I recently read this interview with scientist Daniel Gilbert about happiness. Here is a key quote from the transcript:
"I think of happiness as a kind of fitness-o-meter. It's the way the organism is constantly updated about whether its behavior is in support of, or opposition to, its own evolutionary fitness."
Note that he is referring to evolutionary fitness here in terms of natural selection (surviving and reproducing), not just physical fitness. But I believe this is also a good framework for integrating physical fitness within a person's lifestyle.
In other words, does your workout program contribute to your happiness? If a program leaves a person flat and tired, then in the long-run this cannot be beneficial to the organism. Or if a program significantly interferes with a person's social life, then this will likely lower a person's evolutionary fitness as well.
Improving one's personal appearance (losing fat and gaining muscle) can improve his or her level of evolutionary fitness. So can training to improve athletic performance. But appearance and physical prowess are only part of the equation. The question is then how to best utilize time to produce the highest level of evolutionary fitness. But nature has already provided everyone with the tool for this: happiness levels.
Rather than getting too bogged down about physical plans and goals, it may be better to just follow your instincts and maximize happiness. For example, let's say a person is tired but has a workout scheduled. What would be the better choice: a) forcing a workout or b) skipping it and doing something else with the time, like catching a movie with a significant other?
In evolutionary terms, it's a clear no-brainer: time spent with a mate far outweighs the small benefit from a single gym workout. And if happiness really is a fitness-o-meter, than there is no need to do any mental calculus and figure out the costs and benefits of the different paths. You just do what makes you happy.
This does not mean a person shouldn't or won't workout if they follow the happiness path. Physical movement and physical challenges can boost happiness and improve evolutionary fitness. But perhaps everything should be done within the framework of maximizing happiness as the ultimate goal.
I recently read this interview with scientist Daniel Gilbert about happiness. Here is a key quote from the transcript:
"I think of happiness as a kind of fitness-o-meter. It's the way the organism is constantly updated about whether its behavior is in support of, or opposition to, its own evolutionary fitness."
Note that he is referring to evolutionary fitness here in terms of natural selection (surviving and reproducing), not just physical fitness. But I believe this is also a good framework for integrating physical fitness within a person's lifestyle.
In other words, does your workout program contribute to your happiness? If a program leaves a person flat and tired, then in the long-run this cannot be beneficial to the organism. Or if a program significantly interferes with a person's social life, then this will likely lower a person's evolutionary fitness as well.
Improving one's personal appearance (losing fat and gaining muscle) can improve his or her level of evolutionary fitness. So can training to improve athletic performance. But appearance and physical prowess are only part of the equation. The question is then how to best utilize time to produce the highest level of evolutionary fitness. But nature has already provided everyone with the tool for this: happiness levels.
Rather than getting too bogged down about physical plans and goals, it may be better to just follow your instincts and maximize happiness. For example, let's say a person is tired but has a workout scheduled. What would be the better choice: a) forcing a workout or b) skipping it and doing something else with the time, like catching a movie with a significant other?
In evolutionary terms, it's a clear no-brainer: time spent with a mate far outweighs the small benefit from a single gym workout. And if happiness really is a fitness-o-meter, than there is no need to do any mental calculus and figure out the costs and benefits of the different paths. You just do what makes you happy.
This does not mean a person shouldn't or won't workout if they follow the happiness path. Physical movement and physical challenges can boost happiness and improve evolutionary fitness. But perhaps everything should be done within the framework of maximizing happiness as the ultimate goal.