The word happiness comes from

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A smiling 95-year-old man from Pichilemu, Chile

Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.[1] Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia.[2]

Since the 1960s, happiness research has been conducted in a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including gerontology, social psychology and positive psychology, clinical and medical research and happiness economics.

Definitions

«Happiness» is subject to debate on usage and meaning,[3][4][5][6][7] and on possible differences in understanding by culture.[8][9]

The word is mostly used in relation to two factors:[10]

  • the current experience of the feeling of an emotion (affect) such as pleasure or joy,[1] or of a more general sense of ’emotional condition as a whole’.[11] For instance Daniel Kahneman has defined happiness as «what I experience here and now«.[12] This usage is prevalent in dictionary definitions of happiness.[13][14][15]
  • appraisal of life satisfaction, such as of quality of life.[16] For instance Ruut Veenhoven has defined happiness as «overall appreciation of one’s life as-a-whole.»[9]: 2 [17] Kahneman has said that this is more important to people than current experience.[18][19][20]

Some usages can include both of these factors. Subjective well-being (swb)[21] includes measures of current experience (emotions, moods, and feelings) and of life satisfaction.[nb 1] For instance Sonja Lyubomirsky has described happiness as «the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.«[22] Eudaimonia,[23] is a Greek term variously translated as happiness, welfare, flourishing, and blessedness. Xavier Landes[24] has proposed that happiness include measures of subjective wellbeing, mood and eudaimonia.[25]

These differing uses can give different results.[26][27] Whereas Nordic countries often score highest on swb surveys, South American countries score higher on affect-based surveys of current positive life experiencing.[28]

The implied meaning of the word may vary depending on context,[29] qualifying happiness as a polyseme and a fuzzy concept.

A further issue is when measurement is made; appraisal of a level of happiness at the time of the experience may be different from appraisal via memory at a later date.[30][31]

Some users accept these issues, but continue to use the word because of its convening power.[32]

Changes of meaning over time

Happiness may have had a different meaning at the time of drafting of the US Declaration of Independence compared to now.[33][34]

Measurement

People have been trying to measure happiness for centuries. In 1780, the English utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham proposed that as happiness was the primary goal of humans it should be measured as a way of determining how well the government was performing.[35]

Today, happiness is typically measured using self-report surveys. Self-reporting is prone to cognitive biases and other sources of errors, such as peak–end rule. Studies show that memories of felt emotions can be inaccurate.[36] Affective forecasting research shows that people are poor predictors of their future emotions, including how happy they will be.[37]

Happiness economists are not overly concerned with philosophical and methodological issues and continue to use questionaries to measure average happiness of populations.

Several scales have been developed to measure happiness:

  • The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) is a four-item scale, measuring global subjective happiness from 1999. The scale requires participants to use absolute ratings to characterize themselves as happy or unhappy individuals, as well as it asks to what extent they identify themselves with descriptions of happy and unhappy individuals.[38][39]
  • The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) from 1988 is a 20-item questionnaire, using a five-point Likert scale (1 = very slightly or not at all, 5 = extremely) to assess the relation between personality traits and positive or negative affects at «this moment, today, the past few days, the past week, the past few weeks, the past year, and in general».[40] A longer version with additional affect scales was published 1994.[41]
  • The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a global cognitive assessment of life satisfaction developed by Ed Diener. A seven-point Likert scale is used to agree or disagree with five statements about one’s life.[42][43]
  • The Cantril ladder method[44] has been used in the World Happiness Report. Respondents are asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their own current lives on that 0 to 10 scale.[45][44]
  • Positive Experience; the survey by Gallup asks if, the day before, people experienced enjoyment, laughing or smiling a lot, feeling well-rested, being treated with respect, learning or doing something interesting. 9 of the top 10 countries in 2018 were South American, led by Paraguay and Panama. Country scores range from 85 to 43.[46]

Since 2012, a World Happiness Report has been published. Happiness is evaluated, as in «How happy are you with your life as a whole?», and in emotional reports, as in «How happy are you now?,» and people seem able to use happiness as appropriate in these verbal contexts. Using these measures, the report identifies the countries with the highest levels of happiness. In subjective well-being measures, the primary distinction is between cognitive life evaluations and emotional reports.[47]

The UK began to measure national well-being in 2012,[48] following Bhutan, which had already been measuring gross national happiness.[49][50]

Academic economists and international economic organizations are arguing for and developing multi-dimensional dashboards which combine subjective and objective indicators to provide a more direct and explicit assessment of human wellbeing. There are many different contributors to adult wellbeing, that happiness judgements partly reflect the presence of salient constraints, and fairness, autonomy, community and engagement are key aspects of happiness and wellbeing throughout the life course.[51] Although these factors play a role in happiness, they do not all need to improve simultaneously to help one achieve an increase in happiness.

Happiness has been found to be quite stable over time.[52][53]

Philosophy

A smiling butcher slicing meat

Relation to morality

Philosophy of happiness is often discussed in conjunction with ethics.[54] Traditional European societies, inherited from the Greeks and from Christianity, often linked happiness with morality, which was concerned with the performance in a certain kind of role in a certain kind of social life.[55]

Happiness remains a difficult term for moral philosophy. Throughout the history of moral philosophy, there has been an oscillation between attempts to define morality in terms of consequences leading to happiness and attempts to define morality in terms that have nothing to do with happiness at all.[56]

Connections between happiness and morality have been studied in a variety of ways in psychology. Empirical research suggests that laypeople’s judgments of a person’s happiness in part depend on perceptions of that person’s morality, suggesting that judgments of others’ happiness involve moral evaluation.[57] A large body of research also suggests that engaging in prosocial behavior can increase happiness.[58][59][60]

Ethics

Ethicists have made arguments for how humans should behave, either individually or collectively, based on the resulting happiness of such behavior. Utilitarians, such as John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, advocated the greatest happiness principle as a guide for ethical behavior.[61] Critics of this view include Thomas Carlyle, Ferdinand Tönnies and others within the German philosophical tradition.[62]

Aristotle

Aristotle described eudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία) as the goal of human thought and action. Eudaimonia is often translated to mean happiness, but some scholars contend that «human flourishing» may be a more accurate translation.[63] Aristotle’s use of the term in Nicomachiean Ethics extends beyond the general sense of happiness.[64]

In the Nicomachean Ethics, written in 350 BCE, Aristotle stated that happiness (also being well and doing well) is the only thing that humans desire for their own sake, unlike riches, honour, health or friendship. He observed that men sought riches, or honour, or health not only for their own sake but also in order to be happy.[65] For Aristotle the term eudaimonia, which is translated as ‘happiness’ or ‘flourishing’ is an activity rather than an emotion or a state.[66] Eudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία) is a classical Greek word consists of the word «eu» («good» or «well-being») and «daimōn» («spirit» or «minor deity», used by extension to mean one’s lot or fortune). Thus understood, the happy life is the good life, that is, a life in which a person fulfills human nature in an excellent way.[67]

Specifically, Aristotle argued that the good life is the life of excellent rational activity. He arrived at this claim with the «Function Argument». Basically, if it is right, every living thing has a function, that which it uniquely does. For Aristotle human function is to reason, since it is that alone which humans uniquely do. And performing one’s function well, or excellently, is good. According to Aristotle, the life of excellent rational activity is the happy life. Aristotle argued a second-best life for those incapable of excellent rational activity was the life of moral virtue.[68]

The key question Aristotle seeks to answer is «What is the ultimate purpose of human existence?» A lot of people are seeking pleasure, health, and a good reputation. It is true that those have a value, but none of them can occupy the place of the greatest good for which humanity aims. It may seem like all goods are a means to obtain happiness, but Aristotle said that happiness is always an end in itself.[69]

Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche critiqued the English Utilitarians’ focus on attaining the greatest happiness, stating that «Man does not strive for happiness, only the Englishman does».[70] Nietzsche meant that making happiness one’s ultimate goal and the aim of one’s existence, in his words «makes one contemptible.» Nietzsche instead yearned for a culture that would set higher, more difficult goals than «mere happiness.» He introduced the quasi-dystopic figure of the «last man» as a kind of thought experiment against the utilitarians and happiness-seekers.[71][72]

These small, «last men» who seek after only their own pleasure and health, avoiding all danger, exertion, difficulty, challenge, struggle are meant to seem contemptible to Nietzsche’s reader. Nietzsche instead wants us to consider the value of what is difficult, what can only be earned through struggle, difficulty, pain and thus to come to see the affirmative value suffering and unhappiness truly play in creating everything of great worth in life, including all the highest achievements of human culture, not least of all philosophy.[73][74]

Causes and achievement methods

Theories on how to achieve happiness include «encountering unexpected positive events»,[75] «seeing a significant other»,[76] and «basking in the acceptance and praise of others».[77]
Some others believe that happiness is not solely derived from external, momentary pleasures.[78]

Research on positive psychology, well-being, eudaimonia and happiness, and the theories of Diener, Ryff, Keyes, and Seligmann covers a broad range of levels and topics, including «the biological, personal, relational, institutional, cultural, and global dimensions of life.»[79] The psychiatrist George Vaillant and the director of longitudinal Study of Adult Development at Harvard University Robert J. Waldinger found that those who were happiest and healthier reported strong interpersonal relationships.[80] Research showed that adequate sleep contributes to well-being.[81] Good mental health and good relationships contribute more than income to happiness.[82] In 2018, Laurie R. Santos course titled «Psychology and the Good Life» became the most popular course in the history of Yale University and was made available for free online to non-Yale students.[83]

Some commentators focus on the difference between the hedonistic tradition of seeking pleasant and avoiding unpleasant experiences, and the eudaimonic tradition of living life in a full and deeply satisfying way.[84] Kahneman has said that «“When you look at what people want for themselves, how they pursue their goals, they seem more driven by the search for satisfaction than the search for happiness.”[85]

Self-fulfilment theories

Woman kissing a baby on the cheek

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a pyramid depicting the levels of human needs, psychological, and physical. When a human being ascends the steps of the pyramid, self-actualization is reached.[86] Beyond the routine of needs fulfillment, Maslow envisioned moments of extraordinary experience, known as peak experiences, profound moments of love, understanding, happiness, or rapture, during which a person feels more whole, alive, self-sufficient, and yet a part of the world. This is similar to the flow concept of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi.[87] The concept of flow is the idea that after our basic needs are met we can achieve greater happiness by altering our consciousness by becoming so engaged in a task that we lose our sense of time. Our intense focus causes us to forget any other issues, which in return promotes positive emotions.[88]

Erich Fromm said «Happiness is the indication that man has found the answer to the problem of human existence: the productive realization of his potentialities and thus, simultaneously, being one with the world and preserving the integrity of his self. In spending his energy productively he increases his powers, he „burns without being consumed.»»[89]

Smiling woman from Vietnam

Self-determination theory relates intrinsic motivation to three needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

Ronald Inglehart has traced cross-national differences in the level of happiness based on data from the World Values Survey.[90] He finds that the extent to which a society allows free choice has a major impact on happiness. When basic needs are satisfied, the degree of happiness depends on economic and cultural factors that enable free choice in how people live their lives. Happiness also depends on religion in countries where free choice is constrained.[91]

Sigmund Freud said that all humans strive after happiness, but that the possibilities of achieving it are restricted because we «are so made that we can derive intense enjoyment only from a contrast and very little from the state of things.»[92]

The idea of motivational hedonism is the theory that pleasure is the aim for human life.[93]

Positive psychology

Since 2000 the field of positive psychology has expanded drastically in terms of scientific publications, and has produced many different views on causes of happiness, and on factors that correlate with happiness.[94] Numerous short-term self-help interventions have been developed and demonstrated to improve happiness.[95][96]

Indirect approaches

Various writers, including Camus and Tolle, have written that the act of searching or seeking for happiness is incompatible with being happy.[97][98][99][100]

John Stuart Mill believed that for the great majority of people happiness is best achieved en passant, rather than striving for it directly. This meant no self-consciousness, scrutiny, self-interrogation, dwelling on, thinking about,
imagining or questioning on one’s happiness. Then, if otherwise fortunately circumstanced, one would «inhale happiness with the air you breathe.»[101]

William Inge said that «on the whole, the happiest people seem to be those who have no particular cause for being happy except the fact that they are so.»[102] Orison Swett Marden said that «some people are born happy.»[103]

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a popular therapeutic method used to change habits by merely changing thoughts. It focuses on emotional regulation and uses a lot of positive psychology practices. It is often used for people with depression or anxiety, and works towards how to lead a happier life.[104]

Effects

Positive

There is a wealth of cross-sectional studies on happiness and physical health that shows consistent positive relationships.[105] Follow-up studies appear to show that happiness does not predict longevity in sick populations, but that it does predict longevity among healthy populations.[106]

Low mood is correlated with many negative life outcomes such as suicide, poor health, substance abuse, and low life expectancy. By extension, happiness protects from those negative outcomes.

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Negative

June Gruber argued that happiness may trigger a person to be more sensitive, more gullible, less successful, and more likely to undertake high risk behaviours.[107] She also conducted studies suggesting that seeking happiness can have negative effects, such as failure to meet over-high expectations.[108][109][110] Iris Mauss has shown that the more people strive for happiness, the more likely they will set up too high of standards and feel disappointed.[111][112] One study shows that women who value happiness more tend to react less positively to happy emotions.[113] A 2012 study found that psychological well-being was higher for people who experienced both positive and negative emotions.[114][115]

Society and culture

Government

Newly commissioned officers celebrate their new positions by throwing their midshipmen covers into the air as part of the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2011 graduation and commissioning ceremony.

Jeremy Bentham believed that public policy should attempt to maximize happiness, and he even attempted to estimate a «hedonic calculus». Thomas Jefferson put the «pursuit of happiness» on the same level as life and liberty in the United States Declaration of Independence. Presently, many countries and organizations regularly measure population happiness through large-scale surveys, e.g., Bhutan.

Richer nations tend to have higher measures of happiness than poorer nations.[116][117] The relationship between wealth and happiness is not linear and the same GDP increase in poor countries will have more effect on happiness than in wealthy countries.[118][119][120][121]

Some political scientists argue that life satisfaction is positively related to the social democratic model of a generous social safety net, pro-worker labor market regulations, and strong labor unions.[122][123][124] Others argue that happiness is strongly correlated with economic freedom,[125] preferably within the context of a western mixed economy, with free press and a democracy.

Cultural values

Personal happiness can be affected by cultural factors.[126][127][128] Hedonism appears to be more strongly related to happiness in more individualistic cultures.[129]

One theory is that higher SWB in richer countries is related to their more individualistic cultures. Individualistic cultures may satisfy intrinsic motivations to a higher degree that collectivistic cultures, and fulfilling intrinsic motivations, as opposed to extrinsic motivations, may relate to greater levels of happiness, leading to more happiness in individualistic cultures.[130]

Cultural views on happiness have changed over time.[131] For instance Western concern about childhood being a time of happiness has occurred only since the 19th century.[132] Not all cultures seek to maximize happiness,[133][nb 2][nb 3] and some cultures are averse to happiness.[134][135] It has been found in Western cultures that individual happiness is the most important. Some other cultures have opposite views and tend to be aversive to the idea of individual happiness. For example, people living in Eastern Asian cultures focus more on the need for happiness within relationships with others and even find personal happiness to be harmful to fulfilling happy social relationships.[134][133][136][nb 2][nb 3]

Religion

People in countries with high cultural religiosity tend to relate their life satisfaction less to their emotional experiences than people in more secular countries.[137]

Buddhism

Happiness forms a central theme of Buddhist teachings.[138] For ultimate freedom from suffering, the Noble Eightfold Path leads its practitioner to Nirvana, a state of everlasting peace. Ultimate happiness is only achieved by overcoming craving in all forms. More mundane forms of happiness, such as acquiring wealth and maintaining good friendships, are also recognized as worthy goals for lay people (see sukha). Buddhism also encourages the generation of loving kindness and compassion, the desire for the happiness and welfare of all beings.[139][140][unreliable source?][unreliable source?]

Hinduism

In Advaita Vedanta, the ultimate goal of life is happiness, in the sense that duality between Atman and Brahman is transcended and one realizes oneself to be the Self in all.

Patanjali, author of the Yoga Sutras, wrote quite exhaustively on the psychological and ontological roots of bliss.[141]

Confucianism

The Chinese Confucian thinker Mencius, who had sought to give advice to ruthless political leaders during China’s Warring States period, was convinced that the mind played a mediating role between the «lesser self» (the physiological self) and the «greater self» (the moral self), and that getting the priorities right between these two would lead to sage-hood.[142] He argued that if one did not feel satisfaction or pleasure in nourishing one’s «vital force» with «righteous deeds», then that force would shrivel up (Mencius, 6A:15 2A:2). More specifically, he mentions the experience of intoxicating joy if one celebrates the practice of the great virtues, especially through music.[143]

Judaism

Happiness or simcha (Hebrew: שמחה) in Judaism is considered an important element in the service of God.[144] The biblical verse «worship The Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs,» (Psalm 100:2) stresses joy in the service of God.[145] A popular teaching by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a 19th-century Chassidic Rabbi, is «Mitzvah Gedolah Le’hiyot Besimcha Tamid,» it is a great mitzvah (commandment) to always be in a state of happiness. When a person is happy they are much more capable of serving God and going about their daily activities than when depressed or upset.[146][self-published source?]

Christianity

The primary meaning of «happiness» in various European languages involves good fortune, blessing, or a similar happening. The meaning in Greek philosophy refers primarily to ethics.

In Christianity, the ultimate end of human existence consists in felicity, Latin equivalent to the Greek eudaimonia («blessed happiness»), described by the 13th-century philosopher-theologian Thomas Aquinas as a beatific vision of God’s essence in the next life.[147]

According to Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas, man’s last end is happiness: «all men agree in desiring the last end, which is happiness.»[148] Aquinas agreed with Aristotle that happiness cannot be reached solely through reasoning about consequences of acts, but also requires a pursuit of good causes for acts, such as habits according to virtue.[149]

According to Aquinas, happiness consists in an «operation of the speculative intellect»: «Consequently happiness consists principally in such an operation, viz. in the contemplation of Divine things.» And, «the last end cannot consist in the active life, which pertains to the practical intellect.» So: «Therefore the last and perfect happiness, which we await in the life to come, consists entirely in contemplation. But imperfect happiness, such as can be had here, consists first and principally in contemplation, but secondarily, in an operation of the practical intellect directing human actions and passions.»[150]

Human complexities, like reason and cognition, can produce well-being or happiness, but such form is limited and transitory. In temporal life, the contemplation of God, the infinitely Beautiful, is the supreme delight of the will. Beatitudo, or perfect happiness, as complete well-being, is to be attained not in this life, but the next.[151]

Islam

Al-Ghazali (1058–1111), the Sufi thinker, wrote that «The Alchemy of Happiness», is a manual of religious instruction that is used throughout the Muslim world and widely practiced today.[152]

Genetics and heritability

As of 2016, no evidence of happiness causing improved physical health has been found; the topic is being researched at the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.[153]
A positive relationship has been suggested between the volume of the brain’s gray matter in the right precuneus area and one’s subjective happiness score.[154]

Sonja Lyubomirsky has estimated that 50 percent of a given human’s happiness level could be genetically determined, 10 percent is affected by life circumstances and situation, and a remaining 40 percent of happiness is subject to self-control.[155][156]

When discussing genetics and their effects on individuals it is important to first understand that genetics do not predict behavior. It is possible for genes to increase the likelihood of individuals being happier compared to others, but they do not 100 percent predict behavior.

At this point in scientific research, it has been hard to find a lot of evidence to support this idea that happiness is affected in some way by genetics. In a 2016 study, Michael Minkov and Michael Harris Bond found that a gene by the name of SLC6A4 was not a good predictor of happiness level in humans.[157]

On the other hand, there have been many studies that have found genetics to be a key part in predicting and understanding happiness in humans.[158] In a review article discussing many studies on genetics and happiness, they discussed the common findings.[159] The author found an important factor that has affected scientist findings this being how happiness is measured. For example, in certain studies when subjective wellbeing is measured as a trait heredity is found to be higher, about 70 to 90 percent. In another study, 11,500 unrelated genotypes were studied, and the conclusion was the heritability was only 12 to 18 percent. Overall, this article found the common percent of heredity was about 20 to 50 percent.[160]

See also

  • Anhedonia
  • Aversion to happiness
  • Brain stimulation reward
  • Depression
  • Euphoria
  • Extraversion, introversion and happiness
  • Hedonic treadmill
  • Pleasure
  • Reward system
  • Sadness

Notes

  1. ^ See Subjective well-being#Components of SWB
  2. ^ a b See the work of Jeanne Tsai
  3. ^ a b See Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness#Meaning of «happiness» ref. the meaning of the US Declaration of Independence phrase

References

  1. ^ a b «happiness». Wolfram Alpha. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
  2. ^ Anand, P (2016). Happiness Explained: What Human Flourishing is and What We Can Do to Promote It. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198735458.[page needed]
  3. ^ «Happiness». The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. 2020.
  4. ^ Feldman, Fred (2010). What is This Thing Called Happiness?. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199571178.001.0001. ISBN 978-0199571178.
  5. ^ The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy states that «An important project in the philosophy of happiness is simply getting clear on what various writers are talking about.» https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/happiness/ Archived 11 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ «Two Philosophical Problems in the Study of Happiness». Archived from the original on 14 October 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  7. ^ Smith, Richard (August 2008). «The Long Slide to Happiness». Journal of Philosophy of Education. 42 (3–4): 559–573. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9752.2008.00650.x.
  8. ^ «How Universal is Happiness?» Ruut Veenhoven, Chapter 11 in Ed Diener, John F. Helliwell & Daniel Kahneman (Eds.) International Differences in Well-Being, 2010, Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 978-0199732739
  9. ^ a b Veenhoven, R. «Does Happiness Differ Across Cultures?» (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  10. ^ Wolff-Mann, Ethan (13 October 2015). «What the New Nobel Prize Winner Has to Say About Money and Happiness». Money.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  11. ^ Dan Haybron (https://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/philos/site/people/faculty/Haybron/ Archived 30 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine, http://www.happinessandwellbeing.org/project-team/ Archived 12 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine); «I would suggest that when we talk about happiness, we are actually referring, much of the time, to a complex emotional phenomenon. Call it emotional well-being. Happiness as emotional well-being concerns your emotions and moods, more broadly your emotional condition as a whole. To be happy is to inhabit a favorable emotional state…. On this view, we can think of happiness, loosely, as the opposite of anxiety and depression. Being in good spirits, quick to laugh and slow to anger, at peace and untroubled, confident and comfortable in your own skin, engaged, energetic and full of life.» https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/happiness-and-its-discontents/ Archived 12 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine Haybron has also used the term thymic, by which he means ‘overall mood state’ in this context; https://philpapers.org/rec/HAYHAE Archived 18 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine Xavier Landes <https://www.sseriga.edu/landes-xavier> Archived 30 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine> has described a similar concept of mood. https://www.satori.lv/article/kas-ir-laime Archived 13 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ «People don’t want to be happy the way I’ve defined the term – what I experience here and now. In my view, it’s much more important for them to be satisfied, to experience life satisfaction, from the perspective of ‘What I remember,’ of the story they tell about their lives.«https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-why-nobel-prize-winner-daniel-kahneman-gave-up-on-happiness-1.6528513 Archived 8 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
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  14. ^ «HAPPINESS | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary». Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  15. ^ «The definition of happy». Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  16. ^ Graham, Michael C. (2014). Facts of Life: ten issues of contentment. Outskirts Press. pp. 6–10. ISBN 978-1478722595.
  17. ^ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/happiness/ Archived 11 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine 2011, «‘Happiness’ is often used, in ordinary life, to refer to a short-lived state of a person, frequently a feeling of contentment: ‘You look happy today’; ‘I’m very happy for you’. Philosophically, its scope is more often wider, encompassing a whole life. And in philosophy it is possible to speak of the happiness of a person’s life, or of their happy life, even if that person was in fact usually pretty miserable. The point is that some good things in their life made it a happy one, even though they lacked contentment. But this usage is uncommon, and may cause confusion.’ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/well-being/ Archived 25 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine 2017
  18. ^ «People don’t want to be happy the way I’ve defined the term – what I experience here and now. In my view, it’s much more important for them to be satisfied, to experience life satisfaction, from the perspective of ‘What I remember,’ of the story they tell about their lives.«https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-why-nobel-prize-winner-daniel-kahneman-gave-up-on-happiness-1.6528513 Archived 2018-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Mandel, Amir (7 October 2018). «Why Nobel Prize Winner Daniel Kahneman Gave Up on Happiness». Haaretz.
  20. ^ Livni, Ephrat (21 December 2018). «A Nobel Prize-winning psychologist says most people don’t really want to be happy». Quartz.
  21. ^ e.g. ‘Can Happiness be Measured’, Action for Happiness, http://www.actionforhappiness.org/why-happiness Archived 18 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ The How of Happiness, Lyubomirsky, 2007
  23. ^ Kashdan, Todd B.; Biswas-Diener, Robert; King, Laura A. (October 2008). «Reconsidering happiness: the costs of distinguishing between hedonics and eudaimonia». The Journal of Positive Psychology. 3 (4): 219–233. doi:10.1080/17439760802303044. S2CID 17056199.
  24. ^ «Landes Xavier | Stockholm School of Economics in Riga». Archived from the original on 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  25. ^ https://www.satori.lv/article/kas-ir-laime Archived 13 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine Contact the author for English version
  26. ^ Joshanloo, Mohsen (18 October 2019). «Lay Conceptions of Happiness: Associations With Reported Well-Being, Personality Traits, and Materialism». Frontiers in Psychology. 10: 2377. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02377. PMC 6813919. PMID 31681129.
  27. ^ «I am happy when I’m unhappy.» Mark Baum character, The Big Short (film), https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Big_Short_(film)#Mark_Baum Archived 17 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
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  155. ^ Okbay, Aysu; et al. (June 2016). «Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses». Nature Genetics. 48 (6): 624–633. doi:10.1038/ng.3552. PMC 4884152. PMID 27089181.
  156. ^ Bartels, Meike (March 2015). «Genetics of Wellbeing and Its Components Satisfaction with Life, Happiness, and Quality of Life: A Review and Meta-analysis of Heritability Studies». Behavior Genetics. 45 (2): 137–156. doi:10.1007/s10519-015-9713-y. PMC 4346667. PMID 25715755.
  157. ^ Minkov, Michael; Bond, Michael Harris (April 2017). «A Genetic Component to National Differences in Happiness». Journal of Happiness Studies. 18 (2): 321–340. doi:10.1007/s10902-015-9712-y. S2CID 54717193.
  158. ^ Bartels, Boomsma, Meike, Dorret I. (3 September 2009). «Born to be Happy? The Etiology of Subjective Well-Being». Behavior Genetics. 39 (6): 605–615. doi:10.1007/s10519-009-9294-8. PMC 2780680. PMID 19728071.
  159. ^ Bang Nes, Røysamb, Ragnhild, Espen (28 July 2016). «Happiness in Behaviour Genetics: An Update on Heritability and Changeability». Journal of Happiness Studies. 18 (5): 1533–1552. doi:10.1007/s10902-016-9781-6. S2CID 145034246.
  160. ^ Nes, Ragnhild Bang; Røysamb, Espen (October 2017). «Happiness in Behaviour Genetics: An Update on Heritability and Changeability». Journal of Happiness Studies. 18 (5): 1533–1552. doi:10.1007/s10902-016-9781-6. S2CID 145034246.

Further reading

  • Robert Waldinger M.D.; Marc Schulz Ph.D (2023). The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1982166694.

External links

  • The World Database of Happiness – a register of scientific research on the subjective appreciation of life.
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Table of Contents

  1. Where did the word happiness come from?
  2. Is happiness a prefix or suffix?
  3. What type of word is happiness?
  4. How do you express happiness in one word?
  5. How do you express your happiness?
  6. How do you describe happy?
  7. How do you describe very happy?
  8. How do you express sadness?
  9. What do you call someone who is never happy?
  10. What is a loyal person called?
  11. What do you call someone who is happy all the time?
  12. What causes a person to never be satisfied?
  13. Why are narcissists never satisfied?
  14. What is a feeling of lack of satisfaction?

The term happiness comes from the Old Norse term happ meaning “luck” or “chance.” It’s also related to the Old English word hæpic meaning “equal.” While early senses of happiness dating from the 1500s are still very much in use, such as “good luck,” “success,” and “contentment,” Francis Hutcheson, an Irish reverend and …

Is happiness a prefix or suffix?

The noun happiness is formed from the adjective ‘happy’ and the suffix ‘-ness’, used to form nouns that refer to a state or quality.

What type of word is happiness?

noun

How do you express happiness in one word?

1. Happy

  1. Pleased — This word means between “happy” and “satisfied.”
  2. Cheerful — This is when someone is visibly happy.
  3. Exuberant — This is like cheerful — but even stronger.
  4. Euphoric — When you’re intensely happy.
  5. Merry — This is a little like cheerful.
  6. Overjoyed — This simply means “very happy.”

How do you express your happiness?

Business Presentations

  1. Jump for joy. You jump for joy when you are so happy and excited you punch in the air, jump up, and generally laugh and smile.
  2. On top of the world. A general state of happiness.
  3. In seventh heaven.
  4. Over the moon.
  5. Grin from ear to ear.

How do you describe happy?

1 joyous, joyful, blithe, cheerful, merry, contented, blissful, satisfied. 4 favorable, propitious; successful, prosperous.

How do you describe very happy?

There are many other words and expressions that mean ‘extremely happy’ including ecstatic, elated, euphoric, jubilant, in seventh heaven, on cloud nine and over the moon.

How do you express sadness?

6 Common Sad Idioms & Phrases in English

  1. Down in the mouth. The first idiom on our list that expresses sadness means to look unhappy.
  2. Down in the dumps.
  3. Reduce to tears.
  4. Lump in your throat.
  5. Feeling blue/to have the blues.
  6. Face like a wet weekend.

What do you call someone who is never happy?

If someone can’t be satisfied, she is insatiable.

What is a loyal person called?

Some common synonyms of loyal are constant, faithful, resolute, staunch, and steadfast.

What do you call someone who is happy all the time?

Pollyanna. noun. old-fashioned someone who is always very happy and believes that only good things will happen.

What causes a person to never be satisfied?

H edonic adaptation is the tendency for humans to quickly adapt to major positive or negative life events or changes and return to their base level of happiness. As a person achieves more success, expectations and desires rise in tandem. The result is never feeling satisfied — achieving no permanent gain in happiness.

Why are narcissists never satisfied?

The truth is that nothing can make a narcissist happy, because their agenda of dominance, exploitation and oppression creates an ever-expanding chasm within their soul. The narcissist can take pleasure in the exercise of power and the subjugation of others, but they can’t feel happiness from any source.

What is a feeling of lack of satisfaction?

The brain can sometimes heed on those beliefs which bring constant frustration when we feel we come up short. That is why most people feel the lack of satisfaction in life. They cannot unleash their true selves for the fear of breaking those expectations.

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I was curious about the origin of the word happiness.
I discovered that it is based on the world ‘hap’.
In middle English this world means ‘Chance’ or ‘Good Luck’.
(That ‘hap’ world can be also seen in perhaps i.e. by any chance)

If we base our definition on that old terminology we can seen that happiness was basically a matter of luck. Some were happy, others were not happy. It was kind of fate. Nobody could change it.

When people started to learn a bit more about what happiness was really all about, they realized that the monetary factor (good luck is often associated with prosperity) was not all. There had to be something else, otherwise life would be so unfair !

In the end they refined the definition to come up with something more realistic, less materialist : state of well being.
Somebody who is happy, just feels good ! You don’t need to be a multi-million company CEO to get the right to be happy.
Everybody, in their own way, more or less complex, found a way to reach a state of happiness from some moment of their lives !

It is not complicated, just widen your mind and try to take some distance with every event of your life. You can’t know in advance in an seemingly bad event, will not have good sequences ?
(By the way this is one of the concept in Zen).

Well, time to go to bed !
Remi.

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Where does "Happiness" Come From? The Word that is...It’s summertime and the living is easy…my mind – ever on happiness – has wandered to the question, “Where does the word come from?”

And so I set to finding out…  Here for your beach-reading pleasure, is a breakdown of “happiness” in all its glory:

“Hap” the noun comes up around 1200 with the following meanings, “chance, a person’s luck, fortune, fate;” also “unforeseen occurrence,” from Old Norse happ “chance, good luck,” from Proto-Germanic *hap- (source of Old English gehæp“convenient, fit”.  Meaning “good fortune” is from early 13th century. “Hap” as a verb (I apologize for bringing up grammar when school’s out.) means “to happen” appeared in the next century.

“Happen” the verb also originated in 1300, “to come to pass, occur,” originally “occur by hap, to have the (good or bad) fortune (to do, be, etc.); in Middle English fel it hap meant “it happened.”

“What’s happening, Man?” may have been popular in the 60s, but the word first appeared in the mid-fifteenth century as “chance, luck” from present participle of “happen” (Your grammar teacher is probably smiling now.) meaning “occurrence”.  Sense of “spontaneous event or display” is from 1959 in the language of artists that then migrated to hippiedom. The idea of “happenings” goes back as far as 1905.

“Happily” (Adverb – “ly” ending)  is mid-14th century, “by chance or accident,” from “happy “+ “ly”. Meaning “fortunate, lucky” is late 1400s; that of “appropriately” is from the 1570s. Happily ever after was recorded by 1853.

“Happiness” first makes its appearance in the 1520s meaning “good fortune” from “happy” + “ness” Meaning “pleasant and contented mental state” is from the 1590s.

“Happy” the describing word comes up in the  late 14th century meaning, “lucky, favored by fortune, prosperous;” of events, “turning out well,” from “hap” (see earlier) “chance, fortune” +  “y”.  Its sense of “very glad” was first recorded at this time.  From Greek to Irish, a great majority of the European words for “happy” at first meant “lucky.” An exception is Welsh, where the word used first meant “wise.”

And in terms of joining “happy” to other words, there are many variations: used in World War II and after as a suffix (as in bomb-happy, flak-happy) expressing “dazed or frazzled from stress.” Happy medium is from 1778. Happy ending in the literary sense recorded from 1756. Happy as a clam (1630s) was originally happy as a clam in the mud at high tide, when it can’t be dug up and eaten. Happy hunting ground, the reputed Indian paradise, is attested from 1840, American English.  And interestingly enough,  happy go lucky  in the 1670s was used as an adverb meaning “haphazard;” the adjective, of persons, was recorded from 1856.

I think it appropriate to close with “happy hour” (first recorded in 1961 – the likes of Mad Men have made their mark).  Hope this has proven a pleasant diversion for you.  Have a drink on me and Hap + Y summer to you!

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The origins of happiness are both easy and difficult to define, just like happiness itself. You probably have a pretty good idea of what brings you happiness, but where does it come from? Is there a universal answer to this question?

Happiness is a complex phenomenon. From biology to relationships, there are many different factors that influence our overall happiness. But just because something affects our happiness doesn’t mean that it’s the source of happiness. Rather, happiness seems to be the result of a combination of things that are meaningful to us. 

In this article, I’ll take a closer look at some factors that influence happiness and try to answer the question where does happiness come from. 

Contents

  • Are relationships the source of happiness?
  • Can money buy happiness?
  • Biology and happiness
  • Happiness comes from meaning
  • Wrapping up

Are relationships the source of happiness?

It should come as no surprise that relationships have a major effect on our happiness. Being surrounded by supportive loved ones will boost our happiness, while troubled or toxic relationships will decrease it. 

In fact, a 2007 study found that friendship variables accounted for 58% of the variance in happiness. The tentative conclusion we can draw from this is that about half of our happiness might come from friendships.

Not all friendships are created equal when it comes to happiness: quality trumps quantity, meaning that it’s better to have a few close relationships than many less close ones. 

While we tend to take friendships for granted, romantic relationships are something many people consciously pursue. But do they make us happier? 

The answer is yes, but not by much. For example, a 2020 study found that elders who had been married to the same person for most of their lives were only slightly happier than people who had been single or in various relationships, with the latter groups having no significant difference in subjective well-being. 

Another study from 2007 reports that in emerging adults, romantic relationship quality accounted for only 3% of the variance in happiness. In addition, emotional security and companionship emerged as the strongest features of romantic relationship quality that predicted happiness. 

Finally, a study performed by Tracking Happiness (yes, that’s us!) showed that «Love» is the word that’s most associated with the word «Happiness».

word association study tracking happiness featured

With this in mind, it comes at no surprise that the word «Family» comes next to «Love». This support the many existing studies in implying that relationships are where most of our happiness is formed.

Can money buy happiness?

The easy answer is no, it can’t, but as the joke goes, it’s more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle. 

It would be naive to think that finances don’t play any role in happiness, as not having to worry about making ends meet gives us the chance to pursue things that will make us happy. At the same time, it would be equally naive to believe that all the money in the world will bring us eternal happiness. 

There is evidence that people who receive unexpected windfalls like a lottery win or an inheritance are happier in the year after receiving the money, but this effect doesn’t last. 

A study from 2006 showed that while income and wealth do contribute towards life satisfaction, it’s not the size of income, but rather the perceived financial situation and control over life that seem to make us happier. In other words, it doesn’t matter how much you earn, if you don’t think it’s enough, it won’t make you happy. 

Biology and happiness

Both physical and mental health play an important part in our happiness. People with chronic disorders like schizophrenia are generally unhappier than healthy people, although this doesn’t mean they don’t experience happiness at all. While illnesses can make people unhappy, exercise has been proven to make us happier. 

But there are other biological factors at play. A 2014 review examined previous research and found that there are five major ways in which biology can affect our happiness. 

  1. Research shows that genetic factors count for 35-50% of our happiness. It is believed that most of this effect comes from genes that code mood and emotional regulation. 
  2. While happiness isn’t localized in the brain — meaning there is no specific brain area related to happiness — areas and neurotransmitters related to mood regulation play an important role in our overall happiness levels. 
  3. Hormonal balance is important for happiness. Higher levels of hormones like oxytocin, which is related to social bonding, make us happier, while higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol diminish our happiness. 
  4. Good physical health is a strong predictor of happiness, but in turn, happiness can influence physical health. 
  5. Attractive people tend to be happier. This effect is mediated by a number of factors, including relationships (it’s easier for attractive people to form them) as well as cultural context (what is considered attractive in one culture may not be attractive in another). 

Happiness comes from meaning

It’s clear that happiness doesn’t just come from genes, relationships or money, but rather a combination of all three and many other factors. 

With the exception of biological factors like genes that we can’t control, there’s one thing that all of these things have in common: they will only make us happy if they are meaningful to us. 

For instance, a good cup of coffee in the morning or a nice hot shower after a long day make me happy, but does my happiness come from coffee and hot showers? Not really. 

Sometimes, all you need is a warm cup of coffee to be happy!

It would be more accurate to say that it’s not the things themselves that make me happy, but rather the meaning I give them. Coffee and hot showers represent a certain kind of security, which brings me happiness.

The same applies to relationships: not all relationships will make us equally happy, only high-quality ones will boost happiness. But what counts as a good relationship is completely up to you, as different people need different things in relationships. 

However, if you don’t care much for relationships and are focused on building your career, you might find more happiness in achieving your milestones than in catching up with your friends or starting a family. 

The same applies to money: having enough to live comfortably is nice, but if earning a lot doesn’t hold meaning for you, it won’t make you happy either. 

The bottom line is that while there are some things that will quite reliably make us happier, in the end, happiness is up to us. A good cup of coffee is just as likely to make you happy as a million dollars, if it’s meaningful for you. 

💡 By the way: If you want to start feeling better and more productive, we’ve condensed the information of 100’s of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet here. 👇

Thumbnail Mental Self-Care Cheat Sheet by Tracking Happiness

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Wrapping up

Happiness is a complicated phenomenon that is influenced by many factors, some of which we can control and some of which we can’t. However, most of it is still up to us, as it’s not the people, places and things themselves that make us happy, they can only influence — but not create — happiness. Rather, happiness comes from the meaning that we give them.

What do you think? Was there something we missed? Do you think happiness comes from somewhere that I’ve not discussed in this article? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

Maili

School psychologist, teacher and internet counselor from Estonia. Passionate about coffee, reading, dancing, and singing in the shower, much to the neighbors’ dismay. Counseling catchphrase: “It’s okay!“

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Published October 1, 2013

“The pursuit of Happiness” was thought to be an unalienable right by the writers of the US Declaration of Independence. However, in 1776, the definition of happiness evoked a different meaning than it does today. When the framers of this historic document wrote about “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” what exactly did they mean by “happiness”?

The term happiness comes from the Old Norse term happ meaning “luck” or “chance.” It’s also related to the Old English word hæpic meaning “equal.” While early senses of happiness dating from the 1500s are still very much in use, such as “good luck,” “success,” and “contentment,” Francis Hutcheson, an Irish reverend and philosopher pictured here, brought a new, more political interpretation of happiness to English speakers with his 1725 treatise An Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue. His political philosophy: “that Action is best which accomplishes the greatest Happiness for the greatest Numbers; and that worst, which in like manner occasions Misery.” The popularity of Hutcheson’s philosophies helped tie the concepts of civic responsibility and happiness to one another in the minds of the great political thinkers of the 18th century, including the writers of the Declaration of Independence.

US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy explained this often forgotten sense of happiness in his 2005 lecture at the National Conference on Citizenship. Kennedy notes that while in modern times there is a “hedonistic component” to the definition of happiness, for the framers of the Declaration of Independence “happiness meant that feeling of self-worth and dignity you acquire by contributing to your community and to its civic life.” In the context of the Declaration of Independence, happiness was about an individual’s contribution to society rather than pursuits of self-gratification. While this sense has largely fallen out of use today, it’s important to keep these connotations of happiness mind when studying political documents from the 18th century.

—

Read our previous post about the word flair.

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Asked by: Arnoldo Kemmer I

Score: 4.9/5
(23 votes)

Happy hails from the Middle English word hap, meaning «good luck.» Many of the early European words for happy actually referred to good luck, rather than a feeling of joy. On its own, happy means an enjoyable or satisfied state of being.

Where did the word happiness come from?

The term happiness comes from the Old Norse term happ meaning “luck” or “chance.” It’s also related to the Old English word hæpic meaning “equal.” While early senses of happiness dating from the 1500s are still very much in use, such as “good luck,” “success,” and “contentment,” Francis Hutcheson, an Irish reverend and …

When was the word happy first used?

Dating back to the late 14th century, the word happy first meant “lucky” — and a little later, “blessed”: it comes from the Middle English hap, meaning “chance”, “luck”, or “fortune”.

What is the root for happy?

The root of happiness is hap, which is the same hap in perhaps, happenstance, haphazard, and happen. It means chance, luck, or fortune.

Is money the root to happiness?

NEW research shows that what our parents have told us for generations is wrong. Money does buy happiness. Academics at the American Economics Association’s annual conference in Atlanta agreed that oodles of boodle does lead to a deeper sense of well-being in the real world.

23 related questions found

What is the root word for unhappy?

The root word in unhappy is happy; ‘un’ is a prefix.

Is happiness is a choice?

Is happiness a choice? Yes! Many happy people realize happiness is a choice and it’s up to them to intentionally choose it every single day. Happy people are not held hostage by their circumstances and they do not seek happiness in people or possessions.

What keeps happy?

Research has shown that spending money on others makes us happier than spending money on ourselves and doing small acts of kindness increases life satisfaction. 5 Even the smallest nice gesture can make someone’s day. Here are a few easy ways to show kindness: Hold the door open for someone behind you.

What is a better word than happy?

cheerful, contented, overjoyed, ecstatic, elated, joyous, delighted, pleased, pleasant, lively, merry, peaceful, upbeat, joyful, glad, jubilant, thrilled, successful, apt, fortunate.

What is the full form of happy?

HAPPY. Healthy Active Positive Purposeful Youth.

Who made the word happy?

Happy hails from the Middle English word hap, meaning «good luck.» Many of the early European words for happy actually referred to good luck, rather than a feeling of joy. On its own, happy means an enjoyable or satisfied state of being.

What is the root word of activity?

1400, «active or secular life,» from Old French activité, from Medieval Latin activitatem (nominative activitas), a word in Scholastic philosophy, from Latin activus «active» (see active). Meaning «state of being active, briskness, liveliness» recorded from 1520s; that of «capacity for acting on matter» is from 1540s.

What is the true meaning of happiness?

It’s the opposite of sadness. Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness. The «pursuit of happiness» is something this country is based on, and different people feel happiness for different reasons.

Is happiness an emotion?

Happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. While happiness has many different definitions, it is often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction.

What brings true happiness?

True happiness is enjoying your own company and living in peace and harmony with your body, mind and soul. True happiness is state of mind constantly being in love with yourself. For being truly happy you neither need other people nor materialistic things. “Happiness is the consequence of personal effort.

How do I stay happy alone?

Whether it’s voluntary or necessary, here are 10 ways to be happier alone:

  1. Develop a relationship with yourself. …
  2. Volunteer. …
  3. Learn something new. …
  4. Exercise. …
  5. Spend time in nature. …
  6. Practice gratitude. …
  7. Take a break from social media. …
  8. Take yourself on a date.

How can I be happy everyday?

Daily habits

  1. Smile. You tend to smile when you’re happy. …
  2. Exercise. Exercise isn’t just for your body. …
  3. Get plenty of sleep. …
  4. Eat with mood in mind. …
  5. Be grateful. …
  6. Give a compliment. …
  7. Breathe deeply. …
  8. Acknowledge the unhappy moments.

How can I enjoy a day?

Here are 20 things that you can practice to enjoy every day more:

  1. Practice gratitude.
  2. Work on mindfulness.
  3. Put yourself first.
  4. Be kind to yourself.
  5. Celebrate small wins.
  6. Rest and recuperate.
  7. Invest in yourself.
  8. Nurture positive relationships.

How do I start getting happy?

And these are things you can do now to start being happy.

  1. Decide to Be Happy. Happiness really is a choice you have to make. …
  2. Practice Gratitude Daily. …
  3. Practice Affirmations Daily. …
  4. Meditate Daily. …
  5. Laugh More. …
  6. Enjoy the Little Things. …
  7. Exercise Three Times a Week. …
  8. Spend Quality Time With Your Loved Ones.

How can you prove happiness?

Happiness and emotional fulfillment are within your grasp.

  1. Be with others who make you smile. Studies show that we are happiest when we are around those who are also happy. …
  2. Hold on to your values. …
  3. Accept the good. …
  4. Imagine the best. …
  5. Do things you love. …
  6. Find purpose. …
  7. Listen to your heart. …
  8. Push yourself, not others.

Can we create our own happiness?

Happiness is synthetic — you either create it, or you don’t. When it comes to making yourself happy, you need to learn what works for you. Once you discover this, everything else tends to fall into place. And making yourself happy doesn’t just improve your performance; it’s also good for your health.

What unhappy means?

A feeling of being sad or discontent is unhappiness. … The noun unhappiness is all about a state of being unhappy or, in other words, a lack of happiness. This can mean a feeling of deep sorrow, like your unhappiness when your beloved pet turtle dies.

What is the root word of review?

review (n.)

past participle of reveeir «to see again, go to see again,» from Latin revidere, from re- «again» (see re-) + videre «to see» (from PIE root *weid- «to see»). The sense of «act or process of going over again,» especially with a view to correction, is from 1560s.

What is the root word of discovered?

The Latin root discooperire, «uncover,» combines the prefix dis-, or «opposite of,» with cooperire, «to cover up.» Definitions of discover.

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