These differences, of course, are merely differences in emphasis. Most people would probably agree that each of these views, in some respects, captures the essence of happiness.
The pleasant life is realized through the attainment of day-to-day pleasures that add fun, joy, and excitement to our lives. For example, evening walks along the beach and a fulfilling sex life can enhance our daily pleasure and contribute to the pleasant life. The good life is achieved through identifying our unique skills and abilities and engaging these talents to enrich our lives; those who achieve the good life often find themselves absorbed in their work or their recreational pursuits.
The meaningful life involves a deep sense of fulfillment that comes from using our talents in the service of the greater good: in ways that benefit the lives of others or that make the world a better place. In general, the happiest people tend to be those who pursue the full life—they orient their pursuits toward all three elements Seligman et al.
Happiness is an enduring state of well-being involving satisfaction in the pleasant, good, and meaningful aspects of life. The definition implies that happiness is a long-term state—what is often characterized as subjective well-being—rather than merely a transient positive mood we all experience from time to time.
It is this enduring happiness that has captured the interests of psychologists and other social scientists. The study of happiness has grown dramatically in the last three decades Diener, One of the most basic questions that happiness investigators routinely examine is this: How happy are people in general?
People who live in North America, Australia, and New Zealand reported the highest average score at 7. Worldwide, the five happiest countries are Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Sweden; the United States is ranked 17th happiest Helliwell et al.
Several years ago, a Gallup survey of more than 1, U. However, a recent poll of 2, U. Although it is difficult to explain this apparent decline in happiness, it may be connected to the challenging economic conditions the United States has endured over the last several years.
But, is it? This question brings us to the next important issue: What factors influence happiness? What really makes people happy? What factors contribute to sustained joy and contentment? Is it money, attractiveness, material possessions, a rewarding occupation, a satisfying relationship?
Extensive research over the years has examined this question. Although it is important to point out that much of this work has been correlational, many of the key findings some of which may surprise you are summarized below. Family and other social relationships appear to be key factors correlated with happiness.
Studies show that married people report being happier than those who are single, divorced, or widowed Diener et al. In fact, some have suggested that satisfaction with marriage and family life is the strongest predictor of happiness Myers, Happy people tend to have more friends, more high-quality social relationships, and stronger social support networks than less happy people Lyubomirsky et al.
Can money buy happiness? In general, extensive research suggests that the answer is yes, but with several caveats. However, income within societies appears to correlate with happiness only up to a point.
In a study of over , U. What about education and employment? Happy people, compared to those who are less happy, are more likely to graduate from college and secure more meaningful and engaging jobs. Once they obtain a job, they are also more likely to succeed Lyubomirsky et al.
While education shows a positive but weak correlation with happiness, intelligence is not appreciably related to happiness Diener et al. Does religiosity correlate with happiness? However, the relationship between religiosity and happiness depends on societal circumstances. Nations and states with more difficult living conditions e.
To the extent that people possess characteristics that are highly valued by their culture, they tend to be happier Diener, Researchers have studied both parenthood and physical attractiveness as potential contributors to happiness, but no link has been identified.
An important point should be considered regarding happiness. In addition, we are often incorrect when estimating how our long-term happiness would change for the better or worse in response to certain life events. But the opportunity to influence your surroundings can be substantially impaired in your middle years because of conflicting demands made by other people and the roles you have taken on.
You can feel particularly hemmed in by your situation. But why does it improve, on average, after then? In part, it is because people move on to different stages of life, when demands on their time and money, experienced uncertainty and other negative features tend to decline. But feelings are not entirely determined by what happens to you — they also depend on how you interpret your world.
People respond differently to many aspects of the environment, in part through mental filters such as those illustrated below. Often mental comparisons involve other people, such as number one in the table. Particularly important for understanding why happiness may increase in the later years are processes of mental adaptation.
Biological and psychological studies have shown how responses to a stimulus become diminished after repeated presentation.
This means that unpleasant conditions can become viewed less negatively after a period of time. For stimuli that are new, cognition what you think and affect how you feel tend to be closely intertwined.
As features and events in your life become increasingly familiar they tend to generate less intense emotions, perhaps contributing to a gradual increase in happiness with increasing years. Together, the combination of these two sets of factors — changes in what life doles out and shifts in the interpretation of those events — can provide some explanation of the U-shape pattern in happiness across ages.
To keep up with the Agenda subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Peter Warr , Professor, University of Sheffield. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum. Studies show that people placing a high value on their own happiness can lead to less happiness, as they are disappointed when they expect to feel happy.
I accept. Mental Health At what age does happiness peak? Those unseized moments add up, and together they may go against what many believe constitutes a happy life. We conducted a few more studies to test the robustness of our results. In one study, we gave people different definitions of remembered happiness to see if a particular portrayal was driving the result.
Last, we wanted to test whether the pattern we saw among all of our American participants generalized to other cultures. We presented the same choice between experienced and remembered happiness, for either their next hour or for their life, to approximately people in other Western countries England and the Netherlands and in Eastern countries China and Japan.
Why this consistency? We believe that participants in China and Japan were more clear in their preference for experienced happiness due to the long religious history in Eastern cultures of teaching the value of mindfulness and appreciating each present moment. Our studies asked thousands of individuals which of two types of happiness—experienced or remembered—they preferred. Though the pursuit of happiness is so fundamental as to be called an inalienable right, the particular form of happiness individuals pursue is surprisingly malleable.
But these results reveal that Westerners planning their lives by the day or the hour will likely achieve a different version of happiness than what they themselves believe makes a happy life.
But if you believe you want a life of happiness experienced in the moment, think twice before preventing yourself from achieving it. You have 1 free article s left this month. You are reading your last free article for this month.
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