What makes a person happy? If people want to be happy— and few people proclaim their desire to be sad—should they seek money and professional success? Many experts in fields such as sociology, psychology, and public policy are attempting to answer this seemingly simple question. Surprisingly, many studies support the longstanding hypothesis that money cannot buy happiness. One of the chief obstacles to happiness is referred to as social comparison. When people compare themselves to other people, they prefer to see themselves as in some way superior. In an experiment, social scientists asked whether people would prefer earning $50,000 per year while their peers earned $25,000 per year, or whether they would prefer earning $100,000 per year while their peers averaged $250,000 per year. Even though people would earn more in the latter scenario, most chose the former as a consequence of their desire to see themselves as more successful than others. Thus, a simple way to increase happiness is for people to reject the urge to compare themselves to others based on their finances. Another way to increase people’s sense of personal happiness is for them to be true to themselves and keep their personal sense of integrity. While this advice may seem rather trite, people who respect and follow their authentic desires generally report being happier than people who do not. When people limit their personal desires in order to obtain certain goals, they may achieve greater financial success but actually end up unhappier. Finally, sometimes people benefit from social rules that encourage them to improve their lives, even when these laws cost more money. While few people enjoy paying taxes, some taxes make people happier because they improve the overall quality of people’s lives. In their study of smoking and cigarette taxes, Gruber and Mullainathan (2006) conclude that “taxes may affect the happiness of former smokers (by making it easier to resist the temptation to resume smoking) or prospective smokers (by making it easier to never start smoking in the first place)”. This example demonstrates how a society’s rules can lead to the general happiness of its populations, even through the apparently negative practice of increased taxation.The recommendation that people should have personal integrity and not betray themselves in order to be happy sounds ....

But people who do this are generally happier than those who do not.

Fill in the blank!

A. original

B. fantastic

C. insightful

D. cliched

E. atrocious​