Our Mojo-Paradiso: Jung’s Pillars for a Happy Life”

I remember being initially bored with the plot. So much of it focused on the director’s relationships with seemingly plain, quirky people in his everyday life. With no special effects or smart and funny banter, how could this “nothing” plot win an Academy Award? I held on, and I am so glad I did!  The director expertly weaves these simple stories into a beautiful (ugly cry) climax that deftly illustrates how our happiest, lasting moments happen in the little “everyday” moments – if we listen and learn to appreciate them. 

As reflected by this picture of our diverse community, I see our Mojo community as a poignant reflection of the film’s village. We’re a small town of varied personalities who share a common interest. Our weekly classes are at the “cinema” which gives us a reason to connect.  After 15 years, week in – and week out, we sure have experienced a lot of challenges and joys together!

It may seem like a benign experience attending (or streaming) the same fitness class week after week. We laugh, dance, sweat and sing with a similar crew of friends. We cheer each other on and do our best to navigate the routines and live our best lives. Is this happiness? According to psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s 5 ways to be reasonably happy, being a part of a community, like ours, checks off a lot of life’s “happiness” boxes. (I sure know it does for me! )

Here’s an excerpt from The Atlantic’s, “Carl Jungs, 5 Pillars of a Good Life”, Jung’s research is from 1912, but much of it still resonates today…

It’s not a rational to wish for for a happy life, but but with these research-based pillars, you can lead a “Happier” life…

1. Good physical and mental health (Check ✅)
Jung believed that getting happier requires soundness of mind and body. According to the longest-running study of happiness, by the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the four of the biggest predictors of well-being are – not smoking, drinking alcohol moderately (if at all) maintaining a healthy body weight, and exercising.

Even more important for well-being is good mental health. One study from 2013 showed that poor mental health predicted nearly two to roughly six times as much misery as poor physical health did.

2. Good personal and intimate relations (Check ✅)
Marriage, family, and friendships…Close relationships are at the heart of well-being and cultivating them will reliably increase happiness. 

3. Seeing beauty in art and in nature (Check ✅)
Jung believed that happiness required one to cultivate an appreciation for beautiful things and experiences (even while exercising) in everyday life. Although this sounds obvious, making this happen in real life is  more complicated than it sounds. 

4. A reasonable standard of living and satisfactory work. 
Studies show that being highly successful is not necessarily the “happiness” factor here. For many, simply having a job, versus being unemployed, is the key toward being reasonably happy.

The personal #1 Pillar I’ve gained after all these years of Mojo…
5. A philosophical outlook that fosters resilience (Check ✅ ✅ ✅)
Jung argues that a good life requires a way of understanding why things happen the way they do, and being able to put inevitable suffering in perspective. 

While my Mojo journey has been happiness-inducing in so many ways, the collective stories of resilience over the years have been an unexpected gift for me. Cheering others on as they get through injury, illnesses, or losses and witnessing their resilience along the way has been invaluable in getting me through some of my toughest milestones. The empty nest, the deaths of my parents, and getting through the pandemic were all more doable having known so many others go through it before me, or alongside me. I cannot thank you enough for sharing your stories and letting me and Mojo be a small part of your journeys!