Hi pachy,

I am not sure what you mean exactly by experience... but I would say, based upon what I have read about the happiness research conducted by Doctors Seligman, Lyubomirsky and others... that a person can move off their set point only by continuous hard work.

Thus, if we don't work at making ourselves happy, we become accustomed to our circumstances and then we resort back to our genetic set point.

That is why for example... if you buy a new car, or get a promotion, or take a trip to a place you've always dreamed of visiting, etc, etc, you are only happy about it for a while, but then later the happiness effects start to wear off.

You essentially get into a "Ok... Been there... now what?" mode.

BTW...This return to one's set point is known in the field of positive psychology as "hedonic adaptation".

Anyway... I find it extremely interesting how the researchers in positive psychology discovered a genetic link to happiness.

They discovered this by studying several hundred sets of identical twins who were seperated from each other at birth and grew up in different homes with different families.

They found that these particular sets of identical twins had virtually identical happiness levels with each other despite being seperated for 20 - 50 years or longer.

They also found that the twin's happiness levels did not equate at all to the happiness levels found in their adoptive parents or siblings.

Totally fascinating stuff, IMHO.

Cheers,

Peppermint Patty