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Achieving happiness is one thing, but maintaining that state of satisfaction is even more difficult. Life constantly changes, so it is important to know how to keep your happiness is the face of these obstacles. One of the things that absolutely demolishes satisfaction is comparing yourself. By comparing yourself to somebody else, you are doing nothing but hurting your own efforts and making yourself less satisfied with your life. To maintain happiness, it is also important to know that happiness is not a permanent state. To be happy, it is better to focus on being satisfied with where you are in life, and not to seek out a constant state of euphoria. Every high has a low. It's also important to know that you aren't perfect. Accepting these flaws and not focusing on them is vital to self-improvement. Flexibility is another important aspect of satisfaction. Recognizing and adapting to harmful situations is a valuable skill.

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"Here's a little song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for note. Don't worry, be happy." ~Bobby McFerrin
I was one of those people that when asked what they want in life, would say, "I just want to be happy ..."

In my past, I suffered from debilitating depression. There was a period when getting the dry-cleaning and buying toilet paper was difficult enough.

So, I made it my mission to study what happy people do to stay happy, then I started doing what they were doing. And my happiness increased until I became one of those people I used to be envious of.

Here's a list I use now on a daily basis as a reminder to increase my happiness:

1. Give yourself permission.

Permission to be who you are; permission to laugh big, to cry when you need to, to fail brilliantly, to make stuff; permission to fall apart, breakdown, and get back up again; permission to be different and unique; permission to go too far and reach your dreams.

2. Don't take yourself so seriously.

Hold yourself with a "light hand." Laugh at your foibles with amusement.

When things get tough or stress arises, lift your shoulders with an "oh well..." Know that it's never as big or life devastating as your mind thinks.

Happy people trust that whatever glitch happens will work itself out.

They give a "Ha! Ha!" and a "So what? Who cares? Big Deal! Why not?" when met with resistances.

3. Don't self-ruminate.

I remember a friend of mine from Mississippi saying, "Lynn, when are you gonna' stop starin' at your own belly button...?" (Insert: Southern drawl.)

I learned happy people don't fixate on themselves and their problems. They don't over-analyze the issue du jour.

When they start to get stuck on a problem or in their head, they put their attention on something else.

I remind myself to not have to have it all figured out: Get outside. Go back to your work. Plan something fun.

4. Don't compare.

Comparison has been compared to a little death. When we compare ourselves to others, we harm ourselves.

Happy people know that they're no better or less than another person. Someone will always be at a "more evolved place" and someone will always be "less-evolved."

Note to self: Be concerned with only how to do your best and that's all.

5. Make adjustments.

When something isn't going your way, when your mood dips, or when you feel "off," stay curious and self-aware. Fine-tune the energy in your body by making adjustments.

If you eat something that makes you feel poor, why eat it? Pay attention if that glass of wine the night before makes you feel crappy in the morning or that slice of pizza made you bloated or that ice cream caused you to crash, losing your focus and energy.

When you're feeling stuck or heavy, take a walk, do something different than your normal routine, meet up with a friend.

If feeling anxious or stressed, tune-up with extra sleep, meditation/yoga or a hot bath...

6. Be of service and know how to take care of yourself.

Happy people want to give back. They have plenty to share. They volunteer, take time out to help a friend, offer to connect people to others for their betterment, and aren't in need of getting anything back.

Commit to service but also stay aware of how to take care of yourself. When your energy gets depleted, remember to not give away to the point that you lose focus on your own emotional/mental/physical/spiritual health.

Have loving boundaries to care for yourself so that you have more to give.

7. Choose uplifting friendships.

When we have friendships and conversations that are uplifting, supportive, and loving, with people interested in our betterment, we are on a faster track to our own enlightenment.

If you hang out with someone and don't feel great afterward, see less of that person and seek out other friendships.

Know which friends increase your happiness and nurture those relationships.

8. Be less interested in being happy and more interested in your peace of mind.

I used to think happiness was about being totally ecstatic. In order to balance out my feelings of hopelessness and depression, it seemed natural that my goal would be to be maximally blissed.

But with all the highs there's a low-we eventually come down from it.

Remember not to get attached to the highs and focus more on experiencing peaceful aliveness.

When your life is at peace, there's a relaxed balance; and the chances of sustained happiness and contentment increases.

9. Use your senses.

As they say, the ordinary is extraordinary.

Happy people receive pleasure from enjoying the simple joys in life, and usually they're connected to our senses. This subtle awareness creates significant moments of happiness.

I discovered the pleasures I receive in the:

Warmth of a teacup in my hands on a cold winter day

Taste of a square of dark chocolate melting on my tongue

Dance music in my cycle class that wakes me up

Smile of a stranger on the street

Aroma of my favorite essential oil and when people say, "You smell so good!"

Continue to mark pleasant sense experiences in your mind and carry them throughout your day to increase your spirits.

10. Don't make your intimate relationships the end-all-be-all.

I used to think the person I was in a relationship with was there to give me my happiness rather than increase it.

Happy people understand that those they are in relationship with are an "addition to," not a completion of them. They live full lives so that at the end of the day they have so much more to share.

A loving reminder: Don't rely on your partners to shift your moods, heal you, or fill your empty spaces. And remember it's not your responsibility to do that for your partner either.

Support is an important part of relationship. We're there on the bad days with compassion and a loving embrace. We're there on the good days to cheer.

But mostly, we rely on ourselves to give that to ourselves. We trust that our partners can wrestle with their own demons. We offer space for them to discover his or her happiness, while we focus on creating our own.

What might you put your focus on to continue to increase your own happiness?
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"Here's a little song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for note. Don't worry, be happy." ~Bobby McFerrin I was one of those people that when asked what they want in life, would say, "I just want to be happy ..." In my past, I suffered from debilitating depression.

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Toothpaste on a Saltine

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Happiness is a finicky word because it holds different meaning depending on the circumstances. However, in these circumstances it most likely means a state of positive well being. This means that a person is satisfied with what they are doing and where they are in life. They are not always joyous, but they do not feel like their life is missing something. So in this research, the terms happiness and satisfaction can be substituted for each other.

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Many people think that being happy is a permanent state of ecstasy. This is incorrect. There is no way to be happy forever. There cannot be happiness without sadness. Sort of like Yin-Yang, one cannot exist without the other.

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To attain happiness, one must find their purpose in life and be satisfied with where they are. Since everybody is different, there is not one single way to attain happiness, but rather a loose set of guidelines that can help a person find what makes them happy. Rather than relying on outside sources to give them happiness, a person must find happiness withing themselves, which is why it is so difficult to obtain. In addition to this, a person cannot be happy without being sad. There is not way to be happy forever. However, having a deeper sense of satisfaction with life allows a person to bypass the low points in life because they know that it will get better. In order to find happiness, one must become satisfied with who they are.

There are several common ways that people obtain happiness. People frequently misunderstand and believe that what makes them happy will make another person happy. This is incorrect, since all people have different ambitions and motives. One of the best ways to obtain happiness is to be proud of what you are doing in life. It is difficult to pinpoint how to achieve this, however. Some people may get it from working on a project. Some people may get it from helping others. Both instances involve working and progress. This is why people often suggest taking up a hobby: it gives a person something to work towards.

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The human brain has a reward pathway in the middle of it which allows us to experience pleasure. The brain recognizes something as a good thing and rewards us with pleasure.

"In modern culture, we think happiness should be the default state, otherwise something is amiss. But that's not how the brain works. The brain adapts to anything: You could have a favorite meal that makes you happy, but if you have it all day, every day, you'll be fed up with it in literally every sense. Your brain stops paying attention, it doesn't idle well. So while you don't have to do anything to make yourself happy, it loses all its potency. The pursuit is a good thing. It's all about motivation. People who are born into wealth, great privilege and power, they don't seem particularly happy because they don't have to strive for anything."
"Because it's not easy to be happy, the theories about a secret to happiness aren't realistic – or at least they're a huge oversimplification. Anyone offering a quick-fix solution – and there are plenty of self-help books that do – should be taken with a massive grain of salt. For every person they help, there's at least one for whom it won't work, because the brain is the most variable thing in the world. There never will be any simple answer."

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It's human nature to want to be happy, but people know relatively little about the science behind the emotion.

Scientists are only just beginning to grasp how the human brain processes emotion - the chemical processes and how they affect our thoughts and behaviors. What does it mean to be happy? And what's actually happening in people's brains when they are?

These are the questions neuroscientist Dean Burnett set out to explore in his new book, "Happy Brain: Where Happiness Comes From and Why," an attempt to understand one of humanity's most potent emotions. He recently spoke with U.S. News about what he discovered. Excerpts:

It's clear the brain's process of forming emotions is incredibly complicated. Do you have a unified theory of what makes us happy?
The process itself is incredibly complicated, a reward pathway deep in the middle of the brain. We share it with lots of other species. It's a small circuit, but it's incredibly important and it allows us to experience pleasure. The brain recognizes that as a good thing, saying, 'You should do that again, here's some pleasure.'

And it can be anything. For instance, it happens when we experience something bad, where we experience fear or something scary, but then it goes away. People want to know why horror is so appealing. You were scared a minute ago and but now you're not. Every experience can be traced back to that process, so many things that can determine how powerful it is and to what degree it's triggered, like if something is familiar or not.

Novelty is a big part of that. Humans need money so we can purchase what we need to survive. And you'd think the more money we have the happier it tends to make us, but it's not that straightforward. If you have $500 that goes into your account every two weeks in your paycheck, that's nice but that doesn't really excite you, whereas if you find $20 in the pocket of your jeans, that's brilliant. It's a lot more rewarding. But familiarity can makes us happy, too. There are a lot of things in the environment that lead to stress and fear and terror and anxiety, and the brain is primed for threat detection, but in our homes we're surrounded by things that calm us down. We're more content, we know what goes where. The brain goes, 'I've been here before and at no point have I died.'
The 'pursuit of happiness' is in the Declaration of Independence as an inalienable right alongside life and liberty. Why is happiness such a powerful motivator?

The evidence that has accumulated is that happiness is a reward, the brain telling us that something has gone right or we've done something which is beneficial. The reward part of our brain identifies sources of pleasure in our lives. You want to do things that make you happy, and the quest for happiness is a big part of who we are, and it's a way for our brain to tell us when things have gone right, what things are beneficial.

It all comes down to the fact that it's a positive sensation. We have a lot of other emotions - embarrassment, fear, guilt - but they're unpleasant, they're meant to discourage us. At the most basic level, emotions are the shortcut the brain uses rather than having to think through a scenario every single time, weighing the pros and cons. The brain can think rationally and logically. Emotions are the shortcut we have to that. I tried something, but it made me feel guilty. Or there's something we enjoy, we like, we want to feel good.

But happiness isn't necessarily the most powerful emotion. Fear, for example, is about survival - we don't want to be happy for a few minutes but then end up dead.

As for the pursuit of happiness, the pursuing itself is a good thing. In modern culture, we think happiness should be the default state, otherwise something is amiss. But that's not how the brain works. The brain adapts to anything: You could have a favorite meal that makes you happy, but if you have it all day, every day, you'll be fed up with it in literally every sense.

Your brain stops paying attention, it doesn't idle well. So while you don't have to do anything to make yourself happy, it loses all its potency. The pursuit is a good thing. It's all about motivation. People who are born into wealth, great privilege and power, they don't seem particularly happy because they don't have to strive for anything.

If you're constantly happy, you're avoiding all sorts of experiences. The more emotions you experience, the more you develop emotional competence. Something bad will happen to you eventually. If you've always been happy, you don't know how to deal with it and your brain gets really confused. It's the same as if you were to only exercise one muscle - you might end up with a really strong leg, but you'd have trouble getting around. It's not great.
A lot of our brain is set up for the purposes of survival. Most of us no longer constantly face mortal threats. How has that changed how our brains process happiness?
Modern life, counterintuitively, can actually cause more of a problem. Since survival isn't necessarily a big deal anymore - we don't really have life-or-death situations, no predators, no readily immediate fatal dangers - there's so much more opportunity to indulge ourselves, our basic hedonistic instinct.

All of this stems from the fact that the human brain evolved very rapidly. The cortex was half the size it is now 3 million years ago. That is phenomenally fast for evolution. But the underlying parts of the brain - the reptile brain - is the same as it's always been. It keeps us alive. The incredibly complex, highly advanced part of the brain and the more primitive part of the brain don't always work together easily. It's like trying to install Windows 10 on a 5-year old laptop - you can do it, but neither side really enjoys it.

As a result, there are lots of different parts of the brain that rival other parts of the brain. The basic instinct to seek out basic pleasures competes with the survival instinct - conflicts like that are often coming to a head inside the brain. The instinct to binge eat comes from the need for survival in the wild. When you came across a plentiful, nutritious food source when food was otherwise scarce, the instinct is to eat as much as you can beyond your fill. The pursuit of happiness can make us blind to more long-term advantages.
Why is so much of our happiness contingent on our relationships with others?
We are such a social species, perhaps the most social species of all, and that's part of what drove our evolution. We don't tend to kill each other. That's a really strong selling point of the human race. In New York, there are 8 million people and relatively few murders. If you put 8 million chimps in New York, in a few days you'd have 4 million chimps, and then 2 million. They're an aggressive species in that regard, whereas we can happily live side by side.

Other people are such a big part of how we experience emotions. Guilt and embarrassment only exist in the context of other people. So if your bathrobe falls off when you get out of the shower, no big deal. But if it happens in a hotel lobby, it's terribly embarrassing because there are other people around to see and judge you. Rejection is such a huge part of our make-up.

We're a pair-bonding species, and we seek out partners. Not everyone's the same, of course, but it's the human norm, as it were. When we find the one person who we want to settle down with, it causes all manner of reactions in the brain. We've evolved to encourage us to maintain a link with one person. It means that when you first fall in love, you spend a lot of time not aware of that person's tics and flaws. Your hazard-detection system is shut down. That can be harmful, such as when people cannot recognize that their partner is awful. It can be really quite disturbing, when people are maintaining relationships they shouldn't. The part of your brain that can recognize that is suppressed, and the longer you stay with someone the harder it is to leave. It's a form of self-sabotage.

On the other hand, we're able to form that kind of connection with more than one person. We've detached it from pure mating instinct. We can have friends now, a strong emotional bond with someone we'll never mate with. Friends make us happy because we can form that strong connection.
You write about how the chemical oxytocin, for example, is important to creating meaningful bonds between people - mothers and babies, lovers, friends. How does it sometimes backfire?
There's an impression that these things are straightforward, but the brain is so incredibly diverse that these chemicals can sometimes have radically different effects. We're evolved to make friends but not necessarily with all other people. There's an ingroup and an outgroup. The outgroup, who aren't part of us, can be perceived as a threat.

We're a tribal species. To a degree, the only thing that's really a threat to a human is another human. Oxytocin enhances emotional bonds, romantic bonds, friendship bonds, familial bonds. But not every bond is helpful. It can make us more negatively predisposed to people in the outgroup, even racist.

We have a strong sense of status. We want to be top dog, respected, looked up to as much as possible. We have a strong instinct, rooted in the amygdala, which regulates emotions like fear, that anything that boosts our state, we seize upon it. If you have a goal, say, to be the world's best sprinter, that's fine as a goal. But it means nobody else can have it. It's a zero-sum thing. A lot of what makes us happy is dependent on making other people less happy. We are a hierarchical species. For us to go up, someone else must go down.
Presumably, you get asked a lot for advice on how to be happy. What do you tell people?
There are two things I try to emphasize.

First, happiness isn't the default - expecting it isn't realistic. Happiness should be a goal rather than a permanent state. The brain has to work hard to be happy - to be happy all the time would be exhausting. High energy, extroverted people can be pretty tiring to be around. It's nice to try to aim for happiness, but it's not something we can ever get to permanently. The closer you get, the harder it is. Sure, there should be more times that you're happy than you're not, but you shouldn't be happy all the time.

And, second, because it's not easy to be happy, the theories about a secret to happiness aren't realistic - or at least they're a huge oversimplification. Anyone offering a quick-fix solution - and there are plenty of self-help books that do - should be taken with a massive grain of salt. For every person they help, there's at least one for whom it won't work, because the brain is the most variable thing in the world. There never will be any simple answer.

And one other thing: The cultural notion that you can find happily ever after, that when you find the one person you should be with, that's it. That's an ironically romanticized version of love, and it doesn't really work that way. It sets you up to fail. It's unhealthy, and it sets an ideal that isn't going to happen. When you buy a car you've always wanted, you don't just park it in the driveway and look at it, you drive it and put fuel in it and service it. The same is true in a relationship - it should be used and appreciated.

All these ideas of constant happiness, they're culturally induced rather than biological. There's no guarantee that you should be happy constantly.

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It's human nature to want to be happy, but people know relatively little about the science behind the emotion. Scientists are only just beginning to grasp how the human brain processes emotion - the chemical processes and how they affect our thoughts and behaviors. What does it mean to be happy?

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"Research has shown that long-term happiness, feeling contented with life, stems from feeling and being in charge of as much of our life as possible. It's not about smiling all the time nor does it stem from money or health, but a self-belief you are on the road you want to be on."
"The problem many of us face however is that we live out of sync with what matters most to us and we find ourselves doing a lot more things we don't like, meaning the things that contribute most to our happiness slip-off our agenda."
"To find out what being happy means to you, ask yourself what's important to you in your life. What is meaningful to you? What are the things that give you a deep sense of satisfaction and as a result, bring you happiness?"

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What does happiness mean to you?

Happy is a much used word. "I'm happy about this, I'm not happy about that..."

But what does being happy really mean? How do we know we are happy? What does it feel like?

Research has shown that long-term happiness, feeling contented with life, stems from feeling and being in charge of as much of our life as possible. It's not about smiling all the time nor does it stem from money or health, but a self-belief you are on the road you want to be on.

The problem many of us face however is that we live out of sync with what matters most to us and we find ourselves doing a lot more things we don't like, meaning the things that contribute most to our happiness slip-off our agenda.

One of the most common reasons people seek life coaching is because they have an overall sense of unhappiness and lack of fulfilment. By helping increase self-awareness, coaching brings an understanding of where you are in your life and how you get to where you want to be.
Exploring Happiness
Last Month's international Day of Happiness inspired lots of debate, including a panel discussion at The Canvas Café, London's First Happy Café. It was an energetic event and the themes tied in with research from the Action for Happiness Ten keys to Happier Living.

At the event, people discussed the importance of being spontaneous and playful; of making a difference to others; of making an effort to be happy in everyday life, and of being kind to oneself and others.

To find out what being happy means to you, ask yourself what's important to you in your life.

What is meaningful to you? What are the things that give you a deep sense of satisfaction and as a result, bring you happiness?

It's often the little things that bring great joy. Reigniting old passions such as painting, writing, photography or a sport; spending quality time with family and friends; changing a habit or routine or doing some voluntary work in your community.

Making an effort every day to explore what's possible is the very thing that renders our life meaningful and happy. It is essential for our wellbeing.

Karen Liebenguth is a life coach and accredited mindfulness teacher. She offers 1:1 coaching while walking in Victoria park because she believes that it is in nature where insight, change and creativity can happen most naturally. Karen also offers mindfulness workshops and courses for the workplace to reduce stress and restore wellbeing.

For more information visit: www.greenspacecoaching.com or drop Karen a line: karen@greenspacecoaching.com

This article was originally published in Love East magazine in April 2016. It is re-published here with permission.

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Happy is a much used word. "I'm happy about this, I'm not happy about that..." But what does being happy really mean? How do we know we are happy? What does it feel like? Research has shown that long-term happiness, feeling contented with life, stems from feeling and being in charge of as much of our life as possible.

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The term happiness is often used to describe a range of positive emotions.
Many researchers use the term interchangeably with "subjective well being,"
which they measure by simply asking people to report how satisfied they feel with their own lives and how much positive and negative emotion they’re experiencing.
Positive psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky elaborates, describing happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile."
So happiness is not just the fleeting positive feelings, but also is a deeper sense of meaning and purpose.

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Happiness Definition | What Is Happiness

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Coming up with a formal definition of happiness can be tricky. After all, shouldn’t we just know it when we feel it? In fact, we often use the term to describe a range of positive emotions, including amusement, joy, pride, and contentment. But to understand the causes and effects of happiness, researchers first need to define it.

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Consider external sources-how can they make people happy? Is it enough?
How does one exhibit happiness? How do we know if someone is truly happy?
Build questions off of your initial research...be curious and think about this from different viewpoints.

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Your Padlet should include a variety of resources you find as you research what it takes to attain happiness. Articles, videos, images, textual examples, past assignments, and interviews are just a few examples of what you can include in your Padlet. You also must include a variety of posts in your Padlet: links, images, videos, voice recordings, interviews, drawings, etc.

As you add to your Padlet you should also reflect, analyze, make connections, and provide arguments. You can do this through writing, video, images, art, music, or anything you can think of in order to share. Be creative, analytical, and open minded!

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-How can external forces impact happiness?
-How does happiness change over time?
-What sacrifices are acceptable in our pursuit of happiness?
-What have we learned from the “darkness” associated with our authors and characters this year?
-What does this suggest about happiness?
-What do their stories mean to you and what you need to do in order to be happy?

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What does it mean to be happy?
How does one attain (and sustain) true happiness?

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To figure out how to obtain happiness, we must first figure out exactly what happiness is. "Happiness is the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment."
This is the definition that Oxford dictionary gives the word happy.
"Happiness is a state, not a trait; in other words, it isn’t a long-lasting, permanent feature or personality trait, but a more fleeting, changeable state."
Happiness is not something that is permanent, which in and of itself proves that it is impossible to be happy forever. Moreover, it is a changeable state of mind, which means that it could disappear at a moment's notice.
"Happiness is equated with feeling pleasure or contentment, meaning that happiness is not to be confused with joy, ecstasy, bliss, or other more intense feelings."
So happiness is more on par with contentedness, not joy. This means it is a more passive, subtle feeling as opposed to the passion ignited by stronger emotions.
"Happiness can be either feeling or showing, meaning that happiness is not necessarily an internal or external experience, but can be both."
This is a difficult concept to wrap your head around, but it basically means that happiness is not something that comes from a definitive source, which makes it harder to pinpoint what brings it along.

With happiness being such a large and vague concept, it is difficult for people to agree upon boundaries to define it.

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What is happiness?

It seems like an odd question, but is it? Do you know how to define happiness? Do you think happiness is the same thing to you as it is to others?

What's the point of it all? Does it even make a difference in our lives?

In fact, happiness does have a pretty important role in our lives, and it can have a huge impact on the way we live our lives. Although researchers have yet to pin down the definition or an agreed-upon framework for happiness, there's a lot we have learned in the last few decades.

To dive into the science of happiness, what it actually is, and why it matters, read on!

A Look at the Oxford Dictionary's Definition of Happiness

First, let's take a look at the definition of happiness so we're all on the same page.

Oxford Dictionary's definition of "happiness" is a simple one: " The state of being happy."

Not exactly what we were looking for, was it? Perhaps we need to dive a little deeper.

Oxford Dictionary's definition of is a little more helpful: " Feeling or showing pleasure or contentment."

That's better! So, happiness is the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment. From this definition, we can glean a few important points about happiness:

1. Happiness is a state, not a trait; in other words, it isn't a long-lasting, permanent feature or personality trait, but a more fleeting, changeable state.

2. Happiness is equated with feeling pleasure or contentment, meaning that happiness is not to be confused with joy, ecstasy, bliss, or other more intense feelings.

3. Happiness can be either feeling or showing, meaning that happiness is not necessarily an internal or external experience, but can be both.

Now we have a better grasp on what happiness is-or at least, how the Oxford Dictionary defines what happiness is. However, this definition is not the end-all, be-all definition of happiness. In fact, the definition of happiness is not a "settled" debate!

What is the Meaning of Happiness in Positive Psychology?

The meaning of happiness in Positive Psychology really depends on who you ask.

Happiness is often known by another name in positive psychology research: subjective , or SWB. Some believe happiness is one of the core components of SWB, while others believe happiness is SWB. Regardless, you'll frequently find SWB used as a shorthand for happiness in the literature.

And speaking of the literature, you will find references to SWB everywhere! A quick Google search for the word "happiness" brings up just over 2 million results (as of January 6th, 2019). Further, a quick search for the same term in two of psychology's biggest online databases (PsycINFO and PsycARTICLES) returns 19,139 results from academic and other journals, books, dissertations, and more.

Is it Difficult to Define Scientifically?

With so many takes on happiness, it's no wonder that happiness is a little difficult to define scientifically; there is certainly disagreement about what, exactly, happiness is.

According to researchers Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener, and their colleagues (2005), there are three main ways that happiness has been approached in positive psychology:

1. Happiness as a global assessment of life and all its facets

2. Happiness as a recollection of past emotional experiences

3. Happiness as an aggregation of multiple emotional reactions across time (Kim-Prieto, Diener, Tamir, Scollon, & Diener, 2005)

Although they generally all agree on what happiness feels like-being satisfied with life, in a good mood, feeling positive emotions, feeling enjoyment, etc.-researchers have found it difficult to agree on the scope of happiness.

However, for our purposes in this piece, it's enough to work off of a basic definition that melds the Oxford Dictionary's definition with that of positive psychologists: happiness is a state characterized by contentment and general satisfaction with one's current situation.

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, whereas pleasure can come and go in seconds (Paul, 2015).

Pleasure can contribute to happiness, and happiness can enhance or deepen feelings of pleasure, but the two can also be completely mutually exclusive. For example, you can feel a sense of happiness based on meaning and engagement that has nothing to do with pleasure, or you could feel pleasure but also struggle with guilt because of it, keeping you from feeling happy at the same time.

Happiness vs. Meaning

Happiness and meaning have an even more distinct line between the two. Rarely are happiness and meaning confused or used interchangeably, and for good reason-they describe two very different experiences.

"Humans may resemble many other creatures in their striving for happiness, but the quest for meaning is a key part of what makes us human, and uniquely so."

Roy Baumeister et al. (2013)
Unlike happiness, meaning is generally not a fleeting state that can come and go throughout the day; it's a more comprehensive sense of purpose and feeling of contributing to something greater than yourself.

As the quote from Baumeister and colleagues (2013) suggests, there are important distinctions between the methods of searching for and the benefits of experiencing happiness and meaning. Scott Barry Kaufman at Scientific American (2016) outlines these distinctions that Baumeister and his fellow researchers found between the two:

Finding one's life easy or difficult was related to happiness, but not meaning.

Feeling healthy was related to happiness, but not meaning.

Feeling good was related to happiness, not meaning.

Scarcity of money reduced happiness more than meaning.

People with more meaningful lives agreed that "relationships are more important than achievements."

Helping people in need was linked to meaning but not happiness.

Expecting to do a lot of deep thinking was positively related to meaningfulness, but negatively with happiness.

Happiness was related more to being a taker rather than a giver, whereas meaning was related more to being a giver than a taker.

The more people felt their activities were consistent with core themes and values of their self, the greater meaning they reported in their activities.

Seeing oneself as wise, creative, and even anxious were all linked to meaning but had no relationship (and in some cases, even showed a negative relationship) to happiness (Kaufman, 2016).

Basically, although the two overlaps and each can contribute to the experience of the other, the two can be mutually exclusive (Baumeister et al., 2013).

The Origins and Etymology of Happiness (Incl. Root Words)

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 and chance" (McMahon, 2006).

What Does Self-Happiness Mean?

Although the term is not used very often, "self-happiness" refers to a sense of happiness or satisfaction with one's self. It is often associated with self-confidence, self-esteem, and other concepts that marry "the self" with feeling content and happy.

In general, it means that you are pleased with yourself and your choices, and happy with the person that you are.

The Psychology Behind Human Happiness

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):

1. 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).

2. 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 (although pursuing other important experiences and feelings may contribute to greater happiness), and some assume that happiness can be purposefully increased or enhanced.

Although they differ on the specifics, these theories generally agree on a few points:

1. It's good to be happy, and people like being happy.

2. Happiness is neither a totally fleeting, momentary experience nor a stable, long-term trait.

3. At least some portion of our happiness is set by our genetics, but the amount varies from about 10% up to 50%.

4. The pursuit and attainment of pleasure will rarely lead to happiness.

5. There are many sources that contribute to or compose happiness (AIPC, 2011).

What Sources Create True Personal Happiness?

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 happier.

The degree to which you can increase your happiness will vary widely by which theory you subscribe to, but there are no credible theories that allow absolutely no room for individual improvement.

In order to improve your overall happiness, the most effective method is to look at the list of sources above and work on enhancing the quality of your experiences in each one of them. For example, you can work on getting a higher salary (although a higher salary will only work up to about $75,000 USD a year), improve your , work on developing and maintaining high-quality relationships, and finding ways to incorporate more positive feelings into your daily life.

8 Examples That Describe What a Happy Life Looks Like

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 his god.

A teenager in a foster home who has several close friends and enjoys playing football on his school's team.

A man who lives with several pets, enjoys a high salary, and loves his job.

Each of these was pulled from real-world examples of people who are happy. They may not seem like they have it all, but they all have at least one of the ingredients from the list of sources mentioned earlier. We don't need to have everything we want in order to be happy-true happiness can be obtained by finding joy in what we already have, however much or little that may seem.

Why is Happiness So Important?

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? ":

1. Happy people are more successful in multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health.

2. Happy people get sick less often and experience fewer symptoms when they do get sick.

3. Happy people have more friends and a better support system.

4. Happy people donate more to charity (and giving money to charity makes you happy, too).

5. Happy people are more helpful and more likely to volunteer-which also makes you happier!

6. Happy people have an easier time navigating through life since optimism eases pain, sadness, and grief.

7. Happy people have a positive influence on others, and encourage them to be happy as well, which can act as reinforcement.

8. Happy people engage in deeper and more meaningful conversations.

9. Happy people smile more, which is beneficial to your health.

10. Happy people exercise more often and eat more healthily.

11. Happy people are happy with what they have rather than being jealous of others.

12. Happy people are healthier all around and more likely to be healthy in the future.

13. Happy people live longer than those who are not as happy.

14. Happy people are more productive and more creative, and this effect extends to all those experiencing positive emotions.

The Relationship Between Mental Health and Happiness

As you can probably assume from the list above, there is a strong relationship between mental health and happiness! When happy people are healthier, have better relationships, make friends more easily, and find more success in life, it's easy to see why happiness and mental health are related.

The sources that contribute to happiness are the same as those that provide people with a buffer or protection against mental illness, which explains the close relationship between the two.

A recent study explored the association between happiness and mental health in college students and found that a relatively strong, positive correlation connects the two factors (Shafiq, Nas, Ansar, Nasrulla, Bushra, & Imam, 2015). This correlation held, even when gender and socio-demographic variables were added to the mix.

The close tie between mental health and happiness is reason enough to make happiness an important priority for parents, educators, researchers, and medical professionals alike, along with the simple fact that we all like to feel happy!

6 Videos That Explain Happiness

If you're interested in learning more about happiness from a scientific perspective, there are a few videos you might want to check out, including:
Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness by Professor Tal Ben-Shahar from WGBH Forum. Shawn Achor - The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance TEDTalk from TEDx Talks Positive Psychology - Happier by Professor Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D. from FightMediocrity How to be Happy - The Science of Happiness and Feeling Positive in Life from Memorize Academy The Surprising Science of Happiness TED Talk by Dan Gilbert from TED How to Be Happy - The Secret of Authentic Happiness - Martin Seligman from Practical Psychology
A Take-Home Message

I hope this piece was helpful and informative for you, and that you learned something new about the scientific study of happiness.

It's a fascinating area of research, and new findings are coming out all the time. Make sure you stay up to date on the happiness literature, as the findings can be of great use in helping you to live your best life!

What are your thoughts on happiness? Would you define it differently? What do you find is the most important ingredient for your own happiness? Let us know in the comments section below!

Thanks for reading, I hope you are all finding happiness in the new year!

References

AIPC. (2011). Happiness and positive psychology. Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors Article Library. Retrieved from https://www.aipc.net.au/articles/happiness-and-positive-psychology/

Baumeister, R., Vohs, K. D., Aaker, J. L., & Gabinsky, E. N. (2013). Some key differences between a happy life and a meaningful life. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8, 505-516. doi:10.1080/17439760.2013.830764

https://www.etymonline.com/word/happy

Kaufman, S. B. (2016). The differences between happiness and meaning in life. Scientific American. Retrieved from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/the-differences-between-happiness-and-meaning-in-life/

Kim-Prieto, C., Diener, E., Tamir, M., Scollon, C. N., & Diener, M. (2005). Integrating the diverse
definitions of happiness: A time-sequential framework of subjective well-being.Journal of Happiness Studies, 6, 261-300. doi:10.1007/s10902-005-7226-8

McMahon, D. (2006). Happiness: A history. New York City, NY, US: Grove Press.

Paul, M. (2015). The difference between happiness and pleasure. Huffington Post: Life. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-difference-between-happiness-and-pleasure_b_7053946

Shafiq, S., Naz, R. A., Ansar, M., Nasrulla, T., Bushra, M., & Imam, S. (2015). Happiness as related to mental health among university students. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 5, 124-132.

Silny, J. (n.d.). What's so great about happiness, anyway? (The answer: plenty!). Happify Daily. Retrieved from https://www.happify.com/hd/whats-so-great-about-happiness/

Waldinger, R. J., & Schulz, M. S. (2010). What's love got to do with it?: Social functioning, perceived health, and daily happiness in married octogenarians. Psychology and Aging, 25, 422-431. doi:10.1037/a0019087

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What is Happiness and Why is it Important? (+ Definition in Psychology)

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What is happiness? It seems like an odd question, but is it? Do you know how to define happiness? Do you think happiness is the same thing to you as it is to others? What's the point of it all? Does it even make a difference in our lives?