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A Formula for Happiness

By Arthur C. Brooks

Dec. 14, 2013

HAPPINESS has traditionally been considered an elusive and evanescent thing. To some, even trying to achieve it is an exercise in futility. It has been said that “happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”

Social scientists have caught the butterfly. After 40 years of research, they attribute happiness to three major sources: genes, events and values. Armed with this knowledge and a few simple rules , we can improve our lives and the lives of those around us. We can even construct a system that fulfills our founders’ promises and empowers all Americans to pursue happiness.

Psychologists and economists have studied happiness for decades. They begin simply enough — by asking people how happy they are.

The richest data available to social scientists is the University of Chicago’s General Social Survey, a survey of Americans conducted since 1972. This widely used resource is considered the scholarly gold standard for understanding social phenomena. The numbers on happiness from the survey are surprisingly consistent. Every other year for four decades, roughly a third of Americans have said they’re “very happy,” and about half report being “pretty happy.” Only about 10 to 15 percent typically say they’re “not too happy.” Psychologists have used sophisticated techniques to verify these responses, and such survey results have proved accurate .

Beneath these averages are some demographic differences. For many years, researchers found that women were happier than men, although recent studies contend that the gap has narrowed or may even have been reversed. Political junkies might be interested to learn that conservative women are particularly blissful: about 40 percent say they are very happy. That makes them slightly happier than conservative men and significantly happier than liberal women. The unhappiest of all are liberal men; only about a fifth consider themselves very happy.

But even demographically identical people vary in their happiness. What explains this?

The first answer involves our genes. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have tracked identical twins who were separated as infants and raised by separate families. As genetic carbon copies brought up in different environments, these twins are a social scientist’s dream, helping us disentangle nature from nurture. These researchers found that we inherit a surprising proportion of our happiness at any given moment — around 48 percent. (Since I discovered this, I’ve been blaming my parents for my bad moods.)

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The Science of Happiness in Positive Psychology 101

Whether on a global or an individual level, the pursuit of happiness is one that is gaining traction and scientific recognition.

There are many definitions of happiness, and we will also explore those in this article. For now, we invite you to think of a time when you were happy. Were you alone? With others? Inside? Outside.

At the end of this article, revisit that memory. You may have new insight as to what made that moment “happy,” as well as tips to train your brain towards more happiness.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Happiness & Subjective Wellbeing Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients identify sources of authentic happiness and strategies to boost wellbeing.

This Article Contains:

A definition of happiness, a look at the science of happiness, the scientific research on happiness at work, 17 interesting facts and findings, a study showing how acts of kindness make us happier, the global pursuit of happiness, measures of happiness, four qualities of life.

How to Train your Brain for Happiness

A Take-Home Message

In general, happiness is understood as the positive emotions we have in regards to the pleasurable activities we take part in through our daily lives.

Pleasure, comfort, gratitude, hope, and inspiration are examples of positive emotions that increase our happiness and move us to flourish. In scientific literature, happiness is referred to as hedonia (Ryan & Deci, 2001), the presence of positive emotions and the absence of negative emotions.

In a more broad understanding, human wellbeing is made up of both hedonic and Eudaimonic principles, the literature on which is vast and describes our personal meaning and purpose in life (Ryan & Deci, 2001).

Research on happiness over the years has found that there are some contributing correlational factors that affect our happiness. These include (Ryan & Deci, 2001):

Personality Type
Positive Emotions versus Negative Emotions
Attitude towards Physical Health
Social Class and Wealth
Attachment and Relatedness
Goals and Self-Efficacy
Time and Place.

So what is the “ science of happiness? ”

This is one of those times when something is exactly what it sounds like – it’s all about the science behinds what happiness is and how to experience it, what happy people do differently, and what we can do to feel happier.

This focus on happiness is new to the field of psychology; for many decades – basically since the foundation of psychology as a science in the mid- to late-1800s – the focus was on the less pleasant in life. The field focused on pathology, on the worst-scenario cases, on what can go wrong in our lives.

Although there was some attention paid to wellbeing, success, and high functioning, the vast majority of funding and research was dedicated to those who were struggling the most: those with severe mental illness, mental disorders, or those who have survived trauma and tragedy.

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with doing what we can to raise up those who are struggling, there was an unfortunate lack of knowledge about what we can do to bring us all up to a higher level of functioning and happiness.

Positive psychology changed all of that. Suddenly, there was space at the table for a focus on the positive in life, for “ what thoughts, actions, and behaviors make us more productive at work, happier in our relationships, and more fulfilled at the end of the day ” (Happify Daily, n.d.).

The science of happiness has opened our eyes to a plethora of new findings about the sunny side of life.

Current research and studies

For instance, we have learned a lot about what happiness is and what drives us.

Recent studies have shown us that:

Money can only buy happiness up to about $75,000 – after that, it has no significant effect on our emotional wellbeing (Kahneman & Deaton, 2010).
Most of our happiness is not determined by our genetics, but by our experiences and our day-to-day lives (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005).
Trying too hard to find happiness often has the opposite effect and can lead us to be overly selfish (Mauss et al., 2012).
Pursuing happiness through social means (e.g., spending more time with family and friends) is more likely to be effective than other methods (Rohrer et al., 2018).
The pursuit of happiness is one place where we should consider ditching the SMART goals; it may be more effective to pursue “vague” happiness goals than more specific ones (Rodas et al., 2018).
Happiness makes us better citizens – it is a good predictor of civic engagement in the transition to adulthood (Fang et al., 2018).
Happiness leads to career success, and it doesn’t have to be “natural” happiness – researchers found that “experimentally enhancing” positive emotions also contributed to improved outcomes at work (Walsh et al., 2018).
There is a linear relationship between religious involvement and happiness. Higher worship service attendance is correlated with more commitment to faith, and commitment to faith is related to greater compassion. Those more compassionate individuals are more likely to provide emotional support to others, and those who provide emotional support to others are more likely to be happy (Krause et al., 2018). It’s a long road, but a direct one!

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There’s been a ton of research on the effects of happiness in the workplace. Much of this is driven by companies who want to find a way to improve productivity, attract new talent, and get a dose of good publicity, all at the same time. After all, who wouldn’t want to do business with and/or work for a company full of happy employees?

Although the jury is still out on exactly how happy employees “should” be for maximum productivity, efficiency, and health, we have learned a few things about the effects of a happy workforce:

People who are happy with their jobs are less likely to leave their jobs, less likely to be absent, and less likely to engage in counterproductive behaviors at work.
People who are happy with their jobs are more likely to engage in behavior that contributes to a happy and productive organization, more likely to be physically healthy, and more likely to be mentally healthy.
Happiness and job performance are related—and the relationship likely works in both directions (e.g., happy people do a better job and people who do a good job are more likely to be happy).
Unit- or team-level happiness is also linked to positive outcomes, including higher customer satisfaction, profit, productivity, employee turnover, and a safer work environment.
In general, a happier organization is a more productive and successful organization (Fisher, 2010).

To sum up the findings we have so far, it’s easy to see that happiness at work does matter – for individuals, for teams, and for organizations overall. We don’t have all the answers about exactly how the relationship between happiness and productivity works, but we know that there is a relationship there.

Lately, many human resources managers, executives, and other organizational leaders have decided that knowing there’s a relationship is good enough evidence to establish happiness-boosting practices at work, which means that we have a lot of opportunities to see the impact of greater happiness at work in the future.

Research in this field is booming, and new findings are coming out all the time. Here are a few of the most interesting facts and findings so far:

Happiness is linked to lower heart rate and blood pressure, as well as healthier heart rate variability.
Happiness can also act as a barrier between you and germs – happier people are less likely to get sick.
People who are happier enjoy greater protection against stress and release less of the stress hormone cortisol.
Happy people tend to experience fewer aches and pains, including dizziness, muscle strain, and heartburn.
Happiness acts as a protective factor against disease and disability (in general, of course).
Those who are happiest tend to live significantly longer than those who are not.
Happiness boosts our immune system, which can help us fight and fend off the common cold.
Happy people tend to make others happier as well, and vice versa – those who do good, feel good!
A portion of our happiness is determined by our genetics (but there’s still plenty of room for attitude adjustments and happiness-boosting exercises!).
Smelling floral scents like roses can make us happier.
Those who are paid by the hour may be happier than those on salary (however, these findings are limited, so take them with a grain of salt!).
Relationships are much more conducive to a happy life than money.
Happier people tend to wear bright colors; it’s not certain which way the relationship works, but it can’t hurt to throw on some brighter hues once in a while—just in case!
Happiness can help people cope with arthritis and chronic pain better.
Being outdoors – especially near the water – can make us happier.
The holidays can be a stressful time, even for the happiest among us – an estimated 44% of women and 31% of men get the “holiday blues.”
Happiness is contagious! When we spend time around happy people, we’re likely to get a boost of happiness as well.

Newman (2015) is the source for the first six facts and findings, and Florentine (2016) for the latter 11 .

Feeling blue? Treat yourself to a decadent dessert.

Feeling frustrated after an argument with a friend? Skip your workout and have an extra scoop of ice cream.

The message is clear: If you want to feel happy, you should focus on your own wishes and desires. Yet this is not the advice that many people grew up hearing. Indeed, most of the world’s religions (and grandmothers everywhere) have long suggested that people should focus on others first and themselves second.

Psychologists refer to such behavior as prosocial behavior and many recent studies have shown that when people have a prosocial focus, doing kind acts for others, their own happiness increases.

But how does prosocial behavior compare to treating yourself in terms of your happiness? And does treating yourself really make you feel happy?

Nelson et al. (2016) presented their research answering these questions.

Participants were divided into four groups and given new instructions each week for four weeks.

One group was instructed to perform random acts of kindness for themselves (such as going shopping or enjoying a favorite hobby); the second group was instructed to perform acts of kindness for others (such as visiting an elderly relative or helping someone carry groceries); the third group was instructed to perform acts of kindness to improve the world (such as recycling or donating to charity); the fourth group was instructed to keep track of their daily activities.

Each week, the participants reported their activities from the previous week, as well as their experience of positive and negative emotions.

At the beginning, the end, and again two weeks after the four-week period, participants completed a questionnaire to assess their psychological flourishing. As a measure of overall happiness, the questionnaire included questions about psychological, social, and emotional wellbeing .

The Results

The results of the study were striking. Only participants who engaged in prosocial behavior demonstrated improvements in psychological flourishing.

Participants who practiced prosocial behavior demonstrated increases in positive emotions from one week to the next. In turn, these increases in feelings such as happiness, joy, and enjoyment predicted increases in psychological flourishing at the end of the study. In other words, positive emotions appeared to have been a critical ingredient linking prosocial behavior to increases in flourishing.

But what about the people who treated themselves?

They did not show the same increases in positive emotions or psychological flourishing as those who engaged in acts of kindness. In fact, people who treated themselves did not differ in positive emotions, negative emotions, or psychological flourishing over the course of the study compared to those who merely kept track of their daily activities.

This research does not say that we shouldn’t treat ourselves, show ourselves self-love when we need it, or enjoy our relaxation when we have it. However, the results of this study strongly suggest that we are more likely to reach greater levels of happiness when we exhibit prosocial behavior and show others kindness through our actions.

In world economic circles, Richard Easterlin investigated the relationship between money and wellbeing.

The Easterlin paradox—”money does not buy happiness” (Mohun, 2012)—sparked a new wave of thinking about wealth and wellbeing.

In 1972, Bhutan chose to pursue a policy of happiness rather than a focus on economic growth tracked via their gross domestic product (GDPP). Subsequently, this little nation has been among the happiest, ranking amongst nations with far superior wealth (Kelly, 2012).

More global organizations and nations are becoming aware and supportive of the importance of happiness in today’s world. This has lead to The United Nations inviting nations to take part in a happiness survey, resulting in the “ World Happiness Report ,” a basis from which to steer public policy. Learn about the World Happiness Report for 2016 .

The United Nations also established World Happiness Day , March 20 th , which was the result of efforts of the Bhutan Kingdom and their Gross National Happiness initiative (Helliwell et al., 2013).

Organizations such as the New Economic Foundation are playing an influential role as an economic think tank that focuses on steering economic policy and development for the betterment of human wellbeing.

Ruut Veenhoven, a world authority on the scientific study of happiness, was one of the sources of inspiration for the United Nations General Assembly (2013) adopting happiness measures. Veenhoven is a founding member of the World Database of Happiness , which is a comprehensive scientific repository of happiness measures worldwide.

The objective of this organization is to provide a coordinated collection of data, with common interpretation according to a scientifically validated happiness theory, model, and body of research.

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At this point, you might be wondering: Is it possible to measure happiness? Many psychologists have devoted their careers to answering this question and in short, the answer is yes.

Happiness can be measured by these three factors: the presence of positive emotions, the absence of negative emotions, and life satisfaction (Ryan & Deci, 2001). It is a uniquely subjective experience, which means that nobody is better at reporting on someone’s happiness than the individuals themselves.

For this reason scales, self-report measures, and questionnaires are the most common formats for measuring happiness. The most recognized examples are the following:

The PANAS (Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule);
The SWLS (Satisfaction With Life Scale) ;
The SHS (Subjective Happiness Scale)

However, there are many instruments available to measure happiness that have proven reliable and valid over time (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011).

Of the four dimensions, satisfaction is our personal subjective measure of happiness as we interpret life as a whole. Veenhoven’s (2010) global research into happiness suggests that happiness is possible for many.

This is an overview of his Four Qualities:

	Outer Qualities	Inner Qualities
Life Chances	Liveability of Environment	Life-ability of Individual
Life Results	Utility of Life	Satisfaction

Using Veenhoven’s Four Qualities it is possible to assess the happiness of any country.

Liveability of environment

This dimension includes factors such as law, freedom, schooling, employment, electricity or gas, etc. It is a measurement of how well an environment meets what Maslow proposed as our basic needs (safety, security, shelter, food) (Maslow, 1943).

Life-ability of individuals

The ability of individuals to deal with life is important; both mental and physical health are identified as important factors, together with social values of solidarity, tolerance, and love (Veenhoven, 2010).

Utility of life

In this dimension, Veenhoven (2010) references a higher-order meaning, for example, religious affiliations.

Uchida et al. (2014) found that high levels of national disaster negatively impacted a nation’s level of happiness.

Satisfaction

Happiness is a complex construct that cannot be directly controlled. Through policy and individual and organizational action, one can endeavor to influence and increase happiness (Veenhoven, 2010).

However, happiness is a subjective experience and only once we change the way we perceive the world can we really begin sharing and creating happiness for others.

But is it possible to train yourself to be happier?

The answer is yes!

How to Train Your Brain for Happiness

At birth, our genetics provide us a set point that accounts for some portion of our happiness. Having enough food, shelter, and safety account for another portion.

There’s also quite a bit of happiness that’s entirely up to us (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005).

By training our brain through awareness and exercises to think in a happier, more optimistic, and more resilient way, we can effectively train our brains for happiness.

New discoveries in the field of positive psychology show that physical health, psychological wellbeing, and physiological functioning are all improved by how we learn to “feel good” (Fredrickson, et al., 2000).

What Are The Patterns We Need To “Train Out” of Our Brains?

Perfectionism – Often confused with conscientiousness, which involves appropriate and tangible expectations, perfectionism involves inappropriate levels of expectations and intangible goals. It often produces problems for adults, adolescents, and children.
Social comparison – When we compare ourselves to others we often find ourselves lacking. Healthy social comparison is about finding what you admire in others and learning to strive for those qualities. However, the best comparisons we can make are with ourselves. How are you better than you were in the past?
Materialism – Attaching our happiness to external things and material wealth is dangerous, as we can lose our happiness if our material circumstances change (Carter & Gilovich, 2010).
Maximizing – Maximizers search for better options even when they are satisfied. This leaves them little time to be present for the good moments in their lives and with very little gratitude (Schwartz et al., 2002).

Misconceptions About Mind Training

Some of the misconceptions about retraining your brain are simply untrue. Here are a few myths that need debunking:

1. We are products of our genetics so we cannot create change in our brains.

Our minds are malleable. Ten years ago we thought brain pathways were set in early childhood. In fact, we now know that there is huge potential for large changes through to your twenties, and neuroplasticity is still changing throughout one’s life.

The myelin sheath that covers your neural pathways gets thicker and stronger the more it is used (think of the plastic protective covering on wires); the more a pathway is used, the stronger the myelin and the faster the neural pathway. Simply put, when you practice feeling grateful, you notice more things to be grateful for.

2. Brain training is brainwashing.

Brainwashing is an involuntary change. If we focus on training our mind to see the glass half full instead of half empty, that is a choice.

3. If we are too happy we run the risk of becoming overly optimistic.

There is no such thing as overly optimistic, and science shows that brain training for positivity includes practices like mindfulness and gratitude. No one has ever overdosed on these habits.

How Is The Brain Wired For Happiness?

Can You Train Your Mind for Happiness? - Brain scan

Our brains come already designed for happiness. We have caregiving systems in place for eye contact, touch, and vocalizations to let others know we are trustworthy and secure .

Our brains also regulate chemicals like oxytocin.

People who have more oxytocin trust more readily, have increased tendencies towards monogamy, and exhibit more caregiving behavior. These behaviors reduce stress which lowers production of hormones like cortisol and inhibits the cardiovascular response to stress (Kosfeld et al., 2005).

The following TED talk provides an insight into how we can overcome our negative mental patterns:

If happiness has little to do with having too many resources, then it is an inner state that we have the power to cultivate. The above video even offers specific exercises for you to try. Just by doing them, you are actively re-wiring your brain towards calm and happy sensations.

Meanwhile, this TED talk gives a better understanding of how to wire your brain to accept the positivity and happiness in your life:

The negativity bias that Dr. Rick Hanson discusses can help us understand how we can activate and “install” positive thinking as part of our core brain chemistry. If you don’t have a moment to watch either of these videos now, make time for it later—they are rich with relevant data and tips.

17 Exercises To Increase Happiness and Wellbeing

Add these 17 Happiness & Subjective Well-Being Exercises [PDF] to your toolkit and help others experience greater purpose, meaning, and positive emotions.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

Happiness is the overall subjective experience of our positive emotions. There are many factors which influence our happiness, and ongoing research continues to uncover what makes us happiest.

This global pursuit of happiness has resulted in measures such as the World Happiness Report, while the World Happiness Database is working to collaborate and consolidate the existing happiness pursuits of different nations.

We are living in a time when the conditions for happiness are known. This can be disheartening at times when there is much negativity in the world.

There is, however, good news in this situation: neuroplasticity.

The human brain is wired for happiness and positive connections with others. It is actually possible to experience and learn happiness despite what has been genetically hardwired.

In a world where the focus on happiness is growing and the mirror is turning back towards ourselves, the happiness of the world relies on the happiness within each one of us and how we act, share, and voice the importance of happiness for everyone.

What are the steps you are taking to make yourself and others happier? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Happiness Exercises for free .

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Sending some love and light to you and all those who get to read your blog.

Being in the field of Human Resource for four decades, coming across and dealing with millions of minds, after reading your article, gives a feeling that I have learnt something new today…

Thank you and congratulations for such a informative work.

God bless…

Thank you for your search light into one of the nerve center of our generation. i will like to use part of this in my upcoming book

Hello Katherine, Now reading https://positivepsychology.com/happiness/ Salute to you for enriching us. Nearly hundred of us relatives are creating an audio book for our blind uncle about life skills. Any quote from you that I can add in the document? Will be grateful. regards, Prabodh Sirur

Hi Prabodh,

Wow, that sounds like a lovely gift for your uncle! We actually have a couple of posts containing quotes about happiness, so you may want to take a look at those for some inspiration. You can find those here and here .

Hope this helps, and good luck with the audiobook!

– Nicole | Community Manager

Thanks for your article, I translated this article for a mental health lesson and I really enjoyed this article.

Thank you for this super helpful article!!

Thank You for such an Informative and Detailed Article on Science of Happiness. I am a Budding Happiness Life Coach and stumbled on this Article. This gives me more understanding of Happiness in Scientific way, with your permission, I would like to share my learning in my course. Thank You and looking forward for more such Articles. Thank You and God Bless You

Hi Srinivas, Thank you for your lovely feedback. We’re glad you liked the article. Feel free to share it with others by clicking ‘Yes’ on the ‘Was this article useful to you’ button. From there, a range of sharing options will appear. – Nicole | Community Manager

Thanks, very nice lecture and informative But I wish to know more about role of religious effects on Happiness? another thing is it ok to translate lecture to other language and share it? Regards Dr Eirebi Albogasim

Hi Dr. Albogasim, Thanks for reading. There’s quite a bit of research showing that those who practice religion tend to be happier than the general population ( here’s an article on the topic). And yes, feel free to translate and share the lecture. – Nicole | Community Manager

I stumbled on your article as I am researching on Happiness to publish my 3rd book. Thanks for sharing! A very elaborate and informative article. The “Take home message” is very encouraging. And I vouch for the neuroplasticity of the brain. We can train ourselves to be Happy. Once we change our attitude, it is easy to be Happy. I learnt how to be Happy at the age of 23. Few years back I posted an article sharing my findings on Happiness in this Linked-in forum. Please see the link for the same https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/easy-happy-ramesh-thota-pmp-cqa/ . Appreciate if you can share your views.

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1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology

Philosophy, One Thousand Words at a Time

Happiness: What is it to be Happy?

Author: Kiki Berk Category: Ethics , Phenomenology and Existentialism Words: 992

Listen here

Do you want to be happy? If you’re like most people, then yes, you do.

But what is happiness? What does it mean to be “happy”? [1]

This essay discusses four major philosophical theories of happiness. [2]

1. Hedonism

According to hedonism, happiness is simply the experience of pleasure. [3] A happy person has a lot more pleasure than displeasure (pain) in her life. To be happy, then, is just to feel good. In other words, there’s no difference between being happy and feeling happy.

Famous hedonists include the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus and the modern English philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. [4] These philosophers all took happiness to include intellectual pleasures (such as reading a book) in addition to physical pleasures (such as having sex).

Although we associate being happy with feeling good, many philosophers think that hedonism is mistaken.

First, it’s possible to be happy without feeling good (such as when a happy person has a toothache), and it’s also possible to feel good without being happy (such as when an unhappy person gets a massage). Since happiness and pleasure can come apart, they can’t be the same thing.

Second, happiness and pleasure seem to have different properties. Pleasures are often fleeting, simple, and superficial (think of the pleasure involved in eating ice cream), whereas happiness is supposed to be lasting, complex, and profound. Things with different properties can’t be identical, so happiness can’t be the same thing as pleasure.

These arguments suggest that happiness and pleasure aren’t identical. That being said, it’s hard to imagine a happy person who never feels good. So, perhaps happiness involves pleasure without being identical to it.

2. Virtue Theory

According to virtue theory, happiness is the result of cultivating the virtues—both moral and intellectual—such as wisdom, courage, temperance, and patience. A happy person must be sufficiently virtuous. To be happy, then, is to cultivate excellence and to flourish as a result. This view is famously held by Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. [5]

Linking happiness to virtue has the advantage of treating happiness as a lasting, complex, and profound phenomenon. It also explains how happiness and pleasure can come apart, since a person can be virtuous without feeling good, and a person can feel good without being virtuous.

In spite of these advantages, however, virtue theory is questionable. An important part of being virtuous is being morally good. But are immoral people always unhappy? Arguably not. Many bad people seem happy in spite of—or even because of—their unsavory actions. And a similar point can be made about intellectual virtue: unwise or irrational people aren’t always unhappy, either. In fact, some of these people seem happy as a direct result of their intellectual deficiencies. “Ignorance is bliss,” the saying goes!

But virtue theorists have a response here. Maybe some immoral people seem happy, on the surface; but that doesn’t mean that they are truly happy, at some deeper level. And the same thing can be said about people who lack the intellectual virtues: ignorance may lead to bliss, but that bliss isn’t true happiness. So, there seems to be some room for debate on these issues.

3. Desire Satisfaction Theory

According to the desire satisfaction theory, happiness consists in getting what you want—whatever that happens to be. A happy person has many of her desires satisfied; and the more her desires are satisfied, the happier she is.

Even though getting what you want can be a source of happiness, identifying happiness with desire satisfaction is problematic.

To start, this implies that the only way to become happier is by satisfying a desire. This seems wrong. Sometimes our happiness is increased by getting something we didn’t previously want—such as a surprise birthday party or getting stuck taking care of a neighbor’s cat. This implies that desire satisfaction is not necessary for happiness.

Desire satisfaction is not always sufficient for happiness, either. Unfortunately, it is common for people to feel disappointed when they get what they want. Many accomplishments, such as earning a degree or winning a tournament, simply don’t bring the long-lasting happiness that we expect. [6]

So, even if getting what we want sometimes makes us happy, these counterexamples suggest that happiness does not consist in desire satisfaction. [7]

4. Life Satisfaction Theory

According to the life satisfaction theory, happiness consists in being satisfied with your life. A happy person has a positive impression of her life in general, even though she might not be happy about every single aspect of it. To be happy, then, means to be content with your life as a whole.

It’s controversial whether life satisfaction is affective (a feeling) or cognitive (a belief). On the one hand, life satisfaction certainly comes with positive feelings. On the other hand, it’s possible to step back, reflect on your life, and realize that it’s good, even when you’re feeling down. [8]

One problem for this theory is that it’s difficult for people to distinguish how they feel in the moment from how they feel about their lives overall. Studies have shown that people report feeling more satisfied with their lives when the weather is good, even though this shouldn’t make that much of a difference. But measuring life satisfaction is complicated, so perhaps such studies should be taken with a grain of salt. [9]

5. Conclusion

Understanding what happiness is should enable you to become happier.

First, decide which theory of happiness you think is true, based on the arguments.

Second, pursue whatever happiness is according to that theory: seek pleasure and try to avoid pain (hedonism), cultivate moral and intellectual virtue (virtue theory), decide what you really want and do your best to get it (desire satisfaction theory), or change your life (or your attitude about it) so you feel (or believe) that it’s going well (life satisfaction theory).

And if you’re not sure which theory of happiness is true, then you could always try pursuing all of these things. 😊

[1] This might seem like an empirical (scientific) question rather than a philosophical one. However, this essay asks the conceptual question of what happiness is, and conceptual questions belong to philosophy, not to science.

[2] Happiness is commonly distinguished from “well-being,” i.e., the state of a life that is worth living. Whether or not happiness is the same thing as well-being is an open question, but most philosophers think it isn’t. See, for example, Haybron (2020).

[3] The word “hedonism” has different uses in philosophy. In this paper, it means that happiness is the same thing as pleasure (hedonism about happiness). But sometimes it is used to mean that happiness is the only thing that has intrinsic value (hedonism about value) or that humans are always and only motivated by pleasure (psychological hedonism). It’s important not to confuse these different uses of the word.

[4] For more on Epicurus and happiness, see Konstan (2018). For more on Bentham and Mill on happiness, see Driver (2014), as well as John Stuart Mill on The Good Life: Higher-Quality Pleasures by Dale E. Miller and Consequentialism by Shane Gronholz

[5] For more on Plato and happiness, see Frede (2017); for more on Aristotle and happiness, see Kraut (2018), and on the Stoics and happiness, see Baltzly (2019).

[6] For a discussion of the phenomenon of disappointment in this context see, for example, Ben Shahar (2007).

[7] For more objections to the desire satisfaction theory, see Shafer-Landau (2018) and Vitrano (2013).

[8] If happiness is life satisfaction, then happiness seems to be “subjective” in the sense that a person cannot be mistaken about whether or not she is happy. Whether happiness is subjective in this sense is controversial, and a person who thinks that a person can be mistaken about whether or not she is happy will probably favor a different theory of happiness.

[9] See Weimann, Knabe and Schob (2015) and Berk (2018).

Baltzly, Dirk, “Stoicism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2019 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).

Berk, Kiki (2018). “Does Money Make Us Happy? The Prospects and Problems of Happiness Research in Economics,” in Journal of Happiness Studies, 19, 1241-1245.

Ben-Shahar, Tal (2007). Happier . New York: McGraw-Hill.

Driver, Julia, “The History of Utilitarianism”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).

Frede, Dorothea, “Plato’s Ethics: An Overview”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).

Haybron, Dan, “Happiness”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2020 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).

Konstan, David, “Epicurus”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).

Kraut, Richard, “Aristotle’s Ethics”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).

Shafer-Landau, Russ (2018). The Ethical Life: Fundamental Readings in Ethics and Moral Problems. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Vitrano, Christine (2013). The Nature and Value of Happiness. Boulder: Westview Press.

Weimann, Joachim, Andreas Knabe, and Ronnie Schob (2015). Measuring Happiness . Cambridge: The MIT Press.

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About the Author

Dr. Kiki Berk is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Southern New Hampshire University. She received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from the VU University Amsterdam in 2010. Her research focuses on Beauvoir’s and Sartre’s philosophies of death and meaning in life.

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The Secret to Happiness Expressed as One Neat Mathematical Formula

What is happiness and how can we get more of it? For many years scientists have been trying to define the joy and well-being of happiness, how people come to experience it and how to help them get a bit more of it in their lives.

What we do know from research is that happiness is infectious. We're all more likely to be happier if we have a happy friend nearby.

And we know that money does matter . We need enough of it to live well - that makes us happier than not having money. But after a point, more money doesn't make a lot of difference.

Research in the journal Psychological Science shows that money spent on doing, rather than by buying things, works. Apparently an experience, such as a holiday or going skydiving, brings more happiness than a good shopping spree.

There have been many attempts to judge the happiness levels of countries and some have even suggested that this is a better measure of a nation's progress than looking at an economy through the lens of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

Australia generally does well in the rankings. The World Happiness Report 2015 puts Australia in 10th place out of 158 countries.

The world happiness rankings are based on a range of metrics including life expectancy, social support, freedom to make choices and generosity of the general population. There are many others trying to measure well-being including the UN's Human Development Index , the Happy Planet Index , the Legatum Prosperity Index and the Gallup/Healthways Well-Being Index .

Now researchers have, using data from a major study , determined that happiness depends on whether things are better or worse than expected.

Robb Rutledge and colleagues, of the Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, designed a study looking at the relationship between rewards and happiness.

"Based on the data, we developed a mathematical equation to predict how self-reported happiness depends on past events," says Rutledge, writing about it for the OECD . "We found that happiness depends not on how well things are going, but whether things are going better or worse than expected."

For those who like mathematics, here's the formula the researchers came up with for happiness:

The formula explained in brief:

"Happiness depends on safe choices (certain rewards, CR), expectations associated with risky choices (expected value, EV), and whether the outcomes of risky choices were better or worse than expected. This final variable is called a reward prediction error (RPE), the difference between the experienced outcome and the expectation."

To get a detailed explanation go HERE.

This all means, according to Rutledge, that your happiness should increase in anticipation as soon as you make a plan to meet a friend.

"If you manage to get a last-minute reservation at a popular new restaurant, your happiness might increase even more," he says.

"If the meal is good, but not quite as good as expected, your happiness should actually decrease."

The study shows how important expectations are but this doesn't mean low expectations (and being pleasantly surprised when events exceed your expectations) are a key to happiness.

"We often don't know the outcome of major life decisions for a long time, whether taking a new job or getting married, but our results suggest that positive expectations about those decisions will increase happiness," he says.

The equation has been used to predict the happiness of more than 18,000 people round the world playing a game on a smartphone app called the Great Brain Experiment.

The free app asks: "What makes me happy?" Players then choose between safe and risky options to win as many points as they can.

This article was originally published by Business Insider .

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Communication , Motivation

If you’re looking for the formula for happiness, read this..

Happiness is a choice.

At each moment of the day, you make a decision, whether you realize it or not. It’s the result of your attitude towards life. And whatever it is—positive or negative—it affects all the events, people, relationships, and basically whatever it is that you encounter in your life.

So, if you’re living a complicated life with so many things to do and no time for yourself, it’s your fault. If you have exactly what you’ve wanted and are thankful for it every day, you’re the one to blame. If you’re surrounded by negative people, have a job you hate and can’t even sleep at night because of the many thoughts that pop up in your head constantly, no one else is responsible for that but you. If you’re doing what you love, work hard but still find time for yourself and those you love, it’s due to a choice you’ve made at some point.

But there’s good news. Whatever your situation is, you can change it.

Happiness is absolutely possible at any time, it’s free, doesn’t depend on age, looks, career or income. Everyone deserves it and it doesn’t need to be found, reached, created, or anything else that requires effort.

Here is the happiness formula:

Letting Go + Acceptance + Gratitude

Call them skills, processes, qualities, goals, or else. They don’t really need to be defined. But these are three of the best things you can do with your life—let go of what was and will be, accept what is and be okay with it, thank for it and appreciate it.

That will make you the happy, contented person you’ve always wanted to become. You’ll find peace, will free yourself from the burden of the past and anxiety of the future, will start living in the present moment and will see all the beauty and abundance in your life by focusing on what you have and being grateful for it.

Now let’s discuss each element of the happiness formula separately.

It is pure magic as it makes us feel so free and contented that we realize we’ve never lived before.

The problem is that we hold onto so many things—all our past relationships, painful memories, material objects that remind us of something, etc. We also spend a great deal of time thinking about the future, fearing what might go wrong, trying to change it by taking control and planning. And when things turn out differently, we’re disappointed and devastated. All this makes us weak, sad and desperate.

We carry so much excess stuff in our head that we can’t move on. And thus can’t enjoy life and be happy.

But if we let go and let things be just the way they are, we will be free, peaceful and will be able to experience the present moment without comparing it to a previous one, without expecting it to turn out in a particular way, without overthinking and worrying about the next one.

That’s how we should live in order to be happy—experiencing something, feeling it with our whole being, appreciating and enjoying it, and then immediately letting it go so that we can let in the next one.

To accept is to be okay with things, people, events and yourself. It doesn’t mean you give up on trying to achieve what you’ve wanted; it means that you trust the natural flow and don’t interfere.

It shows that you’re in peace and aren’t obsessed with control and change. It allows you to go through life and be at ease, to have joy and satisfaction.

You need to realize that whatever happens right now is the best for that exact moment. Then, something else will happen. And you’ll be okay with it because that’s how things should be. You need to trust and believe.

Only then will you be free from anxiety, the need to always do something, the discontent and stress.

That’s another thing that can make you the happiest person.

Focus on the good things in your life, be positive about what’s to come, be thankful for what you have (even the bad stuff as it’s lessons and experience) every single day, appreciate it, show you care, express your gratitude and love.

Then you’ll start seeing all the abundance you live in. Things will become even more beautiful and precious for you. You’ll see the people you love as priceless gifts and will feel so blessed.

All that is simple and easy. It will show you the other side of life—the magnificent one. That will let you live the life you’ve been dreaming about without changing anything in your environment.

That’s how you choose to be happy.

Featured photo credit: Jumping for Joy, by Karen Corby via flickr.com

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Happiness equation solved: Lower your expectations

The key to happiness could be low expectations — at least, that is the lesson from a new equation that researchers used to predict how happy someone would be in the future.

In a new study, researchers found that it didn't matter so much whether things were going well. It mattered whether they were going better than expected.

"It is often said that you will be happier if your expectations are lower,” Dr. Robb Rutledge, the senior research associate at University College London (UCL) who led the study, said in a statement. “We find that there is some truth to this: Lower expectations make it more likely that an outcome will exceed those expectations and have a positive impact on happiness.”

Not that you should walk around gloomy all of the time. Having expectations at all — say, for a lunch date with a friend — can lift your spirits “as soon as you make the plan,” Rutledge said.

But anticipating the greatest meal of your life could result in feeling pretty disappointed. No, this study was not meant to ruin your lunch plans. Instead, researchers wanted to figure out a way to give doctors a subjective, quantitative way to measure mood disorders.

The study involved two parts. First, 26 subjects made decisions that led to financial wins or losses, all while being monitored by an MRI machine. Later, 18,420 people played a game called “The Great Brain Experiment,” which replicated the experiment with points instead of money.

Ultimately, the researchers found that it was not the amount of total money or points won that mattered — it was how winning or losing stacked up to expectations formed during past experiences.

They even came up with a mathematical equation that could accurately predict how happy someone would be during the money experiment and while playing the smartphone game. Eventually, researchers said, it might be able to help doctors predict how people with mood disorders might react to the small wins and losses of everyday life.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Keith Wagstaff writes about technology for NBC News. He previously covered technology for TIME's Techland and wrote about politics as a staff writer at TheWeek.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @kwagstaff and reach him by email at: [email protected]

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A Formula for Happiness

What does the formula for happiness look like? Here’s my attempt at it:

happiness =

social-acceptance + self-acceptance + meaning + hope + pleasure + efficacy + resilience + optimism

– physical-wants – pain – anxiety – loss and depression

social-acceptance = human interaction with the sort of people you want to interact with in the form of warm and trusting relationships, and the gut-level feeling that this group accepts you, likes you, and respects you

Interventions: exposure therapy if you have social anxiety, avoiding mean people, social skills training, getting direct feedback on how to be a better friend, meeting a wide range of people in a wide variety of social circles, leaving a social circle that treats you badly

s elf-acceptance = believing you are not fundamentally bad or worthless, that you are worthy of love and respect, not feeling excessively guilty about your past actions, etc.

Interventions: self-compassion training

meaning = feeling on a gut level that your life has meaning or significance, that actions you take have the ability to influence what happens, and that the world in general is not meaningless

Interventions: working on a project that you find deeply important for a cause much bigger than yourself, cognitive behavioral therapy or antidepressants if you think you may be depressed and haven’t tried them yet

hope = feeling on a gut level that there will be good things in the future and that your future is not doomed

Interventions: mapping out plans for your future, applying problem solving techniques to problems that you feel are hopeless, life coaching

pleasure = for instance, eating delicious food, listening to beautiful music, play, doing work you find fun, etc.

Interventions: spending money on pleasurable experiences rather than things, engaging in pleasurable experiences at the maximal rate you can afford without them getting dull or routine, trying a wide variety of activities to see which you most enjoy

efficacy = the belief that you have the capability to achieve the things that you want to achieve, and the feeling that you are actively achieving worthwhile things (whether in work, in hobbies, or in your social life)

Interventions: if possible, choosing work where you get a consistent feeling of accomplishment, taking on side projects or hobbies that give you a feeling of accomplishment, training each week at a skill that you can watch yourself improving at, looking for small achievements that you can hit easily and then building up slowly to more and more difficult ones

resilience = the ability to recover quickly from setbacks, failures, and bad conditions

optimism = a mindset where you see the best in things, interpret ambiguous events positively, see the silver lining in bad things, etc.

physical-wants = hunger, thirst, sleep deprivation, the need for warmth, etc.

pain = injuries, illnesses, physical environments, or social treatment that causes consistent substantial pain

Interventions: avoiding repetitive stress injury by using good typing practices, avoiding chronic back pain by learning to have good sitting posture, leaving abusive relationships

anxiety = constantly worrying about, or ruminating or obsessing over what will happen or did happen (e.g., from uncertainty about basic security like clean water, nourishing food, reliable shelter, or safety from physical danger, or worrying about social rejection or fear of failure), or regular triggers of intense fear

Interventions: regularly doing intense exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy or antidepressants if you think you may have an anxiety disorder, Exposure and Response Prevention if you think you may have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Prolonged Exposure Therapy if you think you might have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

loss and depression = having something you value taken away from you, or knowing that you will lose something you value in the near future

Please note: if you have been feeling a lot of sadness, or you worry that you might be depressed, I recommend seeing a professional and checking out our app UpLift .

If you like this essay, you may also like The Fourier transform of happiness and Ten theories for how to achieve true happiness (and useful resources for you to try them out) .

Related Essays

The Scientific Formula For Happiness

Jun 16, 2020 by Benjamin J Harvey

Is there a formula for happiness? Back in 2014, a team of scientists at UCL in London were commissioned with the task of discovering the happiness formula.

Now, after testing 18,420 participants, they came up with the following happiness equation:

H = S + C + V

H stands for Happiness , S stands for your Cellular Set Point , C stands for Conditions of living , and V stands for Voluntary actions or choices you make daily

The interesting part of this formula for happiness was the percentage breakdown of the different parts. They found them to be as follows: 50% of your happiness is actually made up by your cellular set point .

Conditions of living make up only 10% of your happiness . That's it. Just 10%.

And the other 40% goes to voluntary actions or choices you make daily.

In an attempt to be happier, most people actually focus on the major part of their attention on changing their conditions of living. But as the equation shows, that only makes up 10% of your happiness. So let's look at each of these individually.

S = Cellular Set Point

The S stands for your Cellular Set Point. This is really your balance point that all of your cells, including your unconscious mind, will always try and find a way to return to.

Some people have a higher set point so their average day will actually be happier than someone else's.

Any activity that replicates these feelings, the feelings of happiness, will increase your cellular set point because they will actually create new foods for your cells to get hooked on.

C = Conditions Of Living

The letter C in the formula for happiness stands for conditions of living.

Now no matter how much you change your conditions of living by buying material things, it will never ever actually have a huge impact on your happiness because it will always be 10% of your actual happiness.

The happiness that actually comes from shopping is actually quite transient. Research shows that the happiness you get from shopping actually only lasts one to three days .

woman trying to find happiness by shopping

Why? Because this is all due to the fact that marketing and the media have convinced us that this is going to make us happy. But, unfortunately, this type of happiness is temporary.

So think about this for a second, and ask yourself this question - How much time do you actually dedicate to increasing your conditions of living?

You may find that a large majority of your time is spent to make more money so you can buy the next latest thing or do the next latest thing to change your condition of living. But as you begin to realise how little an effect it actually has on your happiness, you may find that now is a good time to rewrite some of your goals .

V = Voluntary Actions Or Choices

Ask yourself this question - When something happens to you during the day, what sort of meaning do you give it?

Is it an empowering meaning or a disempowering meaning?

And based on that meaning, what type of voluntary choice or action do you take as a result?

When something happens in your life, take control of the meaning , and then, off the back of that meaning, take an action that's actually going to drive you towards being happier.

In Conclusion

We hope you found this post useful. Just remember, if you want to become happier in your life, H = S + C + V !

Want more effective and actionable advice on how to become a happier and better version of yourself? Watch our free webinar, "How To Coach Yourself To Success", here .

A Formula for Happiness?

Research suggests the goldilocks rule might apply..

Posted July 9, 2020

People more than ever are juggling a myriad of responsibilities in multiple spheres of life. Between career aspirations, household and parenting duties, romantic relationship attainments and time for yourself, it is no wonder that burnout and declining physical and mental health are at an all-time high. Add the stress of the extended pandemic, the loss of control, and grief over "the old way of life," and you've got a recipe for lower life satisfaction and lower perceived happiness .

If you notice that you've been having more frustrated days than usual, and that you've felt less hopeful than you did in the past, you're not alone. Many people are reporting these concerns but at a loss on how to make things better. How can we start to feel happier and more satisfied with life again?

An interesting study was conducted and published in the Social Science Research network which looked at the relationship between free time and life satisfaction. A survey of 35, 375 Americans showed that there is a Goldilocks Rule at play when it comes to free time.

For employed individuals, 2 1/2 hours of free time was associated with the highest ratings in life satisfaction. For unemployed people, the optimal free time clocked in at around 4 1/2 hours. Given that an average person's waking hours are somewhere between 15-18 hours per day, this shows that too much free time might actually be a detriment to our experience of positive emotions and lead to a decline in mental wellness.

So, free time has a U-shaped curve. Too little or too much, and you stop reaping the benefits. And the good news is, for people who say, "I'm too busy to have free time to do the things I want," 2 1/2 hours is perfectly doable if you are intentional about it. You can chop up the 2 1/2 hours by breaking it into smaller segments throughout the day. And you can help maximize the benefits of this free time by tapping into flow whenever you can during these moments.

Flow, first identified by psychology researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi , is one of life’s most enjoyable states of being. Have you ever been completely immersed in a task, where you enjoyed what you were doing so much that you forgot about time? That’s an example of Flow. People sometimes call it being "in the zone," where your mind is effortlessly mindful without having to try. There is a sense of focus, inner clarity, inner peace, timelessness, and extreme positive feelings. That’s what we can recreate for ourselves every day!

Check out the FLOW model on the left. Csikszentmihalyi tells us that to find flow, we have to get to an optimal challenge-skill balance. When we find something challenging and we believe our skillset would help meet that challenge, we’re in FLOW!

Here are the takeaways.

1. There is an optimal amount of free time. More free time does not equate to higher levels of happiness.

2. If you are intentional about it, each of us can create the optimal timeframe needed to improve our life satisfaction and well-being every day. Here are some top tips to make sure you get your optimal free time every day, to boost your satisfaction and happiness.

List Time-Wasters . Write down a list of things you know you waste time on and keep the list nearby when you are working. When you notice a new time-waster, add it to the list. Keeping this top of mind will help steer you away from unproductive behaviors.

Delegate . You don’t have to do everything yourself, so start handing over some of your tasks that someone else can do, particularly if they are better at it or enjoy it more. Delegate at both home and work — this is a great time to teach your kids some responsibility!

Use Positive No . Do you feel bad saying no to people? Well, don’t. We all need to create boundaries , and saying no to lower priorities helps you to avoid overload and burnout. Really think through if you have the energy and motivation to commit to something before you do. Consider using positive no — say no to the request but offer an alternative or compromise that you feel better about agreeing to.

Create Rituals . Take a few minutes to lock in habits for repeating tasks, and tether them to existing rituals to make sure they get done. Here’s one example: I write my to-do lists every morning when I enjoy my coffee (which is a ritual that happens daily). This way, my to-do lists always get done.

Attack Open Space. Whenever you have 5 minutes of free time, ask yourself, “What can I do in the next 5 minutes?" Consult your to-do list, or take the time to do a 5-minute mindfulness activity or a quick stretch.

What do you want to do with your 2.5 hours of free time you’ll get every day with these tips? Perhaps you want to squeeze in this quick guided mindfulness meditation in your busy day. Get a dose of calm and clarity in under 5 minutes with this easy-to-follow Cue Words Meditation.

Judy Ho, Ph.D., ABPP, is a board-certified clinical and forensic neuropsychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University.

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Formula For Happiness

In 1922, Albert Einstein was staying in a hotel in Tokyo. Without any money to tip a hotel delivery man, he instead gave him a couple of notes on hotel stationery about happiness and success. While the man was probably unable to read the advice, he recognized their value and held on to them. In October of this year, the delivery man’s nephew sold the notes for 1.3 million dollars. One note said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” The other said, “A calm and humble life will bring more happiness than the pursuit of success and the constant restlessness that comes with it.”

Multi-millionaire Mo Gawdat curiously came to a similar conclusion as Einstein after trying to find his own formula for happiness. On paper, his life ticked every box . He was a top Google executive. He lived in a huge house. He married his university sweetheart and fathered two beautiful children.

He was incredibly wealthy. Once, he purchased a vintage Rolls-Royce at the drop of a hat .

People thought he had the perfect life, but Mo was as miserable as sin . Mo believed happiness could be captured in a computer code. He wanted to develop an algorithm which could bring complete happiness. Together with his son Ali, they created a formula. Mo thought it nailed the art of happiness.

And then something terrible happened. Ali was rushed to the hospital for a routine appendix removal. A needle punctured a major artery by mistake. His 21-year-old son’s organs were failing one by one. The time had come to say goodbye.

Mo and his wife kissed Ali’s forehead and left the hospital. Grief overwhelmed them.

Mo blamed the doctors for his son’s death, and he blamed himself. His wife told him blaming other people would not bring Ali back. This struck a chord with Mo.

He began to look at Ali’s death in a different light . He heard his son’s voice in his head saying, “I’ve already died, Papa. There is nothing you can do to change that, so make the best of it .”

Whenever Mo’s mind drifted toward negativity, he would ask what would Ali say in this situation.

In the wake of Ali’s death, his father remembered the happiness formula his son had helped him create. H ? e – E. “Happiness is greater than or equal to the events of life, minus the expectations of life.”

He realized that his striving for material things wasn’t making him happy. And his expectations for the way he thought life should be also weren’t making him happy.

Mo says, “I’ve changed my expectations. Rather than thinking that my son should never have died, I choose to be grateful for the times we had.”

Mo now believes that happiness isn’t something we should strive for. It’s about enjoying the present moment and being content with what we’ve got as opposed to what we want.

Read More: Einstein’s Note on Happiness Sells for $1.3 Million Google Executive Devises Scientific Formula For Happiness

In 1922, Albert Einstein was staying in a hotel in Tokyo. He had no money to give a hotel delivery man. Instead, he gave him a couple of notes about happiness and success. The man probably could not read the notes. But he did hold on to them. In October of this year, the man’s nephew sold the notes for 1.3 million dollars.

One note said that a humble life will bring more happiness than success.

Mo Gawdat also found this to be true. On paper, Mo’s life ticked every box . He lived in a big house. He had two beautiful children. And he was very rich. Once, he bought a Rolls-Royce at the drop of a hat .

People thought he had the perfect life, but he didn’t. Mo was as miserable as sin .

Mo believed happiness could be written in computer code.

Together with his son Ali, they created a formula. Mo thought it nailed the art of happiness.

Then something terrible happened. His 21-year-old son became sick. He was dying.

Whenever Mo felt bad, he would ask what Ali would say.

He remembered the happiness formula his son had helped him create. H ? e – E. “Happiness is greater than or equal to the events of life, minus the expectations of life.”

His expectations for the way he thought life should be also weren’t making him happy.

Mo says he accepts his son’s death. And he chooses to be grateful for the time he had with him.

Mo now enjoys the present moment. He says we should be happy with what we have, not what we want.

Einstein’s Note on Happiness Sells for $1.3 Million

Google Executive Devises Scientific Formula For Happiness

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What Is Happiness Essay

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What is happiness? We can ask hundreds of people, and each of them would probably give different answers. One would say that happiness is to be with a loved one, the second would say that happiness is the stability, and the third, on the contrary, would say that happiness is the unpredictability. For someone, to be happy is to have a lot of money while for others – to be popular. All in all, there are plenty of different understandings of happiness.

Personally, I consider happiness as simplicity and peace when my family and friends are healthy and happy as well. I recognize that they all are dear to me and able to understand what is going on inside me. I know that they will support me in any situation doing everything that depends on them. In return, I am also ready to do much for them. What we do for others, helping them when they need our help, advice, or support and obtaining appreciation, is happiness because helping others, we are doing something very significant and necessary.

What does it mean to be happy? I think it is, primarily, a state of mind, it means to have harmony with yourself and the people around. Happiness is multi-faceted. Perhaps, the word “love” is the most appropriate one to describe my happiness as love is driven by our world. People create wonderful things concerning their job, hobby, or family. Love is life, and I am happy when I realize that I live up to the hilt.

However, some people might be unhappy even though they should be. For example, teenagers who have everything to live a happy life, including healthy family, close friends, and enough money to satisfy basic needs, ask their parents to buy the latest model of IPhone. In the case, parents could not afford it, some teenagers tend to feel unhappy. After all, one can be a successful leader and have millions as well as prestige, but do not have a loving family and emotional harmony.

In my opinion, material values are not a true measure of happiness. Happiness is the ability to be optimistic in spite of difficulties and the ability to overcome them successfully. Finally, challenges should be taken as the lessons that life presents us. Even the negative things teach something, give a new experience, or refer to the correct direction.

I believe that happiness is not a gift and not a given right as every person has its own happiness inside. Moreover, it is never too late to become happy. We can inspire and motivate ourselves and others to be happy. A stranger’s passing smile, warm rays of the sun penetrating the window, or a cup of freshly brewed coffee – happiness is in detail. Everyone chooses and prefers different sources. It is of great importance for people to enjoy moments of life, even the most insignificant ones.

We need to appreciate every moment in our lives remembering that happiness is within us. After all, time passes, and we are getting hurt by the fact that we did not appreciate the time when we had a chance. Therefore, living in peace and harmony with others, helping those who need your help, and avoiding things that you would regret about in future are paramount ways to find happiness and make others happy.

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More From Forbes

The formula for a happy life.

Follow your passion is one of the worst pieces of advice you can give someone.
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Let’s face it: happiness is something we all seek, so much so that it’s written as a foundational human right in our Constitution. Yet, somehow, this seemingly basic feeling evades so many of us.

Fortunately, NYU Stern School of Business professor and New York Times bestselling author Scott Galloway has something to say about the “formula for a life well-lived”.

Who knew the secrets to happiness lay within a business school professor?

In his latest book The Algebra Of Happiness : Notes On The Pursuit Of Success, Love, And Meaning , he mixes personal anecdotes with no BS insights. Ironically, he concludes that there is no perfect formula for happiness, but has much to say to help you achieve it for yourself.

If you’re feeling “lost in a complex, chaotic world”, looking for your career to be “meaningful, not just lucrative”, want to know if work/life balance is possible, or searching for the secrets to a successful relationship, then keep reading. Galloway and I discuss this and more.

The formula for happiness.

Darrah Brustein: For you what constitutes a life well-lived?

Scott Galloway: There’s no silver bullet for what constitutes a life well-lived, but there are signals and best practices. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and adolescents to ‘follow your passion’ (more on that later) and to choose the right career path. However, the most important decision isn’t the career you choose but with whom you decide to mate and partner. As the pendulum of satisfaction swings up and down throughout your life, those who end up on a higher plane are people who have established a lot of deep, meaningful relationships.”

Brustein: You write unabashedly about many things you’ve “failed at”, along with reasons why you were “unremarkable”. Can you share a bit of context with our readers about that, as well as any upside to having had those experiences?

Galloway: Success can be measured by your resilience over failure. Everyone experiences failure and tragedy. You will get fired, lose people you love, and likely have periods of economic stress. I’ve had a marriage fail, had businesses I started go bankrupt, and lost the only person who (at that point) I knew loved me, my mom … all before 40. But the ability to mourn, and then move on, forces you to learn how to adapt and identify where your strengths lie. A key component of success is your ability to mourn, and move on.

Brustein: You write (and alluded to in your first answer), ”As you age, the stress of building the life you’ve been told you deserve, and are capable of, takes a toll.” How do you suggest one addresses this stress?

Galloway: “At some point, most of us come to the realization that we’re not going to be a professional athlete, have a fragrance named after us, or become a US Senator. This, coupled with rising student debt and an increasingly competitive job market, means that shit in your 20s becomes real…fast. One of the most destructive things you can do as stress builds in your life is consistently compare yourself to others. This is especially destructive when Instagram feeds are full of engagement and baby announcements, images of parties you weren’t invited to, new haircuts, puppies, and well-lit food. What these photos don’t show though are credit card bills, in-laws, injuries, break ups, rejections, test-prep classes, and crying children. My advice here is simple, nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems.”

Scott Galloway

Brustein: You write, “...the most important decision you’ll make is not where you work or with whom you drink, but whom you choose as your partner for the rest of your life.” What have you experienced and seen to be the primary factors in a partnership’s working or not?

Galloway: There are three key components that make a good relationship with your spouse. This first is physical attraction. I think sex and affection mark a relationship as singular.

The second is values. Some of the important values that young people rarely discuss are how close are we going to live to your parents? What is the role of religion in our life? What do we think about politics? What’s our view on the number of kids? And third, something few people talk about but is the biggest source of divorce, is money. How much money do you and your partner think you’re going to make and spend? What economic weight class do you expect to live in and who’s going to contribute to that? Who’s responsible for it? What is each person's approach to earning/spending/saving. For the most part, young people pick their relationships on the first. He’s cool. She’s hot. I’m attracted to this person. But it’s two and three that secure a fulfilling relationship.”

Brustein: Please share your perspective on the correlation between money and happiness.

Galloway: The amount of incremental joy we get from making more money plateaus once we have enough coming in to feel secure. For most Americans, that number is $75,000-$120,000 a year. For New Yorkers and those in big cities it's significantly more. Let’s be clear though, making lots of money won’t make you depressed, it just won’t make you happier. Money is the ink in the pen that writes your story. You can write more chapters, and certain chapters will burn brighter with money, but it isn't your story.

Brustein: In referencing the Harvard Medical School Grant Study on happiness, you share that there is one thing in a man’s life that predicted unhappiness better than any other factor. What is that and what were the outcomes?

Galloway: According to the Harvard Grant Study, the number one thing that was prevalent in men who were consistently unhappy was alcohol. Alcohol makes it easier to engage with other people, but it also makes you a mediocre person. (By the way, this is a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ answer…I love alcohol). Just because you’re not an alcoholic doesn’t mean you don’t have a problem with alcohol. There are a lot of incredibly high-functioning semi-alcoholics who still work for premier institutions and lead successful lives but they’ll begin to notice they lose contact with a lot of people, are not nearly as productive as they could be and their health is not where it should be. In sum, young people need to take stock of their relationship with substances and ask "Are substances getting in the way of my progress professionally and/or personally?” If yes, then address it.

Brustein: I’m a believer that ‘Follow your passion’ is poor advice, but rather, that you can become passionate about your circumstances, especially if you’re good at it. What is your take on this?

Galloway: Follow your passion is one of the worst pieces of advice you can give someone. Your job is to find something you’re good at, invest in those skills, become great at it, and the accoutrements of being great at something will make you passionate about whatever "it" is. Anyone who gets on stage or ends a speech with “Follow your passion,” is already rich, and made his or her millions mastering tax law or in iron ore smelting. However, there will always be that one person who’s such a genius and so good at what he does that money just kind of falls into his lap. Such people have a great relationship. They’re good looking. They get along with their parents, they volunteer at the ASPCA and they have a food blog. You should assume you’re not that person. The majority of people that I know who have managed to get to a certain economic weight class without inheriting that money, pretty much give up their 20s and 30s for work.

Brustein: Imposter syndrome, or as you write, thinking “I’m a fraud” is common. How do you suggest one overcomes this?

Galloway: Seventy percent of Americans admit to experiencing impostor syndrome. No one likes to feel inadequate or that your work really isn’t as great as people think it is. But the fear that comes with it is good. Fearing that people around you might uncover who you really are will push you into working harder to ensure they don’t. You should also assume that if you’re successful the people around you are (hopefully) smart enough that they would have called BS on you long ago if you didn’t deserve to be where you are.

Brustein: You’ve started or co-founded nine companies. Please share what you saw as the primary factor in whether or not they succeeded or failed?

Galloway: A major factor in whether or not a business succeeds or fails has to do with market dynamics. When the markets are strong, businesses boom. But the real indicator of whether or not a company has staying power is if they’re able to bring in the money during a recession. In my first book, The Four, I outline a framework called the ‘T-Algorithm”, which sets out eight criteria needed for a business to succeed as market disruptors, and keep the doors open during the down times. In sum, neither your successes nor your failures are entirely your fault. Hold yourself accountable, but be willing to forgive yourself for your mistakes.

Brustein: If you wanted readers to take one thing away from reading your book, what would it be?

Galloway: Happiness is love, full stop. You can get happiness from Chipotle, Netflix, and Cialis (I do), but those things will only bring you short-term happiness. When we really talk about meaningful happiness, we talk about investments we make through the course of our lives, and decisions in forgiveness we provide ourselves and other people, such that at the end of our lives, we feel we built a narrative of satisfaction. Ask yourself, do you feel loved and supported at home, at work, and with friends? And importantly, do they feel loved and supported by you? The universe wants to prosper and offers incentives to enhance the species--food and sex are both key, and enjoyable. However, the most rewarding thing is (logically) the key to the success of our species; to care for and love others.

Scott Galloway's latest book, The Algebra Of Happiness: Notes On The Pursuit Of Success, Love, And ... [+] Meaning

Want more success and fulfillment in your life? Then c heck out this free masterclass with Deepak Chopra and me . In it, we share the 5 key things you need to know to create a more meaningful life!

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Happiness is a Choice

Categories: Happiness Personal Development Planning

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Published: Mar 20, 2024

Words: 654 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

The power of perspective, the role of personal agency, resilience and emotional regulation.

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The Formula for Happiness

As John Langan (2019) writes Lena and Miles wanted a vacation. They wanted a vacation that was nice. They wanted one that was quiet. They wanted one that was relaxing. They rented a small lakeside cabin. Their first day there was very peaceful. The situation quickly changed. A large family moved into a nearby cabin. They played music at top volume. They raced around in a speedboat with a loud whining engine. Lena and Miles were no longer very relaxed. They packed up their things.

They drove off. They returned to their quiet apartment. (p. 145)

Lena and Miles wanted a nice and quiet vacation. They rented a small lakeside cabin that was relaxing and peaceful. The situation changed quickly when a large family moved into a nearby cabin. They played music and raced a speedboat with a loud whining engine. Lena and Miles were no longer relaxed, so they packed their things and returned to their quiet apartment. The study of happiness and what creates it has become a multi-million-dollar business.

Some people say that happiness comes from wealth, but most researchers say that happiness comes from within. In pursuit of happiness, many people create goals but often find once they have achieved them, the expected happiness is not present.

Most people will set present and further goals to help them look forward to something positive. Many people think that staying in a positive mindset will help attract positivity and happiness to your life. This in return gives a feeling of happiness and joy.

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“ KarrieWrites did such a phenomenal job on this assignment! He completed it prior to its deadline and was thorough and informative. ”

Martha Beck, a life coach with a Ph.D. from Harvard, writes that “Over and over, researchers studying happiness have found that the situational elements people crave — money, social status, possessions — don’t reliably lead to an experience of well-being. Learning to find joy in the present moment … increases life satisfaction, improves health, and allows us to live longer more fulfilling lives.” Finding joy in the present moment might be difficult to attain at first, but if one focuses on what truly matters, this joy can lead to a better life.

The first step in how to find joy in your life is to be in the present. Instead of seeing a rainy day as a negative thing, see a rainy day and think about splashing and jumping in puddles. Instead of thinking about the stressful work meeting, think of what will be accomplished at this meeting. Some people see caterpillars as fascinating, not gross, objects to observe and follow. They see life as a series of exciting gifts that need to be experienced. Instead, people should learn to find they joy in life. Whether it is taking a moment to deeply breathe in the aroma of that first cup of coffee or marveling at the way toothpaste foams, finding satisfaction in the little moments of the day will lead to a more positive outlook.

the second step in finding joy is to focus on experiences instead of things. Buying a television might be exciting at first but sitting in a room watching television alone isn’t going to contribute to a sense of happiness. Instead, people can set a movie night with family and find joy in the experience of spending physical time with someone. According to Thomas A. Glass, professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, studies show that people who live longer lives have strong social connections and those who have weak or no social connections will die earlier, despite seemingly good health. Social interaction plays a huge role in our mental health and well-being as a human being. Positive interactions have positive outcomes whereas negative interactions have negative outcomes.

Finally, it is important to live generously. Giving to the community or improving yourself by learning something helps people to be more positive. Many people report that when they spend more time volunteering or learning something new, they find happiness. This intrinsic desire to better themselves or the world around them leads people to a sense of worth and happiness. Pursuing happiness can always remain a goal, or it can become a reality. All a person needs to do is focus on the present, focus on experiences, and live generously. Together these actions can lead to a longer, happier life.

International Student Orientation Program

With the increase of international students on campus, it is important that the academic community be aware of the major issues these students face. Many international students struggle with language barriers, cultural barriers, and social barriers. In order to effectively educate our students, the counseling department, in conjunction with the College Orientation department and the Honors Student Ambassador Program, will be implementing an orientation program that all international students will be required to attend. This will allow the international students the opportunity to connect with other students and instructors of the same language and cultures. This meeting will allow the school to test all international students on their English language skills.

If they have already taken the TOESL, that score will be used in place of the added testing. Students who are more proficient will be partnered with students in the Student Ambassador program. These pairings will allow students to work with a peer to ask questions, have subjects clarified, and seek the necessary resources that will offer help. This peer mentoring will be a way to increase student engagement, help with culture barriers, and decrease social barriers thus, enhancing student success. Students who are less fluent in English will be linked up with all the helpful elements that our ESL program can offer. Not only will the orientation program offer students an opportunity to improve their English language skills, but it will offer them connections with other students and professors who are aware of the added struggles faced by international students.

To address the cultural barriers, the orientation classes will focus specifically on American culture in comparison to the cultures represented by the students in the class. Many students come from countries that view education and professors differently. With a wide variety of views on education, specific focus will be placed on American classroom culture and the expected behavior of student-professor interaction. Students will also be instructed about the many differing aspects of American social culture. Students will be encouraged to share their cultures and customs to create a deeper understanding and bond within the class. This type of learning will create a strong learning community that will aid in students’ acclimation.

The final problems many international students face are social barriers. Most students attending college are forging new social connections. This poses a barrier to international students in that they may have different approaches to social connections in their cultures. However, it is generally much harder for international students as they are also trying to learn new customs, languages, and etiquette. Within the safety of the orientation class, students will be able to form a cohort of other international students who are also facing social barriers. For many reasons, the Student Ambassadors will be vital to this part of the orientation class.

Our international students face many added challenges, and they give much to our college community. Studies show that students who attend orientation programs often are far more successful in school. Offering an orientation that is specifically geared toward the obstacles our international students face will help them to have a more positive experience, which in turn should greatly improve our retention of our international students.

John Langan, Z. L. (2019). College Writing Skills with Readings, Tenth Efition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

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IELTS Essay: Happiness

by Dave | Real Past Tests | 25 Comments

This is an IELTS writing task 2 sample answer essay on the topic of happiness from the real IELTS exam

Please consider supporting me on Patreon.com/howtodoielts to receive my exclusive IELTS Ebooks – you can even sign up for private live lessons with me!

Some people think personal happiness is directly related to economic success, while others believe this depends on other factors.

Discuss both sides and give your own opinion.

Many are of the belief that happiness is a result of financial success, while others feel there are more crucial factors. In my opinion, a certain degree of financial stability is a basic requirement for happiness but is less important overall than one’s family and health.

Those who claim that happiness correlates highly with earnings argue that it affords individuals a higher standard of living. A person with a considerable salary is able to buy a nice house, provide for their family, and purchase luxuries ranging from good food and frequent holidays to expensive vehicles and fashionable clothing. Each item taken on its own only contributes a small degree of pleasure, however, such purchases add up to a generally content, comfortable and enjoyable lifestyle. If a person is inclined to equate pleasure with happiness, then there is a legitimate argument to be made for the pursuit of happiness being the pursuit of money.

However, the majority of individuals, wealthy and otherwise, would state that happiness is more a consequence of quality time with family and good health. A comfortable home filled with luxuries is enjoyable but the most sustained happiness comes from relationships. Someone who has lost touch with their family and has frayed interpersonal bonds with their relatives, is not likely to be able to fill such a void with physical possessions. Anecdotally, towards the end of life most people recognize that their happiest moments were spent in the presence of loved ones. Additionally, good health is a more powerful pre-condition for happiness since no amount of wealth can buy relief from chronic suffering.

In conclusion, happiness depends more on one’s relationship with their family and physical health rather than financial success. There are, naturally, exceptions as happiness is subjective and can be defined differently.

1. Many are of the belief that happiness is a result of financial success, while others feel there are more crucial factors. 2. In my opinion, a certain degree of financial stability is a basic requirement for happiness but is less important overall than one’s family and health.

Paraphrase the overall essay topic.
Write a clear opinion. Read more about introductions here .

1. Those who claim that happiness correlates highly with earnings argue that it affords individuals a higher standard of living. 2. A person with a considerable salary is able to buy a nice house, provide for their family, and purchase luxuries ranging from good food and frequent holidays to expensive vehicles and fashionable clothing. 3. Each item taken on its own only contributes a small degree of pleasure, however, such purchases add up to a generally content, comfortable and enjoyable lifestyle. 4. If a person is inclined to equate pleasure with happiness, then there is a legitimate argument to be made for the pursuit of happiness being the pursuit of money.

Write a topic sentence with a clear main idea at the end.
Explain your main idea.
Develop it with specific or hypothetical examples.
Keep developing it fully.

1. However, the majority of individuals, wealthy and otherwise, would state that happiness is more a consequence of quality time with family and good health. 2. A comfortable home filled with luxuries is enjoyable but the most sustained happiness comes from relationships. 3. Someone who has lost touch with their family and has frayed interpersonal bonds with their relatives, is not likely to be able to fill such a void with physical possessions. 4. Anecdotally, towards the end of life most people recognize that their happiest moments were spent in the presence of loved ones. 5. Additionally, good health is a more powerful pre-condition for happiness since no amount of wealth can buy relief from chronic suffering.

Write a new topic sentence with a new main idea at the end.
Explain your new main idea.
Include specific details and examples.
Continue developing it…
as fully as possible!

1. In conclusion, happiness depends more on one’s relationship with their family and physical health rather than financial success. 2. There are, naturally, exceptions as happiness is subjective and can be defined differently.

Summarise your main ideas.
Include a final thought. Read more about conclusions here .

What do the words in bold below mean? Make some notes on paper to aid memory and then check below.

Many are of the belief that happiness is a result of financial success , while others feel there are more crucial factors . In my opinion, a certain degree of financial stability is a basic requirement for happiness but is less important overall than one’s family and health.

Those who claim that happiness correlates highly with earnings argue that it affords individuals a higher standard of living . A person with a considerable salary is able to buy a nice house, provide for their family, and purchase luxuries ranging from good food and frequent holidays to expensive vehicles and fashionable clothing . Each item taken on its own only contributes a small degree of pleasure , however, such purchases add up to a generally content , comfortable and enjoyable lifestyle . If a person is inclined to equate pleasure with happiness, then there is a legitimate argument to be made for the pursuit of happiness being the pursuit of money.

However, the majority of individuals, wealthy and otherwise , would state that happiness is more a consequence of quality time with family and good health. A comfortable home filled with luxuries is enjoyable but the most sustained happiness comes from relationships . Someone who has lost touch with their family and has frayed interpersonal bonds with their relatives , is not likely to be able to fill such a void with physical possessions . Anecdotally , towards the end of life most people recognize that their happiest moments were spent in the presence of loved ones . Additionally , good health is a more powerful pre-condition for happiness since no amount of wealth can buy relief from chronic suffering .

In conclusion, happiness depends more on one’s relationship with their family and physical health rather than financial success. There are, naturally , exceptions as happiness is subjective and can be defined differently .

For extra practice, write an antonym (opposite word) on a piece of paper to help you remember the new vocabulary:

result of caused by

financial success making money

crucial factors important elements

certain degree some amount of

financial stability have enough money

basic requirement minimum

overall generally

claim argue

correlates highly relates directly to

earnings argue money say

affords can pay for

higher standard of living good quality of life

considerable major

provide for allow for

purchase luxuries ranging from buy nice things including

frequent often

expensive vehicles pricey cars

fashionable clothing nice fashion

item taken on its own thing by itself

contributes adds to

small degree of pleasure a little enjoyment

add up contribute to

generally content overall happy

comfortable easy and nice

enjoyable lifestyle nice living standard

inclined likely to

equate pleasure make enjoyment equal to

legitimate argument clear case

pursuit of happiness trying to satisfy yourself

majority most of

otherwise or this will happen

consequence result

quality time good time spent with

filled with full of

most sustained constant

relationships interpersonal connections

lost touch not talking to, estranged

frayed interpersonal bonds not on good terms with

relatives family members

void absence

physical possessions things

anecdotally from stories

recognize know

spent in the presence of loved ones around family

additionally also

pre-condition minimum requirement

since no amount of wealth as no level of money

buy relief purchase a reprieve

chronic suffering constantly hurt by

depends more on has more to do with

rather than instead of

naturally of course

exceptions cases outside the norm

subjective can be judged individually

defined differently described in different ways

Pronunciation

Practice saying the vocabulary below and use this tip about Google voice search :

rɪˈzʌlt ɒv faɪˈnænʃəl səkˈsɛs ˈkruːʃəl ˈfæktəz ˈsɜːtn dɪˈgriː faɪˈnænʃəl stəˈbɪlɪti ˈbeɪsɪk rɪˈkwaɪəmənt ˈəʊvərɔːl kleɪm ˈkɒrɪleɪts ˈhaɪli ˈɜːnɪŋz ˈɑːgjuː əˈfɔːdz ˈhaɪə ˈstændəd ɒv ˈlɪvɪŋ kənˈsɪdərəbl prəˈvaɪd fɔː ˈpɜːʧəs ˈlʌkʃəriz ˈreɪnʤɪŋ frɒm ˈfriːkwənt ɪksˈpɛnsɪv ˈviːɪklz ˈfæʃnəbl ˈkləʊðɪŋ ˈaɪtəm ˈteɪkən ɒn ɪts əʊn kənˈtrɪbju(ː)ts smɔːl dɪˈgriː ɒv ˈplɛʒə æd ʌp ˈʤɛnərəli ˈkɒntɛnt ˈkʌmf(ə)təbl ɪnˈʤɔɪəbl ˈlaɪfˌstaɪl ɪnˈklaɪnd ɪˈkweɪt ˈplɛʒə lɪˈʤɪtɪmɪt ˈɑːgjʊmənt pəˈsjuːt ɒv ˈhæpɪnɪs məˈʤɒrɪti ˈʌðəwaɪz steɪt ˈkɒnsɪkwəns ˈkwɒlɪti taɪm fɪld wɪð məʊst səsˈteɪnd rɪˈleɪʃənʃɪps lɒst tʌʧ freɪd ˌɪntəˈpɜːsən(ə)l bɒndz ˈrɛlətɪvz vɔɪd ˈfɪzɪkəl pəˈzɛʃənz ˌænɪkˈdəʊt(ə)li ˈrɛkəgnaɪz spɛnt ɪn ðə ˈprɛzns ɒv lʌvd wʌnz əˈdɪʃənli priː-kənˈdɪʃən sɪns nəʊ əˈmaʊnt ɒv wɛlθ baɪ rɪˈliːf ˈkrɒnɪk ˈsʌfərɪŋ dɪˈpɛndz mɔːr ɒn ˈrɑːðə ðæn ˈnæʧrəli ɪkˈsɛpʃənz səbˈʤɛktɪv dɪˈfaɪnd ˈdɪfrəntli

Vocabulary Practice

I recommend getting a pencil and piece of paper because that aids memory. Then write down the missing vocabulary from my sample answer in your notebook:

Many are of the belief that happiness is a r__________f f_______________s , while others feel there are more c__________________s . In my opinion, a c________________e of f_____________________y is a b___________________t for happiness but is less important o________l than one’s family and health.

Those who c________m that happiness c__________________y with e________________e that it a________s individuals a h_____________________________g . A person with a c_______________e salary is able to buy a nice house, p__________r their family, and p__________________s r________________m good food and f__________t holidays to e___________________s and f____________________g . Each i______________________n only c________________s a s_________________________e , however, such purchases a________p to a g______________________t , c_____________e and e____________________e . If a person is i__________d to e_________________e with happiness, then there is a l_________________________t to be made for the p____________________s being the pursuit of money.

However, the m_________y of individuals, wealthy and o___________e , would s______e that happiness is more a c______________e of q______________e with family and good health. A comfortable home f____________h luxuries is enjoyable but the m________________d happiness comes from r_______________s . Someone who has l_____________h with their family and has f__________________________s with their r__________s , is not likely to be able to fill such a v______d with p__________________________s . A________________y , towards the end of life most people r____________e that their happiest moments were s___________________________________s . A_______________y , good health is a more powerful p______________n for happiness s____________________________________h can b______________f from c______________g .

In conclusion, happiness d______________________n one’s relationship with their family and physical health r_____________n financial success. There are, n______________y , e____________s as happiness is s_____________e and can be d_____________________y .

Listening Practice

Learn more about this topic by watching videos from The New York Times YouTube channel below and practice with these activities :

Reading Practice

Read more about this topic and use these ideas to practice :

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/the-10-happiest-countries-in-the-world

Speaking Practice

Practice with the following speaking questions from the real IELTS speaking exam :

Happy Occasions

How do people in your country celebrate happy occasions?
Why do occasions usually make people happy?
How important is the money spent on the occasion for making people happy?
Is it a good idea to spend a lot of money on a birthday party?
Is happiness today the same as it was in the past?

Writing Practice

Practice with the related IELTS essay topic below:

In recent times, economic growth has helped many become richer, both in developed and developing countries. However, those in developed countries are not as happy as they were in the past.

Why is this?

What can be learned from this?

IELTS Essay: Developed Countries & Happiness

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25 Comments

Wonderful website

Thanks a lot!

Hello, in first body paragraph, the sentence ‘contributes a small degree of pleasure…..’ so, in such kind of sentence, when can we use contribute/contributes something or contributes to something? Do both have same meaning?e.g. contributes something and contributes to something?

They are similar – contributes to is adding to a bigger whole – contributes to the economy.

But contributes is the actual thing – contributes resources to the economy.

Great question, Sandra!

Thank you sir for making this clear!

No problem!

In 1st body paragraph, last sentence, if person is inclined to equate pleasure with happiness….. so, aren’t both same? Pleasure and happiness? Should not there be pleasure and wealth instead of pleasure and happiness?

That is a part of the question.

I think most people would say that pleasure is a part of happiness, but not the full equation.

That there are other, more satisfying elements that make up happiness.

It’s a topic for a longer essay, like most IELTS essays, so you can really just touch on it and give an opinion.

Thank you. Your website contains all topics and top notch vocabulary. Best essays .

You’re welcome as always Sandra!

There is an argument about whether individual happiness depends on being rich in money or not. In my opinion, I consider that money is not the main reason for happiness. Although wealth can solve many problems, hope is the core of happiness.

It is not necessary for rich people to worry about their survival. Money can buy more than enough commodities, such as food, clothes, or even an estate, which results in lives without being hungry or homeless. Moreover, rich people can also entertain themselves with powerful computers, new styles of wind coats, and global trips. They enjoy the toppest entertainment in the world, which can bring them happiness indeed. However, rich people may consider money so important that any single missing coin may lead to depression.

A positive attitude decides the happniess from the root. If we consider that a bright future will come, we are not fatigue. For example, a poor young graduate who just received an offer from his first selected company leads to pleasure in the mouth because his future is promising and hopeful. It is also the reason why people with huge fortunes feel happy. Furthermore, a boss of a monopoly may feel pessimistic if the company appears to be breaking apart. It is clear that money does not determine happiness, but hope does.

In sum, money can bring happiness in some cases, but hope is the origin of happiness. As a result, we should try our best to have better lives and fill ourselves with a positive attitude.

Could be a little more academic, Gakki but strong overall.

Also the phrase to begin the 3rd paragraph is a little strange…

Thanks for your feedback! I’ll keep trying.

The root cause of Happiness is TRUTH. If you back to truth Happiness , Health , Wealth success much more back to you!

Sounds about right!

Please give feedback-

People have had different views about the definition of happiness. While some assert that joyousness in life is linked to the level of success a person has achieved, others are of opinion that other possibilities play an important role in determining happiness. This essay will discuss both perspectives in the forthcoming paragraphs. I, however, side with the latter view.

On the one hand, it is nearly irrefutable to say that money can create joyfulness. In other words, money is an instrument which helps people to purchase things which can generate happiness and gratification. It allows people to be content through things, be it material possessions like cars, houses and jewelry, or buying wonderful experiences, such as vacations. Furthermore, when people’s physiological needs have been met, they would likely have achieved contentment in life. Unlike impoverished people, rich people do not have to worry about the means of meeting their basic needs. Therefore, the wealthy populace are assumed to be full of felicity since they have enough opulence to spend on things that bring happy feelings to them.

On the other hand, many people feel that loving familial relationships and excellent health are imperative for people to be joyous. People who have strong family ties are less stressed and generally in better moods because family members are not only caring but also supportive. If someone is going through any difficulties, it is the family that will stand behind them as a strong supporter and try to eradicate the problem. Secondly, people’s health is very significant. A healthy person will not be constantly bothered by pain in various body parts. Despite the fact that money can help to buy medical treatments, it does not guarantee a complete cure. For instance, if a billionaire is suffering from chronic ailments such as cancer, in spite of spending an inordinate amount of wealth, he may or may not be cured fully. Thus, having robust health is essential for people to be happy from within.

In conclusion, although financial success can assist in acquiring materialistic items engendering personal happiness, in my opinion, harmonious family relationships and a healthy body are stronger alternatives that make people’s lives happy.

Sure, Ram – a littl on the long side – try to get it down to about 275 words.

Also some vocabulary is being mis-used like joyous.

Love your examples!

Thanks Dave.

Does happiness is owned nowadays? Although, few people supports that the economic growth drives-in joy in an individual’s lives, others put forward several other sources of happiness. In my view, definitely money is paramount to happiness but certainly, there are few other requisite needs to be fulfilled in human life in order to achieve satisfaction more than happiness alone.

Supporters of the thought that “money can buy happiness” are generally mistaken for the over assumptions than reality of life. Money is needed in every transaction of materialistic items that is pre-requisite for the survival. Although, happiness is sum of the difference between the expectation and reality to be true, in general. It puts ones at very ease in life when he holds wealth in abundance. Capability to fulfill not just basic needs but also desires brings loads of excitements. But the problem with this approach is that the factors that define happiness keeps changing with time.

Opponents of the thought that “wealth is happiness” are more likely has defined joy with some other intrinsic caliber of an individual to possess satisfaction. Though, being poor or facing misery is not noble for anyone but to pertain needed balance of everything as a whole is something leads ones to satisfaction. Certainly, there is no match to love for Lord that outweighs any materialistic needs. Moreover, social and emotional support are largely the dominant factor to define satisfaction, therefore the happiness. For an instance, Elon Musk had made a statement on social media that him despite of being a richest person in

In conclusion, Joy cannot always buy or measured with economic development of the person but that comes from inside a character of the person in different forms like satisfaction.

Good work, Anubhav!

Careful with capitalizing words that are not proper nouns. Nice examples too, but some little grammar mistakes will bring your score down.

Keep working hard!

What is the band score of this essay approximately?

I have written all these essays so they are band 9 examples, Sasan!

Superb! Thanks.

You’re welcome!

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Which Formula for National Happiness?

Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 2019

23 Pages Posted: 2 May 2019

Chris Tofallis

University of Hertfordshire Business School

Date Written: 2019

The World Happiness Report is published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and contains an international ranking of national average happiness, as measured by surveys of personal life evaluations. It also contains an analysis which tries to explain the happiness figures from more than 150 countries using data on six key variables. That analysis assumes the factors combine in an additive manner and therefore operate independently of each other. By contrast, we explore a multiplicative model, which allows for interactivity or synergy between factors, as well as the possibility of diminishing marginal benefit at higher levels of achievement. We find that this model provides a better fit to the data and is therefore superior in its explanatory power. The implication for policy-makers is that they should focus on improving those factors which are the lowest for their nation as this will provide greater relative benefits to subjective well-being. At an individual level this means focusing on improving conditions for those who are experiencing the lowest levels of well-being.

Keywords: Happiness, Happiness Index, Subjective Well-Being, Multiplicative Model

JEL Classification: C2, C51, I31

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Chris Tofallis (Contact Author)

University of hertfordshire business school ( email ).

College Lane Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://tinyurl.com/ChrisTofallis

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Sport as a formula for happiness: what really makes the world happy

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We should have known - there is a connection between happiness and sport. Studies show this: The happiest countries in the world are also the countries with the highest proportion of athletes. Here are the global happiness facts - and how you can easily make your life happier and healthier.

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Overview of the Insights

Sense of happiness remains stable in 2024

Sport makes you happy - more than money

Why are scandinavians so happy, intensive training at the top of the happiness scale.

Endurance sports support mental health

Forest bathing: Happiness without much effort

At the peak of pleasure with adventure experiences

Organized sport lifts the mood

Couch potato: passive sport also makes you happy

Initiatives for happier global citizens

Sport: unique potential for europe.

What is happiness? Standing on a summit and breathing in the pure mountain air? Lifting weights in the gym and getting out of breath? Watching a football game on TV and cheering on your team? Yes, all of this makes us happy. But happiness can also be defined statistically: In the regularly published World Happiness Report , experts analyze where the happiest people live. The six key factors are

social support
Health (including mental health )
Absence of corruption.

The Scandinavian countries have been at the top of the rankings for years. Germany, on the other hand, is in 24th place in 2024.

Perception of happiness remains stable in 2024

"The average perception of happiness and our country rankings, both for emotions and life evaluations, have remained remarkably stable over the three COVID-19 years," states economist John Helliwell. In 2024, the top 10 countries in the ranking remained largely unchanged compared to previous years. However, for the first time in 2024, separate rankings were compiled by age group, which in many cases deviate significantly from the overall ranking. Lithuania tops the list for children and young people under 30, while Denmark is the happiest country in the world for people over 60.

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The positive effects of exercise are undisputed. The body releases more of the happiness hormones serotonin and dopamine. Physical activity also lowers stress levels, as the hormone cortisol is reduced. In 2018, scientists from Yale and Oxford Universities analyzed data from 1.2 million Americans and even came to the conclusion that sport makes people happier than money. It is therefore not surprising that there is a link between sport and happiness.

A high quality of life, a good education system, social security, a strong social network, but also the beauty and vastness of nature - all of this means that Scandinavians are happier than most of their European neighbors. Another striking fact is that people in the Scandinavian countries exercise regularly and extensively . According to the World Happiness Report , Finland, Denmark and Iceland are at the top of the list. Also at the top: Sweden and Israel - the inhabitants of both countries experience a high level of happiness.

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Walking, aerobics or high-intensity interval training - which sport actually makes you happier? According to researchers at the University of Turku in Finland, the answer is quite clear: HIIT . When comparing the amount of endorphins in the body after a moderate aerobics class and a one-hour high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session, they found that the participants in the HIIT group had significantly more happiness hormones in their blood. This was confirmed by Chinese researchers from Shenzhen University in a comparison of earlier studies; however, even a ten to 30-minute workout can improve mood.

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Endurance sport supports mental health

Another study by the University of Turku was able to prove that endurance sports such as running , cycling or swimming even help with severe depression. Sport has also been proven to help reduce psychological problems and improve mental health in older people. A study of women in Iran, for example, found that an eight-week Pilates course had a positive effect on the participants' depression and happiness levels.

The German doctor, cabaret artist and happiness researcher Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen puts it in a nutshell: "When muscles cry, the brain laughs!". And in his article for the German magazine Stern magazine: "If you run more often, you even grow new brain cells. Physical training has been proven to produce a natural antidepressant, the 'VGF nerve growth factor inducible protein' - a kind of fertilizer for lettuce."

More about the topic of mental health

However, if you want to start slowly with physical exercise due to health problems or because you are new to sport, we recommend forest bathing . The positive effect on the psyche has now been more than confirmed: Inhaling the phytoncides (including essential oils) from the plants has a stress-reducing and blood pressure-lowering effect in humans. The heart rate also stabilizes during forest bathing and thus also contributes to calming, stress reduction and general satisfaction.

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At the peak of enjoyment with adventure experiences

Outdoor time is simply feel-good time. Increased well-being is also linked to adventure experiences - this is the conclusion reached by professors Gill Pomfret and Carola May. In their study, the English and German scientists analyzed the most important research concepts relating to well-being and adventure experiences. So let's get out into nature and experience an adventure - such as jumping into a cold lake!

Jogging alone through the forest or playing tennis together - whether we prefer individual sports or exercising with like-minded people is a purely personal question. In New Zealand, scientists found that organized sport has unique additional benefits for well-being. According to their study, the feeling of happiness in already active young people could be further increased by organized group sports.

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Couch potato: Passive sport also makes you happy

If you don't want to exercise at all, but instead regularly attend sporting events , enjoy watching sports programs on TV or via streaming, read sports news or talk about sports with others - this is also positively associated with happiness. At least that is the result of a Spanish study from 2021.

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In Germany (which, incidentally, is the 24th happiest country in the world), the German Olympic Sports Confederation has already launched the "Recipes for Exercise" initiative. The aim is to motivate people to exercise more and lead a more active lifestyle . GPs "prescribe" more exercise to their patients using an informative leaflet and recommend participation in a sports program at one of the 14 regional sports associations.

Canada (15th place), on the other hand, relies on the "green pill on prescription": physician Dr. Melissa Lem has launched the PaRX initiative. As part of this program, healthcare providers prescribe their patients time in nature. Those who receive the prescription and live near a national park are even allowed to enter it free of charge.

In 2018, the Australian government adopted its first national sports plan (Australia is ranked 10th in the World Happiness Report). According to the then Minister for Sport Bridget McKenzie, her large-scale future paper "Sport 2030" aims to set out a clear path for how government measures can support grassroots sports organizations and increase participation rates for better health and well-being: "We need new ways to focus on and invest in sport and physical activity so that we can fulfill our potential as a nation."

And perhaps the dissatisfied countries of Europe also have a chance to become happier. After all, as the Vice President for the Promotion of the European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, has recognized: "Sport alone will not solve all our problems. But apart from the very obvious benefits for our health, it has a unique potential to connect us with each other and make us feel that we belong to a community." And that definitely makes you happy!

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Sport as a formula for happiness: this is how happy exercise makes you
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