The secret to happiness is keeping busy, research has found.
Keeping the mind occupied with tasks — no matter how meaningless — keeps off negative emotions, the study found.
However, the bad news is that humans are seemingly born to be lazy in order to save energy, according to Professor Christoper Hsee, a behavioral scientist at Chicago University.
In a study, 98 students were asked to complete two surveys. After they had completed the first, they were made to wait 15 minutes to receive the next one. They were given a choice of either handing in the first survey nearby or at a more distant location they had to walk to. Whichever option they chose, they received a chocolate bar. It turned out that approximately two-thirds (68 students) chose the lazy option. Those who had taken the walk reported feeling happier than those who had stayed put.
Prof. Hsee concluded that keeping busy helped keep people happy. He said the findings, reported in the journal Psychological Science, had policy implications.
“Governments may increase the happiness of idle citizens by having them build bridges that are actually useless,” he proposed.
At the individual level, he advised, “Get up and do something. Anything. Even if there really is no point to what you are doing, you will feel better for it.” He added, “Incidentally, thinking deeply or engaging in self-reflection counts as keeping busy, too.”
“You do not need to be running around. You just need to be engaged, either physically or mentally.”
8. Keeping busy can make people happy because ______.
A.it can help people get rid of laziness | B.it can make people sleep better |
C.it can help get rid of negative emotions | D.it can give people a sense of achievement |
9. What can we infer from the passage?
A.Everybody is born to be happy. |
B.Only by keeping working all the time can you gain happiness. |
C.Prof. Hsee’s findings were reported in Psychological Science. |
D.Keeping busy goes against human nature. |
10. What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A.To explain what happiness is. | B.To advise people not to sit around. |
C.To advise people to do what they like to. | D.To show people how to take life correctly. |