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What Is Happiness?

Happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy,

satisfaction, contentment, and fulfilment. While happiness has
many different definitions, it is often described as involving
positive emotions and life satisfaction.

When most people talk about happiness, they might be talking

about how they feel in the present moment, or they might be
referring to a more general sense of how they feel about life
overall.

The meaning of happiness in Positive Psychology really depends

on who you ask.

What is NOT Happiness ?

Happiness Is Not: Feeling Good All The Time

Happiness Is Not: Being Rich or Affording all that You want
Happiness Is Not: A Final Destination

Two key components of happiness are:

The balance of emotions:

Everyone experiences both positive and negative emotions,

feelings, and moods. Happiness is generally linked to
experiencing more positive feelings than negative.

Life satisfaction:

This relates to how satisfied you feel with different areas of

your life including your relationships, work, achievements,
and other things that you consider important.
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How to Know If You're Happy

While perceptions of happiness may be different from one person
to the next, there are some key signs that psychologists look for
when measuring and assessing happiness.

Some key signs of happiness include:

• Feeling like you are living the life you wanted

• Feeling that the conditions of your life are good
• Feeing that you have accomplished (or will accomplish) what
you want in life
• Feeling satisfied with your life
• Feeling positive more than negative

Types of happiness
• Joy: A often relatively brief feeling that is felt in the present
moment
• Excitement: A happy feeling that involves looking forward to
something with positive anticipation
• Gratitude: A positive emotion that involves being thankful
and appreciative
• Pride: A feeling of satisfaction in something that you have
accomplished
• Optimism: This is a way of looking at life with a positive,
upbeat outlook
• Contentment: This type of happiness involves a sense of
satisfaction
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Pleasure vs. happiness vs. meaning

Pleasure is a more visceral, in-the-moment experience. It
often refers to the sensory-based feelings we get from
experiences like eating good food, getting a massage, receiving a
compliment, or having sex.

Happiness, is a state characterized by feelings of

contentment and satisfaction with one’s life or current situation.
Happiness while not a permanent state, is a more stable state than
pleasure. Happiness generally sticks around for longer than a few
moments at a time, whereas pleasure can come and go in seconds.

Meaning is not a fleeting state that drifts throughout the day;

it’s a more comprehensive sense of purpose and feeling of
contributing to something greater than yourself.

• Finding one’s life easy or difficult was related to happiness,

but not meaning;
• Feeling healthy was related to happiness, but not meaning;
• Feeling good was related to happiness, not meaning;
• Helping people in need was linked to meaning but not
happiness;
• Happiness was related more to being a taker rather than a
giver, whereas meaning was related more to being a giver
than a taker;
• The more people felt their activities were consistent with the
core themes and values of their self, the greater meaning
they reported in their activities;
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Examples That Describe What a Happy Life Looks Like

1. A woman who lives alone, has excellent relationships with
her nieces and nephews, gives to charity, and finds meaning
in her work;
2. A man who is happily married with three healthy children and
a relatively low-paying job;
3. A widow who enjoys regular visits with her children and
grandchildren, along with volunteering for local charities;
4. A cancer patient who has a wonderful support system and
finds meaning in helping others make it through
chemotherapy;
5. A social worker who works 70-hour weeks with no overtime
pay, to ensure the children on her caseload are in good
hands;
6. An unmarried man in a monastery who has no earthly
possessions and no salary to speak of, but finds meaning in
communing with his god;
7. A teenager in a foster home who has several close friends
and enjoys playing football on his school’s team;
8. A man who lives with several pets, enjoys a high salary, and
loves his job.
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What’s so great about happiness, anyway?

• Happy people are more successful in multiple life domains,

including marriage, friendship, income, work performance,
and health.
• Happy people get sick less often and experience fewer
symptoms when they do get sick.
• Happy people have more friends and a better support
system.
• Happy people donate more to charity (and giving money to
charity makes you happy, too).
• Happy people are more helpful and more likely to
volunteer—which also makes you happier!
• Happy people have an easier time navigating through life
since optimism eases pain, sadness, and grief.
• Happy people have a positive influence on others and
encourage them to seek happiness as well, which can act as
reinforcement.
• Happy people engage in deeper and more meaningful
conversations.
• Happy people smile more, which is beneficial to your health.
• Happy people exercise more often and eat more healthily.
• Happy people are happy with what they have rather than
being jealous of others.
• Happy people are healthier all around and more likely to be
healthy in the future.
• Happy people live longer than those who are not as happy.
• Happy people are more productive and more creative, and
this effect extends to all those experiencing positive
emotions.
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Cautions about Happiness

a. Too much happiness can make you less creative—and

less safe.
b. Happiness is not suited to every situation.
i. Illuminating studies done by Maya Tamir found that
people in a happy mood performed worse than people in
an angry mood when playing a competitive computer
game.
c. Not all types of happiness are good for you.
d. Pursuing happiness may actually make you unhappy.
i. Most people want to be happy. We seem hardwired to
pursue happiness, Yet is pursuing happiness healthy?
Ground breaking work by Iris Mauss has recently
supported the counterintuitive idea that striving for
happiness may actually cause more harm than good.
ii. Mauss shows that the more people strive for happiness,
the more likely they will be to set a high standard for
happiness—then be disappointed when that standard is
not met.

How to Cultivate Happiness

• Pursue Intrinsic Goals

• Enjoy the Moment
• Reframe Negative Thoughts
• Get Regular Exercise
• Show Gratitude
• Find a Sense of Purpose

Challenges of Finding Happiness

• Valuing the Wrong Things

• Not Seeking Social Support
• Thinking of Happiness as an Endpoint
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How yoga can actually make you happier ?

• Different kinds of yoga have different benefits
• Yoga changes your brain immediately
• Long-term yoga practice creates long-term changes
• Breathing makes you happier
• Straighten your mood
• Yoga helps you find your “why”
• Yoga helps with your balance (both physically and mentally)
• Yoga helps your posture, which improves your mood.
• Practicing yoga reduces your blood pressure and cortisol, the
stress hormone
• Inversions— Antidepressants.
• Forward folds— The ultimate relaxer.
• Chest Expansion – Anxiety reducer.
• Meditation pose— A great way to cleanse the mind and
empty of the mental garbage.
• Relieves Stress Through Stillness
• It Makes You Feel Like A Child Again
• Increases Blood Flow
• Helps You Focus