The happy people

A

simple truth about this complicated demographic

A couple of months ago at a graduation ceremony, I listened as one of the highranking students addressed the crowd with a remarkably complete view of her future.

Her view was remarkable because the newly minted graduate still has quite a bit to learn about how the world actually works.

But no matter. She said something interesting that I’m still thinking about weeks later.

Quoting her father, she talked about striving to achieve this particular piece of advice: Go where the happy people are.

Turns out that pearl probably is derived from a song by “The Trammps” during the 1970s; the song’s about a lonely homebody who “put my blues on the shelf” and headed to a disco to be where the “happy people go.”

That’s a simple piece of wisdom, and it’s more difficult to achieve than it sounds, primarily because finding “happy people” is more challenging as we venture further and further from high school.

Identifying “happy people” is something I’ve thought quite a lot about lately. I’ve learned over the years that “smiling” people aren’t necessarily “happy”; some of them are just really good at looking the part, even if they hurt a lot beneath the surface.

And I’ve learned that “scowling” people aren’t necessarily “unhappy,” since hard work and relentless pressure tends to bend even the strongest among us, curling the face muscles permanently downward even if the attitude inside isn’t necessarily that way.

So if hanging with happy people is a goal, yet finding them isn’t easy, what’s the real message?

Something I’ve noticed over the years is that the people who are happiest seem to have discovered a simple fact of life: You’re likely to be happy if you honestly believe you are really good at something.

From what I can tell, you don’t actually have to be good at a specific task to be happy; you just have to believe you are.

As an example, look at our presidents and those who are candidates for the office: Agree with them or not, they always exhibit the confidence that comes with sincerely believing they are the right man or woman for the job. And no matter how well others think they did in office, they seem satisfied with their effort.

Look at athletes, the elite and the beerdrinking alike: They are good because when the game is on the line, they believe they alone should be taking the shot or fielding the ball.

It works the same with teachers, with waitresses, with day-care workers, with truck drivers — those who believe they are best at what they do want to be in the middle of the action and seem most likely to be happy.

It makes sense: If we believe we’re good at something, we have reason to go home at the end of every day satisfied that we’re making a contribution to our neighborhood, to our companies, to our co-workers, to our friends and to ourselves.

And although simply going home each day happy to have made a contribution may not sound that earthshaking, those of us who have been at this awhile know that if it was all that easy, it wouldn’t be so difficult to “go where the happy people are.”

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Missing out

If you’re not reading prestonhollow.advocatemag.com between magazines, you’re missing half our content, such as where to find Mark Cuban in our neighborhood, the fact that incoming Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles bought a house on a nearby street, and the scoop on new restaurants and businesses.

Here are other updates you might have missed:

Walnut Hill Recreation Center is getting a facelift

The recreation center is undergoing its first major renovation since being built in the early 1960s. It received a senior center addition in the 1990s, but this project will be much more extensive and thorough, says district manager Kevin Chaney.

The remodel will yield new furniture and recreation equipment along with updated electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems. The roof will be replaced and the entryway expanded. The total cost is $1,871,352. The funds came from the 2006 bond package.

The project will be done in three phases and should be completed by next summer, Chaney says.

During the remodeling, Walnut Hill’s east gym, the adjacent bathrooms and the senior center will remain open. The summer gymnastic camp will also continue at the rec center. Other activities, including martial arts and dance, will move to Marcus Recreation Center or Churchill Recreation Center.

Part of White Rock Creek Trail to close for 2 months amid LBJ construction

Cyclists, take note. The White Rock Hike and Bike Trail crossing under LBJ at Park Central Drive is closing for about two months while the area undergoes construction as part of the LBJ expansion project.

If you need to go north of LBJ, you’ll have to hop on the Cottonwood Trail and go underneath the High Five. —Emily Toman

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