The Non-Pursuit of Unsustainable Happiness
This post is prompted by a piece I read in another Kenyan blog called “Lovelymoney”. In the post, the blog author talks about the plans he and his wife had when they first moved to America and those plans involved getting their education, saving up some money and eventually moving back to Kenya.
However, along the way, the author’s wife completely changed her mind about ever moving back to Kenya and the he (the author) slowly came to agree with his wife’s opinion’s. i.e. the idea of moving back to Kenya and having to deal with electricity blackouts, water shortages and rising crime, seemed like a move they were no longer willing to make.
You can read the entire blog post by clicking on the link I’ve placed above. The comments that followed the post were even more interesting to me because they were written by Kenyans who’d gone back and had become frustrated with the move and now regretted it (some had returned wanting to make a difference, while others had returned wanting to make money, but in the end, things didn’t quite work out for them).
So, anyway, as I was thinking about this post, I started thinking about this whole issue of happiness and our pursuit of it and some very interesting observations kept coming up: The Kenyans in the diaspora are nostalgic about their home country and dream of moving back, but when you get on the social networking sites on Twitter or Facebook, the Kenyans there are in the opposite mode: they are becoming increasingly frustrated by the crime, water shortages and blackouts and they’re looking to get out and go west.
So, continuing my general reading about this issue, I then came about a passage, which I thought explained quite well this phenomenon of why human beings are constantly trying to find this illusive “happiness” and it’s a psychological condition known as “hedonic adaptation”.
What is hedonic adaptation? “Psychological studies reveal that happiness is subject to “hedonic adaptation”. Because of hedonic adaptation, the joy we get from that first kiss, the beginning of that new relationship, that first big stock market score and even from that first french fry we taste, fades, and our happiness fades along with it.
Hedonic adaptation is most likely the force that motivates these Wall Street robber barons who, regardless of how many hundreds of millions they have, can never stop themselves from trying to claim even more. They are trying to recapture the feeling they had when they scored that first big pop. It’s probably the same for politicians, who are addicted to that next big win. I’m guessing that Obama was a lot happier on the night he won the Presidency than he is today. Winning the contest makes us a lot happier than the trophy on the mantle.
Success is relative. The definition of the Hedonic Treadmill: “The tendency of a person to remain at a relatively stable level of happiness despite a change in fortune or the achievement of major goals. According to the hedonic treadmill, as a person makes more money, expectations and desires rise in tandem, which results in no permanent gain in happiness. Will a lottery winner ever be any happier than at that moment he/she finds out that he/she is holding the winning ticket”? (This question was left unanswered by the author).
My basic reading of this concept of hedonic adaptation is that human beings need to be constantly challenged, otherwise, they’ll eventually get bored and will morph into a state of unhappiness. The only answer I can come up with is that you have to find something you love to do and then, just do it. Whatever it is and wherever you are. Moving to Kenya or moving to America will not be the answer if you don’t find something that you love to do.
Maybe I should ask my readers that question. If you could do anything you wanted what would it be? and would it matter where in the world you were?
Quote from my little brown Buddha: “If you give up the never-ending pursuit of unsustainable happiness, you will eventually become happy“.
Obviously it would matter where I am. I really don’t have a problem with being in Kenya… I just don’t like the sense of hopelessness that clouds the country.
Every news that comes out from the Country is full of hopelessness.
If I use your example of Hedonic Adaptation. I guess the Country is so used to Impunity and Corruption and other negative ism’s that every time they don’t see it in the news they do everything they can to bring it back.
This is the same concept behind drugs… Most addicts are looking for the same high… as the first one had..
I consider Kenya & Africa as having many opportunities & I’d rather stay here then going abroad. Resources in the developed nations have already been exhausted hence limited opportunities available thats why we are experiencing people from such countries coming here to invest because opportunities are available.
I find many of the responses on that thread tiresome…WHY……relocating anywhere is a big undertaking especially when you are moving back to Africa so what amazes me is when people do not PLAN FOR SCENARIO A….B…..and….C principally:
1) financial sustainability in the best case scenario and worst case
2) personal wellbeing and security in the best case scenario and worst case.
I mean c’mon you know you are moving back to a country with a) unreliable economic and physical infrastructure and b) deteriorating security situation and now c) political instability…..perhaps the third issue has been severely aggravated in the past 3 years but the other two have been with us for 15-20 years so you cannot plead ignorance.
I guess my point, no sense relocating if you have not prepared for life under your worst case scenario…..to me that is basic planning 101.
chegepreneur,
“Resources in the developed nations have already been exhausted hence limited opportunities.”
I guess to each his own. I really want to know how much you make in a week….. Its just that simple. I don’t know what kind of Kenyan friends you have buddy….
I have Kenyan friends out here that make from $ 6-10 grand in a two weeks. I have Nigerian friends who make twice that amount. And these people came from nothing.
I can’t let such a comment pass like that. “Resources are limited”…. Dude is that the lies you spreading out there…. Their are people making money out here buddy…. Recession or no recession.
The only resource i see that’s limited here is you Imagination.
Sijui:
How do you prepare for the worst case scenario? What does that involve?
KE, good question, in my opinion:
1) do an assessment of your income sources. Make plans for an eventuality that you will either lose your job or if self employed your business goes bust or there is some other catastrophe such as political unrest that destabilizes your operations. In other words do you have a rainy day fund either from your spouse’s income, or savings, or investments or can you get a loan from a reliable source like family to hold you over until you re-group?
2) do an assessment of your level of tolerance for risk. At what point do you cut and run if you think you or your family are in physical danger? And what plans do you have in place……can you relocate back to the West? If not what are your options?
My point, relocate knowing you have options meaning have a sizable financial cushion that you can fall back on and preferably have the immigration freedom to be able to relocate back to another country if things get thick. And frankly that takes a few to many years of planning in advance.
People always ask me how do you get ready to relocate? And I tell them it takes years and years of planning especially preparation for disappointment and contingencies.
If you are an African born and raised in Africa you cannot pretend that you are not fully conversant with the vagaries of the Third World meaning you grew up in the Third World and if you decide to go back be prepared for living in the Third World. It is as simple as that otherwise as many have said, decide to never go back and make no apologies for it.
I will answer just your last questions. I am doing it. Photography. And no, it wouldn’t matter where in the world I did it.
Didier.
Dude, I am only in my early 20′s & my bank account is loaded bana. My friends too who also happen to be my business associates are the same. Some times when I go to the bank to transact, they ask for my identification twice or thice with disbelief a sign they think I am pretending to be the account holder. It depends on what you are doing & what you believe in. If you are a person who believes that money is available & you do whatever it takes to get it, definately you shall get it but if you are a person who keeps complaining all the time about how bad the economy is & you just sit there & do nothing about improving your financial status, utashinda ivo complaining as you get poorer. I wish I could show you my bank statement. But just to give you a hint, apart from my monthly salary, in a bad month I make around k.shs 30,000/= courtesy of some business dealings here & there. In good day I can make like k.shs 10,000/= when I land on a good deal. Uganda discovered that they have oil the other day & africa still has resources which developed countrys are scrambling to take hold of because they lack such resources.
There are some people I know who went to the U.S.A, all I keep hearing is them complaining that they lack enough cash yet thousands of Kenyans throng the kenyan U.S.A embassy to get a visa for them to relocate.
chegepreneur,
I hear you talking of bad months and good months. Dude for at least all the Kenyans I know here, If any made Ksh 30,000 a month, they’d be deep in the RED. I budget for two hundred dollars expense everyday out here so I guess in Kenya you can call me a CEO of sorts.
Look I agree with what you saying that it depends on what you do. The same applies here. But Kenya is for Old people who have given up in life. With the ever fluctuating shilling people see the value of their money being eaten up by other stronger currencies. And as far as I know, most of the currencies i know of are more stronger than Kenya.
Don’t give up though, maybe our politicians are going to change overnight and take steps in the right direction. I think I like your tenacity of the Kenyan dream. I wish I had one, I used to but not any more.
egm:
I remain astounded that you were able to move to Kenya and make money as a photographer. You must have other sources of income or investments that you are not telling us about.
So, you need to tell us the truth because there might a starry eyed 19 year old in Kenya reading about your story and thinking they can earn a living as a photographer and we need to keep this shit real. You feel me?
It’s not like you grew up in mathare and would that make a difference? i.e. was it easier for you because of your socio-economic background?
Sijui:
I think some people are hard wired to endure consistent entrepreneurial failures while others are not. Perhaps this is the difference? The most important point you made is making sure your immigration issues are straightened out (just in case…)
very interesting conversation here .kenya has alot of opportunity that is untapped or not fully exploited.
Sometimes the biggest problem lies with the business owners themselves.They expect good sales but they fall short of providing the customers value for their money.
people move to Kenya with too much expectations to succeed in business yet all their lives they were employees of someone in the diaspora Personally , I Think business is not for career people. it never works even if you relocate to Kenya with $1 million.
The question the returnee investors or businesses should ask themselves are ,Do you have the necessary discipline to provide the best possible services at the lowest possible cost? If not, what can you do to develop some commitment to do it right, and the discipline that comes with that commitment? If the answer is “nothing,” how can you look your customers in the face?
I still think that there are more opportunities back home. And, hey, you will never feel 100% comfy in another country.
I’ll give you an example: my friend was in the US and decided to come back home. This year, we started a small business: Nicklepro.com and things are well. It is just harder here in Kenya but the fruits are just as sweet as elsewhere if not sweeter
I wonder how many kenyan’s would have endured the states when it was going through a depression. I recently saw a documentary about it and was bad(the crunch now is a sneeze compared to what went on back those days). But inspite of the difficulties, America survived it and came back stronger to have a great enomic boom in the 50′s.
That strong growth back then is what defined america to what it is today economically. Thats when the great interstate roads where built. That is why opportunist immigrants are more than happy to be shipped there and leave their countries undergoing difficulties and tell tales of wide roads and big cities there.
But the good thing is not everyone is willing to leave Kenya. And not everyone is hopeless. I live in Kenya and many things frustrate me. There is poverty and bad systems. But also there are many good things. And don’t be fooled, its not all doom and gloom for everyone.
There are many wealth and rich people doing very well here and they are not connected to any government official, it will be stupid to imagine the large middle and upper middle class we have is sustained through connections in government, that is not possible.
Every often I get surprised when I see new rich neighborhoods cropping up (and am not talking apartments) I mean Mansions.And they are many and vast meaning the upper middle class is not elite few but quite large and sizable.
Maybe you can ask how do guys make money, you would be surprised how much money is made in the informal sector including Mitumba business.
I wanted to mention here, though we have many poor people in kenya, the middle class is quite large and is growing. Mostly through business.
The challenge is education wise, poor people tend to be less educated and have large households. This traps them in poverty is very difficult to escape especially because the government is unable to provide enough social welfare.
The government is unable to provide these services mostly because it does not collect enough revenue. Though tax collection has improved, a lot of money is made without being taxed, unlike the US where they are able to monitor every income you make. Just look at the wealth arounf and you can tell alot of money is being made, but is it being taxed?
Not all kenyans are enthusiastic about paying taxes because they are not sure if there money will be used efficiently and not be lost through misuse or corruption. They few that get to be taxed (those in formal employment) are heavily taxed.
If the government curbed corruption, put systems to manage it’s finance well and improved tax collection, we can reduce poverty by big percentage.
KE,
At this point i will invoke the English famous adage, ” Live and Let Live.”
I’m out.
its simple. 2 classes of people. those who struggled in kenya or are still struggling would not like to live in kenya. those who did well there or are very well off now see what opportunities and good life there is there. those from the villages would obviously not want to go back there. its all subjective and what u want. wud rather be in nairobi than baltimore, where an average of 1-3 people are shot daily. 3 kenyans shot in nov last year. also depends on where u live. anyway I am planning to go back sometime in 2010
Babawatoto:
That is an interesting point you make about people who have never been entrepreneurs (before) deciding to move to Kenya and become entrepreneurs for the first time without a full understanding of the difficulties that road entails.
I think many of them operate under the assumption that it will be easier to make it in Kenya because of the following factors: Less competition, smaller country, fewer people with fewer opportunities, etc, etc…
However, based on what you’ve said, perhaps the moral of the story here is that entrepreneurship is going to be difficult no matter where you try it. That’s the first point.
The second point I want to make is that those in the diaspora are not willing to struggle in Kenya and if you look at many entrepreneurs, their initial years in business were very lean. They don’t live lavish lives because they can’t afford to and because they are forced to put any extra income back into their businesses (as opposed to wasting it on things like expensive cars or nice clothes).
So, if your a career person, used to getting a certain salary every month and used to living in a certain way, you would have to give that lifestyle up for many years while you struggle at trying to set up your business. I don’t think people are willing to do that.
You are right KE. When people try something out, some instead of trying again with a different approach, the give up and look for something/someone to blame. If you are Diaspora back to kenya trying to set up business and fail you blame the government, the people etc.
If you try it out in your country of residency, lets say the US or UK and fail, you blame racism.
KE.
Let me just first start by saying I think your article is well balanced and tries to explain the feelings of people. Hedonistic adaptation is an interesting concept though I am not sure to whom you are applying this concept. I mean is it the diaspora, local Kenyans or is it both?
Anyway I did read the lovelymoney blog and many others like it. My opinion is the doom & gloom is largely self inflicted. Why do Kenyans keep electing the same leaders if they are so dissatisfied with them? Second why is it Kenyans act surprised with corruption when they actually practice it?
I believe by now you already know the way I choose to look at the Kenyan problem is rather different. For me every problem is an opportunity, a challenge if you will. I also choose to look at the bigger picture. Problem is that most Kenyans have a very narrow way of looking at problems which is actually reflected in our leadership. Case in point many Kenyans follow the media blindly. Analytical thought is not always appreciated or exercised.
So many Kenyans instead of facing their problems in a sober manner choose to blame others. The best scapegoats are the politicians. Kenyans love to blame & whine. They will complain about everything and anything. Case in point I heard Kenyans complaining that the closure of Thika road for reconstruction was not good. Some are complaining about the census yet they have no inkling of the technical details of a census. Many talk of reforms but they don’t know what kind of reforms they want.
Kenyans need to step back and ask themselves what can I do for my country? What would I do if I was President, Minister, MP, PS or civil servant. You will be surprised that many Kenyans who work in lowly jobs as policemen, clerks, assistants or middle level staff are themselves very corrupt. This are the same people who blame the govt and elect the same. What is lacking is real patriotism. Why would a diasporean discourage investment into his country when he/she knows it will alleviate poverty? Why would a Kenyan in a position of authority steal money to invest in a rich country such as Switzerland when he knows it is impoverishing his country?
Americans may disagree but they always look towards a local solution. Case in point is the healthcare debate. You will not hear of an American telling another not to invest in America & take his money to China. Corruption exists in America too. Kenyans need to be proud of their country first, good or bad it is ours. Second we need to learn the concepts of containment & best practices. We need to look at what is working in Kenya and then try to replicate and upscale it in the rest of the country.
Why is it we have no corruption in private companies? Barclays, KQ, Safaricom, EABL and many others work very efficiently and make profits in a very difficult environment. Why can’t the policeforce show the same discipline as our military? How come KWS & the tourist police are so efficient and our judiciary is not? How is it we can export horticulture and fail to feed ourselves? What we need is an analysis of problems and a solution mentality. Before we go blaming others lets do some self introspection first.
I agree Kenyans don’t demand much from themselves let alone the government but the attitudes are institutionalized. I wish any one best of luck if they ever tried to buck the system.
Safaricom and the like do well because of a form of monopoly, banks charge customers to withdraw money – enough said.
In terms of effective business practices; well there is not much to say there is very little that’s actually produced in Kenya – save for food. Efficiency isn’t a word I would use in relation to Kenyans.
Didier
I get what you say. Thanks
High Strung:
You need to expound on your point about people trying to buck the system. What do you mean?
It was in response to jelly fish comment on Kenyan attitude towards problems. Even though I agree, I just argued corruption and in efficiency is entrenched in the system so trying to go against trends is awfully expensive.
Have you read “The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner? FInd out what makes people in other countries happy. Good government = Happy people!