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Happiness is an electrifying but elusive state that philosophers, theologians and psychologists have sought to define for centuries. Aristotelians, for instance, believe happiness (or eudaimonia) to be the result of a life of virtue.
Getting Intentional About Your Happiness
In psychology, happiness has been divided into two components. Hedonia involves pleasure, and eudaimonia is satisfaction from activities such as fulfilling one’s responsibilities, cultivating meaningful relationships and pursuing long-term goals.
Many factors influence how happy we are, including genetic makeup, life circumstances, accomplishments, and marital status. However, researchers have found that much of our happiness is under our control. Regularly indulging in small pleasures, seeking out challenging activities, setting and meeting goals, maintaining close social ties, and finding purpose beyond yourself all increase happiness.
A few schools of thought deny the importance of happiness, although this is usually based on relatively weak conceptions of the concept. They tend to imply that happiness is nothing more than a pleasant experience or a temporary mood, which most hedonists and emotional state theorists would reject. They also may assume that a concern for happiness is merely an ideological distraction from more pressing concerns such as poverty, war and disease.
Set Realistic Goals
Studies stemming from the hedonic and mindfulness-based perspectives suggest that happiness comes from cultivating the habits of good health, meaningful connections, and experiences with new places, cultures, and people. This approach is a stark contrast to the popular pursuit of happiness through goals, which has been shown to backfire and make you less happy.
For example, if you set a goal to enjoy a tasty taco every week, it may take you two years before you experience the pleasure of that taco again. Moreover, this type of pursuit creates an “either-or” conflict: either you achieve your goal and are successful or you fail and are a disappointment.
A better alternative is to focus on monthly habits that increase happiness, such as volunteering one weekend a month or making sure you see friends for coffee or a walk around the neighborhood once a week. As you build these habits, let go of the notion that true happiness lies in some far-off future.
Track Your Happiness
Happiness is a complex and elusive state that has been studied for centuries by philosophers, theologians, psychologists, and economists. Even today, a whole branch of psychology—positive psychology—is dedicated to understanding how people experience happiness and well-being.
A large part of happiness is determined by genetics, and there are certain things that make some people happier than others. But most of us can consciously choose to increase our level of happiness by practicing gratitude, appreciating the good in life, building healthy relationships, and taking steps toward our goals.
One way to keep track of your happiness is by using an app like Lift, a free mobile application that helps you cultivate happy habits and achieve more joy in your daily routine. The app asks you to rate your current state of happiness and provides tips based on research. It also lets you set small, manageable goals for yourself to increase your happiness over time. You can find Lift in the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Create Space for Your Dreams
Happiness research is increasingly used to guide public policy, and Thomas Jefferson included the pursuit of happiness as a fundamental right in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Some argue that government should attempt to maximize the sum of individual life satisfaction by promoting policies such as generous social safety nets, pro-worker labor market regulations and free press. Others worry that happiness is not enough for well-being, and that other factors, such as achievement and knowledge, are equally or more important.
Creating space for your dreams can be as simple as going through your bookshelves, drawers or closet and removing things that feel like “should” to you (or maybe even to someone else). Create an inspiration space – some people call it an altar – to gather images, bits and soul notes you love. Set aside at least 15 minutes a day to dream up or journal your thoughts and dreams – there’s power in that quiet fierceness!