Todayonline has a great article on various countries’ efforts in teaching kids how to be more resilient, to understand their emotions, and to behave in a sportsmanlike manner. Unfortunately, the article ends with with a ridiculous quote:

…we’re definitely making progress in teaching our kids to be happy, but it’s like exercise — you must see it through for it to make a difference.

~Singapore Temasek Polytechnic lecturer Marion Neubronner

Gimme a break. Why does everything have to be about happiness? Should we expect to be happy happy all the time?

My personal philosophy doesn’t focus on happiness. I concentrate on striving for excellence and perseverance. Some of the time, achieving a goal brings a measure of happiness but more often, it brings me satisfaction. I think the word “satisfaction” is more precise and describes how I feel better than the blanket catchword “happiness.”

cal ripken jr get in the gameSpeaking of sportsmanlike behavior, I enjoyed the NPR interview of baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr., who played in 2,632 consecutive games spanning 16 seasons. In his book, Get in the Game: 8 Elements of Perseverance That Make the Difference, he wrote about how, as a child, he was “the worst loser and the worst winner in history.”

My strong will showed itself early on when I didn’t have success or I failed or we lost. I tended throw fits and be angry because I didn’t know what to do with that energy.

My parents were pretty cool. They didn’t really scream at me, they didn’t yell at me, they didn’t punish me so to speak. But they asked me, “Why do you react this way?” I told them that I can’t stand it. I have to get it out somehow. They encouraged me to put it into something positive so therefore you derive the benefit. It was a way to manage that inner drive that served me so well all those years.

See. It’s not about being happy all the time. In fact, I give you permission to be unhappy and to be ok about it!

Life’s about channeling your energy so that you can be productive. And that takes some serious perseverance.

Update: Persistence also crops up in an interview with Carnegie Mellon computer science professor Randy Pausch, known for The Last Lecture.

We weren’t surprised to learn that the “secret” to winning giant stuffed animals on the midway, like most anything else, is sheer persistence.