Practicing Happiness
“Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
— Aristotle
In the introduction to her book, “The Happiness Project,” Gretchen Rubin describes having “much to be happy about” and that she “never forgot how fortunate I was.” Yet, she acknowledges feeling dissatisfied, as though something was missing.
Rubin notes that the words of the writer, Colette, had “haunted me for years: ‘What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.’ I didn’t want to look back, at the end of my life or after some great catastrophe and think, ‘How happy I used to be then, if only I’d realized it.’”
She then embarked on a year-long “happiness project,” to see if she, an ordinary person, could be happier. (The book’s worth a read if you haven’t already!)
This book was published in 2009. I didn’t read it until 2015 … on purpose. I think I may have been actively avoiding it. I think I was afraid it would resonate strongly with me (which it did), and cause me to confront the fact that I felt a bit unsettled (which, again, it did). At that time, if you’d asked me if I was happy, I would have replied, “Well … I’m not unhappy …,” which we know, is not at all the same thing.
After reading ‘The Happiness Project,’ I began my own foray into reading everything I could find on happiness, became much happier myself (for a lot of reasons), and eventually created a workshop series called “Practice Happiness,” thus having an opportunity to share all of the wisdom and practices I’d learned.
Happiness Explained
For our purposes, we’re going to focus on the wisdom offered by:
Daniel Kahneman, a professor of psychology at Princeton University and Nobel prize winner;
Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk with Ph.D. in cell genetics, and
Sonya Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside.
Before we delve into their work, pause for a moment, and jot down your thoughts about what you think happiness is. Reflect on how you’d define happiness, how you use the term, and what factors or conditions you believe are relevant to the presence of happiness.
As explained by Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman has offered “four levels of feeling analysis” for consideration when describing the kind of happiness being experienced:
Telling others what our wellbeing is, how our lives are going (our life satisfaction)
In reference to a personality trait (“I’m a happy person)
In reference to a specific emotion (joy or contentment), and
In reference to a sensory experience (mainly pleasure)
All four levels describe a different kind of happiness. And, Kahneman distinguishes between what we typically refer to as “happiness,” a momentary experience of joy when we do something pleasurable (a combination of levels 3 and 4), and “life satisfaction,” the feeling of contentment we experience when we look back at our lives with a sense that we’ve accomplished something of consequence (a combination of levels 1 and 3).
As explained by Matthieu Ricard
Matthieu Ricard describes happiness as “a way of being,” rather than a “magic moment.”
He speaks of happiness as “a deep sense of flourishing that arises from an exceptionally healthy mind … a way of interpreting the world, since while it may be difficult to change the world, it is always possible to change the way we look at it”
Ricard explains that happiness is not fleeting or momentary, but lasting. Like the blue sky that is always present above the clouds, even on a stormy day.
He speaks of happiness as a “love of life.”
Ricard, has been referred to as the “world’s happiest man,” after his brain waves were measured by University of Wisconsin neuroscientists. He also has a fantastic TED Talk, The habits of happiness, worth watching.
As explained by Sonya Lyubomirsky
Lyubomirsky describes happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”
You should see some clear overlap among these definitions, namely two complementary factors that are inherently present in the experience of happiness:
Fleeting positive emotions, as well as
A deeper sense of meaning and purpose that come with a life well lived.
From your initial notes, what themes did you capture that are identified by our scholars? Which of Kahneman’s levels of feeling analysis are present in your description? Did you perceive the two complementary factors - of both fleeting emotion and depth of meaning?
Determinants of Happiness
Lyubomirsky’s work delved further into the determinants of happiness, having, in 2005, developed a theory suggesting that:
50% of our happiness is genetically determined;
while 10% of our happiness can be attributed to external circumstances;
leaving 40% to be determined by intentional activity.
Yes … you read that right … only 10% of our happiness is determined by our external circumstances, the external stressors and pleasures in our lives. We often think this number is much higher, attributing how we feel to what has happened in our lives.
And, according to this theory, 40% is available to be affected by our own efforts toward self-improvement.
In an updated paper, Lyubomirsky and colleagues acknowledge that the 40% may be an overestimate, but continued to assert, “Happiness can be successfully pursued, but it is not ‘easy’ … People can create for themselves a steady inflow of engaging, satisfying, connecting, and uplifting positive experiences, thereby increasing the likelihood that they remain in the upper range of their happiness potentials.”
This way of thinking is incredibly empowering. It suggests that our behaviors and habits, our practices, do matter, can have a direct effect on our emotional experience, and can lead to an enduring boost of happiness.
Practices including mindfulness, gratitude, identifying and challenging negative thoughts, staying active, and choosing meaningful activities that fit our personality and interests, among many others, can vastly improve our emotional wellbeing.
And, that is an encouraging thought …