NW administrator examines happiness

Small things equal big happiness, the NW Campus vice president for student developmental services told students Feb. 6.

Joe Rode presented The Science of Happiness workshop in which he reviewed the national best-seller Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert.

How frequently one experiences happiness affects people more than any single event, Rode said.

Most experiences — either good or bad — have a range of about three months before a person adapts and the experience loses its effect on that person’s life, he said. Daily activities that make a person happy have a greater influence on happiness, Rode said.

“Go to Starbucks,” he said. “Take a walk by the lake.”

“Dunkin’ Donuts!” one audience member cried out.

Rode encouraged students to do small things every day to achieve true happiness in their lives.

—Jared Owens