A full tank of happiness isn’t just something that you benefit from — others do too. Your spouse, friends and children all get the benefits of your positive mood, as do strangers like the grocery store clerk or bus driver.
Some skeptics of the importance of happiness focus on relatively weak conceptions of it, such as limiting it to pleasure, a view that few hedonists or emotional state theorists would endorse. But other objections come from broadening the concept too much.
1. It’s Comforting
The things that make people happy change across their lifetimes. But a few things remain the same:
Having positive emotions can help you feel safe and connected to those around you, even in stressful situations. They can lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, and promote career success and good physical health. Moreover, research suggests that happiness is contagious and has a ripple effect. Your friends, family and work colleagues benefit when you are in a better mood. But, even strangers like the grocery store clerk or your bus driver can experience a lift when you’re in a great state of mind.
Happiness skeptics often focus on relatively weak conceptions of the concept, such as assuming that happiness has to do only with positive states—an idea that few hedonists would agree with. But they could just as sensibly argue that the word “happiness” should be used in a more generic sense, with both positive and negative aspects of well-being taken into account.
2. It’s Safety
A feeling of safety enables people to let their guard down, both physically and psychologically. This sense of well-being comes from a variety of sources, including family systems that honor emotional honesty, friendships that allow for repair and internal narratives that shift from criticism to care. It also stems from a commitment to self-care that includes sleep, exercise, a nutritious diet, spiritual practice and healthy relationships.
Happiness is a foundation for other virtues, like temperance (self-regulation), prudence (self-awareness and self-control), forgiveness (forgiveness and humility), patience and modesty. These virtues are a part of what the sages call “moral capital,” a set of capacities that enable us to flourish in life.
Some worry that hybrid theories risk paternalism, infringing on individual autonomy by insisting that happiness matters more than other things that may matter for well-being. But this worry misses the point that happiness is a broad and inclusive feeling. It’s a kind of security feeling that enables us to be resilient in the face of adversity.
3. It’s Exciting
Happiness is a thrilling feeling that’s associated with boosts of energy and an elevated heart rate. It also leads to feelings of elation and anticipation. Happiness is often linked to positive physical health, career success and deeper, more satisfying social relationships. Research has even shown that people who radiate happiness can influence those around them, including the store clerks and bus drivers they encounter on a regular basis.
Hybrid theories attempt to find an irenic solution by identifying happiness with both life satisfaction and pleasure or emotional state, often referred to collectively as subjective well-being (SWB). But critics worry that hybrid theories risk casting the net too broadly, inflating the importance of things like prudence, temperance, forgiveness, humility, and modesty, which don’t actually relate to happiness.
There are also concerns about paternalism, since these views tend to leave the achievement of well-being up to the autonomous individual rather than government policy initiatives. Jeremy Bentham advocated that the pursuit of happiness should be a core part of public policy, and Thomas Jefferson included the pursuit of happiness as one of our fundamental rights in the Declaration of Independence.
4. It’s a Reminder
We can all get caught up in the busyness of life, and happiness can seem like something out of reach. It’s easy to think you need to work harder, plan better, in order to earn a happy life. But, if you really want to find happiness, it’s found in your daily choices, in the small shifts you make and the moments you take to connect with yourself and others.
This season, we’re bringing you gifts that are more than just things—they’re tools, gentle reminders that happiness is right where you are, in the small shifts and in the pauses of connection. They ask you to be present, and to reconnect with the beauty of this life as it is, all its imperfections, and all its potential for deep joy.
One simple way to fill up your love tank is to jot down three good things that happened each night before bed. It’s a proven happiness hack that’ll boost your well-being over time!