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 need 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 emotion 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.”

That definition resonates with us here at bayart.org: It captures the fleeting positive emotions that come with happiness, along with a deeper sense of meaning and purpose in life—and suggests how these emotions and sense of meaning reinforce one another.

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Why Practice Happiness?

In addition to making us feel good, studies have found that happiness actually improves other aspects of our lives. Here is an overview of some of the good stuff that research has linked to happiness.

· Happiness is good for our health: Happy people are less likely to get sick, and they live longer.

· Happiness is good for our relationships: Happy people are more likely to get married and have fulfilling marriages, and they have more friends.

· Happy people make more money and are more productive at work.

· Happy people are more generous.

· Happy people cope better with stress and trauma.

· Happy people are more creative and are better able to see the big picture.

How to Cultivate Happiness?

Based on her research, Lyubomirsky has concluded that roughly 50 percent of happiness is determined by our genes and 10 percent by our life circumstance, but 40 percent depends on our daily activities. Here are some specific, science-based activities for cultivating happiness on our new site bayart.org:

· Awe Narrative: Recall and describe a time when you experienced awe.

· Best Possible Self: Imagine your life going as well as it possibly could, then write about this best possible future.

· Best Possible Self for Relationships: Imagine your relationship going as well as it possibly could.

· Mental Subtraction of Positive Events: Visualize what your life would be like without the good things you have.

· Meaningful Photos: Photograph, then write about, things that are meaningful to you.

And here are some of the keys to happiness Lyubomirsky and other researchers have identified.

· Build relationships: Perhaps the dominant finding from happiness research is that social connections are key to happiness. Studies show that close relationships, including romantic relationships, are especially important, suggesting we should make time for those closest to us—people in whom we can confide and who’ll support us when we’re down.

· Give thanks: Research by Michael McCullough, Robert Emmons, Lyubomirsky, and others has revealed the power of simply counting our blessings on a regular basis. People who keep “gratitude journals” feel more optimism and greater satisfaction with their lives. And research shows that writing a “gratitude letter” to someone you’ve never properly thanked brings a major boost of happiness.

· Practice kindness: Research by Elizabeth Dunn and her colleagues finds that people report greater happiness when they spend money on others than when they spend it on themselves, even though they initially think the opposite would be true. Similarly, neuroscience research shows that when we do nice things for others, our brains light up in areas associated with pleasure and reward.

· Give up grudges: Groundbreaking studies by Everett Worthington, Michael McCullough, and their colleagues show that when we forgive those who have wronged us, we feel better about ourselves, experience more positive emotions, and feel closer to others.

· Get physical: Exercise isn’t just good for our bodies, it’s good for our minds. Studies show that regular physical activity increases happiness and self-esteem, reduces anxiety and stress, and can even lift symptoms of depression. “Exercise may very well be the most effective instant happiness booster of all activities,” writes Lyubomirsky in The How of Happiness.

· Get rest: Research has consistently linked lower sleep to lower happiness. What’s more, a study of more than 900 women, led by Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman, found that getting just one more hour of sleep each night might have a greater effect on happiness than a $60,000 raise.

· Pay attention: Studies show that people who practice mindfulness—the moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and external circumstances—not only have stronger immune systems but are more likely to be happy and enjoy greater life satisfaction, and they are less likely to be hostile or anxious. Pioneering research by Richard Davidson, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and others has found that a basic eight-week mindfulness training program can significantly improve our physical and psychological well-being.

· Don’t focus on material wealth: After our basic needs our met, research suggests, more money doesn’t bring us more happiness—in fact, a study by Kahneman found that Americans’ happiness rose with their income only until they’d made roughly $75,000; after that, their happiness plateaued. And research by Richard Easterlin has found that in the long run, countries don’t become happier as they become wealthier. Perhaps that’s why, in general, people who prioritize material things over other values are much less happy, and comparing ourselves with people who have more is a particular source of unhappiness. It also suggests why more egalitarian countries consistently rank among the happiest in the world.

15 Habits That Will Grow Your Happiness

Proven strategies to generate good feelings, and all of them at your fingertips.

Happiness is circular. Happy people have happy habits, which in turn, makes them happier. Here’s a list of habits that have a high chance of giving you a happiness boost.

1. Savor the moment. Look around yourenvironment and take note of one thing that you often take for granted. Bring mindful attention and awareness to it. Try to engage all your senses. Notice the positive feelings and associations that go with it. Try to hold onto this awareness for 15-20 seconds or so, to let it really sink in.

2. Practice non-judgmental awareness of yourself and others. Most people, including you, are doing the best they can with the resources they have in any particular moment. No one wakes up and says, “I think I’ll screw up my life today.” Give yourself, and others, a break.

3. Cultivate realistic thinking. You don’t necessarily have to be a positive thinker. Sometimes healthy skepticism is appropriate. Try to be balanced in your thinking, though: For example, what is the evidence for (insert worrisome thought or idea)? What are the implications? How likely is it to happen? What coping skills do you have in place if the worst were to happen?

4. Connect with others. We are inherently social and have a fundamental need for belonging. Having social support is a buffer in times of stress. Connecting with others can also help put problems in perspective; others can give you useful feedback.

5. Resolve conflicts proactively. Treat emotional issues as temporary and solvable. Useassertiveness(link is external) skills. Realize you can be kind without having people walk all over you.

6. Develop good self-care practices. Exercise, eat healthy most of the time, get enoughsleep, be kind to yourself, and develop good boundaries. Here’s a list of 80+ self-care ideas(link is external). Do one today.

7. Share gratitude and love. Express gratitude to those who have made a difference in your life. Send a card. Write a letter. Visit in person.

8. Focus on the good. Write down three good things that happen each day. Take pictures. Journal. Keep scrapbooks (they don’t have to be fancy). This helps reorient our brains to the fact that things are actually going pretty well. Dr. Rick Hanson, author of the new book, Hardwiring Happiness(link is external), has popularized this phrase—"focus on the good."

9. Live like you're on vacation. What makes the time we spend on vacation better than the time we spend at home? We are open to new experiences. We are trying novel things. At home there are plenty of things we could be doing that would be novel and/or fun, but there's no urgency. Plan a time to be a tourist in your own town.

10. Fake it. Studies show that if your face is in a smiling position (such as holding a pen long-ways in your mouth), it sends signals to your brain that you are happy. If you don’t want to put a pen in your mouth, simply focus on turning up the corners of your mouth ever so slightly. Imagine that even your eyes are smiling.

11. Have fun and laugh. Laughter has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce certain stress hormones, defend against respiratory infections, increase memory and learning, improve alertness, and increase creativity. (Enjoy these quotes about laughter.)

12. Spend money. Money can buy (some) happiness, but only if you spend it on the right things, like experiences or other people. No one ever said on his or her deathbed, "I wish I'd bought more stuff."

13. Simplify. Too many things, too many activities, too many choices—really too much ofanything—can cause stress and decrease happiness. Here’s a great website(link is external) to give you some ideas on simplifying.

14. Curtail Comparisons. Remember that we all have joys and sorrows. Too often we’re comparing how we feel on the inside to how someone else looks on the outside.

15. Live an authentic and meaningful life. Be true to yourself and live in line with your values. Ask yourself, What do I want in life? What small steps can I take to move in that direction?

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