HAPPINESS

You might be wondering why happiness is considered such an important aspect of life. You may be thinking, “Sure, it’s great to be happy, but that’s not what life is about!” In some ways, the science would agree with you; although  life satisfaction , meaning, and well-being often go hand-in-hand with happiness, that is not always the case. Further, many researchers have found people to be more content with a life of meaning and purpose than a life of happiness. Happiness is not necessarily the overarching goal for everyone in life. However, happiness is so important because it has some undeniably positive benefits and co-occurring factors. June Silny at Happify outlines 14 answers to the question, “ What’s so great about happiness, anyway? ”: Happy people are more  successful  in multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. Happy people get sick less often and experience fewer symptoms when they do get sick. Happy people have

Given our definitions, what does a happy life look like? Of course, what it looks like will depend on the individual—a happy life for one person may be another’s nightmare! However, there are a few examples that can display a wide range of lives that can be conducive to happiness: A woman who lives alone, has excellent relationships with her nieces and nephews, gives to charity, and finds meaning in her work. A man who is happily married with three healthy children and a relatively low-paying job. A widow who enjoys regular visits with her children and grandchildren, along with volunteering for local charities. A cancer patient who has a wonderful support system and finds meaning in helping others make it through chemotherapy. A social worker who works 70-hour works with no overtime pay in order to ensure the children on her caseload are in good hands. An unmarried man in a monastery who has no earthly possessions and no salary to speak of, but finds meaning in communing with h

Taking together all the various theories and findings on happiness, we know that there are at least a few factors that are very important for overall happiness: Individual income Labor market status Physical health Family Social relationships Moral values Experience of positive emotions (AIPC, 2011). All of these factors can contribute to a happy life, but research has found time and again that good relationships are the most vital ingredient (Waldinger & Schulz, 2010). When we are happy in our most important  relationships  (usually our spouse or significant other, our children and/or our parents, other close family members, and our closest friends), we tend to be happier overall. We have control over how our relationships go (in general), so that leads us to an interesting and important question: can we increase our own happiness? Can an Individual Learn How to be Happy? The answer from numerous studies is a resounding YES! You can indeed learn how to be h

Now that we know what happiness is, let’s dive a little deeper. What does psychology have to tell us about happiness? There are many different theories of happiness, but they generally fall into one of two categories based on how they conceptualize happiness (or well-being): Hedonic  happiness/well-being is happiness conceptualized as experiencing more pleasure and less pain; it is composed of an affective component (high positive affect and low negative affect) and a cognitive component (satisfaction with one’s life). Eudaimonic  happiness/well-being conceptualizes happiness as the result of the pursuit and attainment of life purpose, meaning, challenge, and personal growth; happiness is based on reaching one’s full potential and operating at full functioning (AIPC, 2011). Some theories see happiness as a by-product of other, more important pursuits in life, while others see happiness as the end-goal for humans. Some theories state that pursuing happiness is pointless (alth

According to  Etymology Online , the word for “happy” in most languages came from the word for “lucky.” This suggests an interesting trend—perhaps our ancestors believed that happiness was largely a by-product of luck? It also points to a possible difference of general opinion between earlier generations and our own 20th and 21st-century generations: that happiness was not a vital factor in a good life, but essentially a bonus that some lucky individuals got to experience. Here’s what author Darrin McMahon writes about the origins and root words of the word “happiness”: “It is a striking fact that in every Indo-European language, without exception, going all the way back to ancient Greek, the word for happiness is a cognate with the word for luck. Hap is the Old Norse and Old English root of happiness, and it just means luck or chance, as did the Old French heur, giving us bonheur, good fortune or happiness. German gives us the word Gluck, which to this day means both happiness

Pleasure vs. Happiness With the close ties between pleasure and happiness, you might be wondering how to differentiate between them. After all, the Oxford definition of happiness describes it as a state of feeling pleasure! The association between the two makes sense, and it’s common to hear the two words used interchangeably outside of the literature; however, when it comes to the science of positive psychology, it is important to make a distinction between the two. Happiness, as we described above, is a state characterized by feelings of contentment and satisfaction with one’s life or current situation. On the other hand, pleasure is a more visceral, in-the-moment experience. It refers to the positive feelings we get from experiences like eating good food, getting a massage, receiving a compliment, or having sex. Happiness , while not a permanent state, is a more stable state than pleasure. Happiness generally sticks around for longer than a few moments at a time,