Engagement: A Source of Value, Quality of Life, or Both?

Science and Practice at a Crossroads When Romy was a child, her daily schedule was almost as busy as that of many adults. Just like all the other children, she woke up early to go to school, came home for lunch, and took a little break before doing her homework.

Afterwards, however, she would not go and play with her friends or watch TV: Romy usually had plans for the rest of the day, ranging from weekly ballet classes and music lessons to tennis. Later, in high school, she worked in a bookshop one afternoon per week and on Saturdays. During the winter, Sundays were reserved for the ski club, which meant getting up at five a.m. to catch the coach that took the whole group to a ski resort nearby. Oftentimes, dance performances or tennis games were scheduled for the weekend, too, and still Romy found time for her friends, for school, and other activities like reading. How is that possible? And moreover, isn’t it irresponsible of parents to overwhelm their children with scheduled activities while they are young, given that adulthood will come sooner than one will realize anyway? Looking back now, fifteen years later, Romy explains: “The happiest times in my life were those when I was actually most busy, but with different things that fulfilled me in a complementary way. There were also times when I was not engaged in so many things, basically just went to school, hung out with friends, and did some kind of sports once or twice a week. I got quite bored and grumpy, and ended up spending way too much time watching TV…” Romy seems like a fairly engaged person, but does that mean that the mere number of different tasks one engages in at a given stage of life can predict how happy one is?

Bron: in-mind.org

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