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What is happiness? And is it up to you?

For full info, check out our featured factsheet What is happiness and also Tips for increasing your happiness.

Happiness can mean different things to different people. For one person, it may mean being in a relationship, while for another it may mean feeling you can handle whatever life throws at you.

While you might think that there are certain things that make you happy (or could make you happy if you had them), research has shown that there are certain common traits amongst happy people - and it isn't necessarily what you might have thought.

What makes happy people happy?

Lots of money, being attractive, a great house, or having all the latest gadgets... Not exactly.  You might just think happy people are plain lucky, and are born that way.

Research suggests, however, that there are a number of variables that make a far greater contribution to happiness than external and more superficial factors.

Happy people tend to have a different attitude that dictates their way of thinking about things and doing things.

Why is happiness important?

This might seem obvious - why wouldn't you want to be happy?! But the implications are greater than you might think. Happier people are generally healthier people - not only mentally, but also physically.

The "Happiness Equation"

Yes, seriously.  It's the Happiness Equation.

This equation was suggested by Martin Seligman, an American based psychologist:

• H = S + C + V

H = Happiness
S = Set range - (genetics: about 50%)
C = Circumstances (8-15%)
V = Voluntary control - (42-35% thinking and acting upon past, present and future events)

This all looks very scientific, and is actually based on research findings, but can be explained quite simply:

Set range/genetics 

There is some evidence to support that we are all born with a certain "set-point" of happiness, determined by our genes. This is supposed to change only slightly, if at all, as we get older. This contributes towards around 50% of our level of happiness.

So, if something dramatic happens, for example, you win the lottery, or break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, within a year or so (depending on the situation) your happiness level will return to its set point.

Circumstances

There is also some evidence to suggest that the circumstance we live in influence our level of happiness. You don't always have a lot of control over your circumstances (for example, we can't all live in mansions and drive new cars). Evidence suggests, however, that this accounts for only around 8-15% of our happiness levels, which really isn't that much.

Voluntary control 

This third factor is the most important factor in the equation, because you can control it, and in the process control your happiness. It includes all aspects of your life over which you have a relatively high degree of control, including your thoughts and actions. This includes the way you choose to think about and act on the past, present, and future, and seems to have quite a significant impact on how happy you are - if you do the math, it could be up to 42%!

• Past - When thinking about the past, people who are happier pay attention to what is 'good' about the past, rather than focusing on the unhappy times. They are grateful, forgiving, and don't believe that the past will determine what happens in the future. For more information on gratitude (being grateful) for the past, check out fact sheet on Gratitude.

• Future - When it comes to thinking about the future, happy people are flexibly optimistic - what this means is that they are optimistic (in a realistic sense) about how their future is going to be, but if it doesn't turn out that way, they know it's not going to be the end of the world either.

• Present - The way you think about and act in the present is also essential in determining how happy you are. This might include things such as taking pleasure in life and your surroundings, building and being in meaningful relationships, and the way we react to things in life, good and bad. For more information about the things you can control in your present which might help increase your happiness, check out the Tips for increasing your happiness fact sheet.

You can therefore have a big effect on your own happiness.  That's not to say that other factors will impact it, and nor does being happy mean you can't be sad.

A few extra tips from our Tips for increasing your happiness factsheet:

• Be in the present
• Take notice of the little things in life and in the world, and enjoy them
• Build and maintain good quality relationships
• Train your mind (Choose the way you think about things)
• Focus on your strengths
• Plan for happiness (work towards goals that you truly want)

Do any of these work for you?  Or do you have your own tips for working towards happiness?

• 17 Nov 2009 10:31 AM |
• Posted by: Ianb in

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