So, what is happiness?
Most of us probably don’t believe we need a formal definition of happiness; we know it when we feel it, and we often use the term to describe a range of positive emotions, including joy, pride, contentment, and gratitude.
But to understand the causes and effects of happiness, researchers first needed to define it. Many of them use the term interchangeably with “subjective well-being,” which they measure by simply asking people to report how satisfied they feel with their own lives and how much positive and negative emotions they’re experiencing. In her 2007 book ‘The How of Happiness’, positive psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky elaborates, describing happiness as “The experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”
Happiness is a subjective thing as well. Ask one person what makes him happy, and the answer might be: Breakfast in bed with chocolate covered waffles. Ask another and she might say: A long walk in an autumn forest with the dog. Ask yet another and the answer might be: I want every little aspect of my life to be just perfect. (If this is you, we’ve got some work to do;)
Happiness seems like a very personal thing, but actually it isn’t. What I have noticed is that everyone on the whole takes the same path in their search for ultimate happiness. Everyone looking for more happiness will come to the same conclusions sooner or later. So everyone has their own preferences, but in the core happiness is a universal concept. For Americans, Asians and Russians alike, the basic needs are similar.
What I am trying to say is this: Happiness is not complicated and it is not personal. You can compare happiness with other basic life needs, like food.
Everyone needs to eat; we all need vitamins, minerals, fibers, protein and carbohydrates to live. Everybody requires these nutrients, but every human has its preferences... That does not change the need; it merely determines how the need is being fulfilled.
So, what makes you happy? And why?
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