5 Things "A Christmas Carol" Can Teach Us About Happiness
Well, friends… now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it is by my calculations officially no longer too soon to say that the Christmas season is in full swing. That special season when people are encouraged to step away from their day to day so they can take the annual opportunity to, as the character Fred puts it, “open their shut-up hearts freely, and think of others below them as fellow-passengers to the grave.”
Partially because of the shaping influence that Charles Dickens’ vision had on the holiday, Christmas is now as irrevocably associated with giving back as it is with candy canes and Santa Claus. But while it's pretty easy to find yourself getting sentimental after a session with Scrooge and the three ghosts, it can be a lot harder to keep charitable Christmas spirit in your heart amidst the hustle and bustle of non-holiday life.
Meanwhile, though it also isn’t exactly realistic to imagine anyone spending the whole year as full of kindness and cheer as they might be on Christmas morning, what I can offer you in this humble blog post is a round-up of a few research findings that have to do with money, happiness, and the ways in which sharing one’s wealth with others may be the surest road to a worthy life. And, in linking these findings to the characters of A Christmas Carol, perhaps I can even give you a framework that’ll help you remember them onwards into your Christmas future!
Scrooge McDuck diving into his sea of gold coins.
1. Making money your “be-all, end-all” might actually make you miserable
Despite the popularity of the truism, to say straight-up that money doesn’t buy happiness might be a bit of an oversimplification. In fact, to a limited extent, one could even conceivably claim the opposite. On average, richer people are happier than poorer people, richer countries are happier than poorer countries, and countries undergoing economic growth tend to see their national happiness rise in tandem with increasing incomes.
Similarly, rises in individual income are usually associated with corresponding increases in happiness for said individual. But, importantly, these increases are most meaningful for those at the very bottom of the scale and tend to become progressively less so as one works their way up the income ladder, becoming notably smaller after one reaches a baseline level of about $100,000. And at an even higher level of about $500,000, most tend to plateau all together.
To illustrate why this might be so—it’s easy to see why a small boost in income might go a long way towards greater happiness for someone like A Christmas Carol’s Bob Cratchit, who is so strapped for cash that he struggles to afford even basic necessities for himself and his family. But if that same few dollars were to be deposited into an overflowing account like that of Ebenezer Scrooge, you can see why it might be far less impactful.
Meanwhile, researchers have also noted something else rather curious about those at the tippy-top of the income heap. Not only are they not any happier than those a few notches down, but they actually tend to suffer from depression at a higher than average rate.
One potential reason for this may be the high pressure associated with maintaining a top-tier income. But another seems to be reflected in the finding that the more that you value earning money as one of your central goals, the less satisfied with your life you will likely be.
Think about it. Unlike other things a person might aim to achieve, the goal of becoming rich is not only absent any significance beyond one’s own interests, but is also absent any finish line or end point. Instead, the need to earn more and to buy more is liable to stretch onwards into infinity, and even to engulf you like a black hole. The more you find yourself consumed by your consumerist crusade, the more it will inevitably consume of your limited time and energy—thus leaving precious little left with which you might nurture the more spiritually rewarding facets of your life.
The cast of New City Players’ production of A Christmas Carol posing for their awkward 70’s family photo.
2. Our relationships matter more than almost anything else
So, now that we’ve discovered that money isn’t the be-all end-all of happiness, what do you suppose is actually the greatest determinant? Well, if you’d like to judge by the research…then the answer might be as simple as “each other.” As attested to by the results of an 80 year long study that are movingly explored in this TED talk, having more robust social networks and higher quality interpersonal relationships was found to be the most significant predictor of greater life satisfaction, ahead of participants’ socioeconomic class and a plethora of other factors.
One can find further evidence of this essential truth in one palliative care nurse’s insight into the most frequent greatest regrets conveyed to her by her dying patients. Instead of wishing for greater riches as they faced up to their final moments, she describes hearing patient after patient wish that they hadn’t “worked so hard,” because doing so had meant losing valuable time that could have been better spent watching their children grow up or enjoying their partner’s companionship.
In a similar vein, she also recounted coming across many patients who expressed deep regret that they had not kept in touch with their old friends, especially when it was now often impossible to track them down for a last goodbye.
In other words, when Ebenezer Scrooge continually shrugs off his every chance at interpersonal connection so he can continue working ever harder, he is not actually making a particularly wise investment. As becomes abundantly clear when the spirits force him to face the dismal results of his decades of disregarding this fundamental human need, he likely would’ve been far better served by seizing upon the opportunities he was offered by, for instance, a prospective future wife, than by blind adherence to a bottom line. To see how Alastair Filmore, our adaptation’s modern-day Scrooge counterpart, fares at making up for lost time when it comes to those that he cares for most, I suppose that you’ll just have to see the show!
Bob Cratchitt (right) as depicted in the 1984 film adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
3. Those with the least to spare might be first to share
Depending on how familiar you are with which variation of A Christmas Carol, you may or may not remember a moment near the story’s beginning in which Scrooge vehemently refuses to make even a token contribution to a local charity. And yet his faithful clerk Bob Cratchitt, who makes only a paltry-for-the-time 15 shilling salary, doesn’t seem to think even twice about parting with a tuppence in order to be sure he gives his fair share.
Again, the dichotomy visible in the two’s behavior serves to demonstrate a relatively consistent psychological principle regarding socioeconomic status, average empathy level, and approach to charitable giving. For instance, while there are individual exceptions to every rule, research has shown that though the rich tend to give larger sums of money when they do give to charity, poorer people are not only more likely to be givers period but on average will contribute in an amount that represents a higher percentage of their total income.
Interestingly, this principle has been shown to hold true even during periods of economic downturn, and the sacrifices at hand take on even more significance considering that the poor are less likely to be eligible for lucrative tax deductions if they opt to make a donation. After all, unlike some wealthier folk, they know from experience how hard it can be to make ends meet, and thus can easily imagine themselves into the shoes of someone who has even less than they do. But, as various studies have also documented, one’s level of empathy has an unfortunate tendency to decrease along with one’s increasing wealth.
This is because many who become rich grow to hold the belief that they have amassed their fortunes solely through their own hard work, ignoring the role that luck and privilege have played in propelling them to the upper class. Accordingly, they feel tremendously entitled to their money and have a tendency to moralize towards rather than sympathize with anyone who finds themselves lacking, believing the predicament to be their own fault.
Meanwhile, though I’ve often written in these blogs about the power of empathy to shift our perspectives about others, I’ve somehow neglected to point out the fact that, as a documented association between the traits suggests, becoming more empathetic can also increase our own capacity for happiness. For one thing, in allowing us to understand what others are feeling and experiencing, being more empathetic has been shown to increase one’s capacity to develop higher quality relationships, which, as we now know, play a huge role in determining happiness overall.
And while part of being empathetic involves sharing in others’ pain, it can also afford the ability to share in someone else’s happiness, which is perhaps the reason why greater empathetic capacity has been linked to increased prosocial behavior. If you are able to understand someone’s suffering, it is only natural that you would become more eager to alleviate it; but once you do so, you will also get the chance to bask vicariously in how much better you have helped to make someone else feel. Given all that, it’s not so hard to see why the warm-hearted Cratchits look to be having a far better Christmas present than the judgemental Scrooge!
Scrooge carrying Tiny Tim in the 2009 animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
4. Helping others really can make you feel good
The link between empathy, happiness, and pro-social behavior perhaps leads us toward another evident truth: that one of the best things we can do for ourselves is to extend an offer of help to someone else. As multiple studies have shown, contributing to a charity or aiding someone in need has a tendency to activate our brain’s reward system, which is the cause of that warm and fuzzy feeling that has become known as a “helper’s high.”
However, you certainly don’t need to be as well off as Scrooge to enjoy the benefits of being prosocial—and, in fact, you may even benefit more from physically pitching in and performing an act of service than you would from writing out a check.
This is demonstrated by the results of a study involving three groups of participants. For the duration of a four week period, each group was instructed to perform one of the following actions once a week: to perform a random act of kindness for themselves, to do something that served the abstract good (like recycling or making a donation to a charity), or perform a random act of kindness for someone else. Intriguingly, it is only this last group who showed a sustained improvement in their overall well-being, perhaps because the visceral benefits of interacting with someone else and perceiving their gratefulness are themselves mood-boosting.
Along with keeping this principle in mind whenever you see someone in need of a helping hand, it might also do you well to remember it when you find yourself in need of assistance. While many of us find it difficult to ask for help from our friends—including Alastair, our adaptation’s central character—perhaps we should simply think of doing so as offering them a chance to earn their helper’s high!
5. Instead of hoarding “things,” invest in experiences and ideals
Remember when I said earlier that putting an inordinately high value on money-making tends to be an enemy in achieving genuine happiness? The same also seems to be true of acquiring material “things,” which seem in general to bestow only a fleeting burst of happiness when they are purchased that then quickly fades away.
On the other hand, purchasing an experience—by, for instance, going on a trip, going out to dinner, or, yes, going to a play—is something that most do tend to find a lot more rewarding. For one thing, activities of this sort are often those that we can share with others, meaning that a social mood boost is often part of the deal. And while the experiences themselves may be temporary, looking back on them (and continuing to connect with others through sharing our happy endings) seems to turn them into a longer-lasting source of joy.
As opposed to things, experiences are also more likely to tie in to one’s higher goals and ideals than whatever shiny gadget you might want just to keep up with the Jones’s. But spending money to do something like take a class in a subject you’re passionate about or attend an arts event that could enhance your cultural awareness is something that could help you not only to build your social network but to, ultimately, become the kind of person you’d like to be.
And, to throw in one final bonus of choosing to invest in experiences: in doing so, you also may get the chance to invest in your local community by supporting smaller, local establishments as opposed to the far-off corporate manufacturers of anything you might find in a shopping mall.
Conveniently enough, choosing to attend New City Players’ upcoming production of A Christmas Carol offers you just such a chance to support your favorite little local theatre troupe! Not only is the show bound to be a ton of fun, but it will also hopefully serve as a profound reminder of where true happiness is likely to lie.
Meanwhile, in case you already find yourself in the giving spirit, we’d also like to remind you that we’ll be partnering with the Broward based non-profit Handy throughout Christmas Carol’s run. You’ll be able to meet staff members involved with the group at our December 9th, 3pm show, and we’ll be holding a toy drive during our first two weekends of performances to help make this holiday season a happy one for the families they serve.
Until December 13th, we’ll be collecting donations of new and unwrapped toys in our lobby before every show, from patrons and anyone else who may wish to swing by with a gift.
A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play
Reimagined by Tyler Johnson Grimes
Directed by Timothy Mark Davis
Suitable for ages 10+
The year is 1971 and WNCP presents “A Christmas Carol,” the timeless Christmas tale reimagined once again as a live radio broadcast on stage. A jolly ensemble brings to life dozens of iconic characters and countless locales through the magic of live sound effects. The all too familiar story of scary spirits visiting Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve takes new twists and turns as unexpected people learn valuable lessons that might change their lives forever. This fresh and festive take on the greatest Christmas story ever told has something new for the whole family to enjoy!
WHEN
December 2-23, 2023
WHERE
Island City Stage
TICKET PRICE
$25-40
Make sure to plan your visit after booking tickets!