Is This Creature Killing Your Happiness?

Do I have an uneasiness of mind? Check.

Do I have an unbridled curiosity that is often times distracting? Check.

Do I suffer from loquacity particularly at work when I should be doing my job? Check.

Do I have a restlessness of the body? Check.

Do I suffer from a general lack of stability in my life? Check.

Am I sometimes sad, particularly at the good of another individual? Check.

Uh oh, what does this all mean?

I belong to a men’s book club at my parish that meets every other week at 6:30 am before everyone leaves for work. I suggested the last book, so I have had to be diligent about getting out of bed really early in the morning, and I am not a morning person. The title of the book is The Noonday Devil: Acedia, The Unnamed Evil Of Our Time. Acedia is the spirit of sloth, and boy am I slothful! What is sloth and how do you dispel this terrible demon?

Sloth is a disgust with activity or a sluggishness that prevents someone from doing what they ought to be doing. Sloth is a kind of laziness both in the physical realm but also the spiritual realm. At 5 a.m. when my alarm is ringing and I’m supposed to be getting out of bed to go to the book club, sloth is working hard to keep me sleeping.

I have an aversion to the very early morning, and I am very tempted to turn off that alarm. We begin our book club with Mass and prayer, and sloth makes even Mass and prayer distasteful to me. I would much rather be sleeping or at the very least staring into a piping hot cup of coffee.

Sloth is also a sadness about a spiritual or physical good, either our own or someone else's, and it is contrary to the virtue of Love. Love is the greatest of virtues because we desire the good of another before our own. When we Love, that Love produces a happiness and joy.

Have you ever spent time volunteering at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen? It’s hard, but in the end it's a joyful experience because you are thinking of someone else’s needs before your own. Sloth robs us of that joy and happiness because it destroys our willingness to act charitably.

All this talk of sloth is making me feel a lot like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh! How do I get out of this blue depressing funk? Let me give you some happiness hacks that I learned from a TED talk to help you through the sadness of sloth.

Happiness Hack #1

Meditation and prayer. This is a big one! St. Thomas Aquinas says that friendship is the key for happiness and particularly a friendship with God. “I no longer call you servants...I call you friends” (John 15:15). God is your friend!!! It's great always having a friend around when I am feeling blue. Talking with the Lord in prayer is always a great way to conquer the blues.

Happiness Hack #2

Three new things. Think of three new things that you are grateful for over the past 24 hours. They have to be new! We are told by the spiritual writers to do an examination of conscience to discover the ways we sin, and then over time we will get better and sin less. Well, what if instead of reflecting on sin, we instead examine our day for blessings? Over time you get will better at seeing the positive, and those stormy clouds of sloth will dissipate.

Happiness Hack #3

The writing challenge. Journal about one positive experience that you have had over the past 24 hours. Write as many details about that experience as you can possibly remember. Your brain can’t tell the difference between visualization and actual experience, so it doubles the positive experience. Hello happiness!

Happiness Hack #4

Exercise! 15 minutes of fun cardio activity, especially first thing in the morning can help make for a positively happy day.

Happiness Hack #5

The quick gratitude fix. Write a quick email or shoot off a quick text message praising and thanking someone you know. It doesn't need to be a long novel detailing every little thing you are thankful for, just make it short with one or two things. Your brain gets used to scanning for the positive experiences and happiness ensues. Perhaps you might get a similar happy email in your inbox one day too!

You don’t need to do all the happiness hacks. Personally, I employ the first two regularly and I almost never do number four. But these hacks do indeed work. I heard it once said that “idleness is the tool of the devil” and sloth is indeed the instrument of death for happiness. Fight the noonday devil and sloth with happiness, and make happiness a lifestyle choice.

“With joy you will draw water from the fountains of salvation, and you will say on that day: give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name!” (Isaiah 12:3-4)