Happiness has long been seen as the elusive goal of human life. A whole branch of psychology—positive psychology—has been dedicated to the elusive state of happiness.
According to the American Psychological Association, happiness is an emotion that includes feelings of joy, gladness, satisfaction, and well-being. There are a variety of ways to cultivate happiness, including prioritizing relationships and engaging in new experiences.
1. It’s a feeling
Researchers have found that when you are happy, chemicals like serotonin are released in your brain. These chemicals then send messages to the rest of your body. These signals cause your heart to beat faster, your face to flush, and your digestive system to work more quickly.
This may explain why so many people feel a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment when something good happens. It also explains why happiness can be contagious, although it isn’t quite as infectious as the flu.
Happiness is more than an emotion, but recognizing that it’s also a state of mind can be helpful in figuring out how to achieve it. Some of the best ways to do this include focusing on gratitude, lowering your stress levels, avoiding toxic behaviors, and building positive relationships. It may take time to develop these skills, but the goal is to make them a daily habit. Eventually, you’ll be happy just by thinking about them!
2. It’s a choice
The phrase “happiness is a choice” may sound cliche, but it’s true! Happiness can be intentionally chosen, and it’s a good choice for your physical and mental health. It can be hard to choose happiness when aspects of your life are not going well. You may have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders, or you might have to work at a job that doesn’t make you happy.
It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that happiness is only possible with external things—like a new relationship, a big paycheck, or an expensive vacation—but those types of things are not sustainable sources of happiness. It’s better to focus on being happy with what you have, and stop comparing your situation to other people’s (a study showed that it negatively affects your mental health).
Instead of worrying about the little things in life, try to find one thing each day that makes you happy. A great way to do this is by taking part in leisure activities such as hiking, playing sports, or even just spending time with friends and family!
3. It’s a goal
Achieving happiness is an ultimate goal that many people believe they can attain once they achieve a certain milestone. This can include things like losing weight, buying that dream car, having a baby, graduating from school, or retiring from work.
The problem with this idea is that happiness is an emotional state that can’t last forever. After achieving a goal, your happiness may diminish or even disappear completely, and you’ll be back to where you were before the event.
Researchers at Rutgers and the University of Toronto explored this idea, and found that people who view happiness as a goal tend to have more anxiety about not reaching their goal. In the experiment, some people were asked to list their goals while watching a dull movie about bridges and other people were given the same task but watched a slapstick comedy instead. The group that viewed happiness as a goal displayed more worry than the other groups, but the people who saw happiness as something they already possessed did better.
4. It’s a reward
Happiness isn’t something you can ‘get’ from outside yourself, it’s something you can cultivate within yourself. And if you choose to cultivate happiness, you will find that it is its own reward.
Research shows that a good way to feel happy is to surprise yourself with something that you didn’t expect – such as winning the lottery or getting a big pay rise. But what’s even more interesting is that this momentary happiness does not depend on the size of the reward – it only depends on how much the surprise exceeds expectations.
This means that while goals and dreams do have the ability to enhance happiness, they should never be seen as a prerequisite for happiness. People living in huts and shacks in the third world still smile and laugh, and those who suffer great tragedy and misfortune often blossom into some of the kindest, most joyful people you will ever know. So don’t put your happiness on hold – seek it in all its forms, and it will be there for you whenever you need it.