy, they need strong healthy and productive workforce

The link to poverty as

Cause and effectLeads to physical illness including

heart disease Viral infection.

European Commission

Stress at work may lead to physically ill health

Non-work stress can affect work

Human and economic costs are of concern to all

All these costs should be reduced

Emotional Symptoms

Irritability or angry outbursts Feelings of anxiety Feelings of depression Nightmares Insecurity Crying for no reason Irrational fear

Physical symptoms Tense muscles e.g. Backache. Dry mouth Dizzy spells Headaches

Palpitations Abdominal pains

Behavioural Symptoms Increased smoking/drinking Increase or decrease in appetite Increase or decrease in sexual needs Nail biting Hair pulling Social withdrawal Self neglect Reckless driving Non-stop talking Work holism/absenteeism

Consequences - Physical Illness

Tension headaches Migraine Backache Chest pain and air hunger Allergies Colds and coughs Asthma Angina - heart disease High blood pressure

How can you tell what the best

things in life are? They're the things that never

end. For example, when you use your creativity it doesn't get used up. Instead, it grows even stronger and more creative the more you make use of it. Love is the same way. Give your love, and you'll have even more of it.

Who you are is more valuable than what you do. Your worth as a person is not based on your intelligence, bank balances, how hard you work. It is enough to be you.

Give yourself time to change. Forgive yourself for backsliding and making mistakes

Different people have different styles of working. For example, some people need competition to do their best, while others work better at their own pace. Respect your work style and arrange the conditions you need to do well.

Expect a certain amount of tension. Use that tension as energy to get yourself moving.

When you've done something you feel good about, reward yourself with a treat: you deserve it!

Commitment means acting not just when it is convenient or comfortable, but whenever it is necessary.

Commitment means setting priorities and following them without fail.

The foundation of success is built in the moments when no one else is watching.

What you do in those moments, when nothing is expected of you, is an excellent measure of who you really are.

Things will never be perfect. Sometimes they will never even be close. Yet that is no reason to hide away from life, no reason to curse your predicament.

Possible approaches to managing stress Become aware of your stresses and your

emotional and physical reactions Recognize what you can change Reducing the intensity of your emotional

reactions to stress Learn to moderate physical reactions to

stress Build your physical reserves Maintain your emotional reserves

Other tips on stress management

Maintain a regular program of health eating, good health habits and adequate sleep.

Exercise regularly. This promotes physical fitness as well as emotional well-being.

Balance work and play. All work and no play can make you feel stressed. Plan some time for hobbies and recreation. These activities relax your mind and are a good respite from life’s worries.

Help others. We concentrate on ourselves when we’re distressed. Sometimes helping others is the perfect remedy for whatever is troubling us.

Take a shower or bath with warm water. This will soothe and calm your nerves and relax your muscles.

Talk out troubles. With a friend, relative or member of the clergy. Another person can help you see a problem from a different point of view.

Have a good cry. Tears of sadness, joy or grief can help cleanse the body of substances that accumulate under stress and also release a natural pain-relieving substance from the brain.

Laugh a lot. When events seem too overwhelming, keep a sense of humor. Laughter makes our muscles go limp and releases tension. It’s difficult to feel stress in the middle of a belly laugh. Learn to laugh as a relaxation technique.

   

CONCLUSIONHappiness leads to riches.Happiness is not having what you

want but wanting what you have.Do not lose those things money

can’t buy.

Richer people spend more time at work.

Average people spend more time with leisure activities.

Lottery winners no happier than non winners.

At a national level, more wealth does not bring more happiness.

Kingdom of Bhutan measures Gross National Happiness and GDP.

GNH affects National Policy on Tourism and Environment.

GNH measures security, good Governance, social justice, equity

Good health promotes happiness.Happiness promotes good health.Married people happier.Hierarch of needs – Physiological,

safety, Love/belonging, self actualization.

Aristotle.

The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control and outnumbers both of the other classes.

Happiest 4 countries NorwayAustraliaNetherlandsUnited States.

Unhappiest CountriesDRCNigerBurundiMozambiqueChadKenya Number 125/187

Proverbs 30:8First help me never to tell a lie.

Second give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.