DEFINITION OF HAPPINESS

The Origins and Etymology of Happiness

The word for “happy” in most languages came from the word for “lucky.”
This suggests an interesting trend—perhaps our ancestors believed that
happiness was largely a by-product of luck. The type of happiness addressed in
much of today's popular literature emphasizes hedonics, meaning, and
authenticity .
It also points to a possible difference of general opinion between earlier
generations and our own 20th and 21st-century generations.

Seligman 2002 suggest that a pleasant and meaningful life can be built on
happiness that result from using psychological strength.
Lyubomirsky, sheldon and Schkafe (2005), proposed that person's chronic
happiness level is governed by three major factors: A genetically determined set
point for happiness, happiness relevant circumstantial factors and happiness
relevant activities and practices.
According to researchers Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener, and their colleagues
(2005), there are three main ways that happiness has been approached in
positive psychology:

1. Happiness as a global assessment of life and all its facets

2. Happiness as a recollection of past emotional experiences
3. Happiness as an aggregation of multiple emotional reactions across time
(Kim-Prieto, Diener, Tamir, Scollon, & Diener, 2005)
PERSPECTIVES OF HAPPINESS
Happiness is subjectively defined by each person. There are many different
theories of happiness, but they generally fall into one of three categories
based on how they conceptualize happiness : Haybron (2003)

1:- HEDONISM

2:-EUDAIMONIC

3:-AFFECTIVE STATE

Hedonic happiness/well-being is happiness conceptualized as

experiencing more pleasure and less pain; it is composed of an affective
component (high positive affect and low negative affect) and a cognitive
component (satisfaction with one’s life).
Aristippus, a Greek philosopher from the 4th century BC claimed
happiness was the sum of life’s ‘hedonic’ moments (Ryan & Deci, 2001).
Within the framework of hedonic psychology, the terms well-being and
hedonism are used interchangeably (Ryan & Deci, 2001)

Subjective wellbeing (or ‘happiness’) consists of three components:

1. life satisfaction,
2. the presence of a positive mood and
3. the absence of a negative mood (Ryan & Deci, 2001).
Happiness based on a lifelong pursuit of meaningful, developmental goalsi.e
doing what is worth doing, was the key to good life(waterman,1933).
Eudaimonic happiness/well-being conceptualizes happiness as the result
of the pursuit and attainment of life purpose, meaning, challenge, and
personal growth; happiness is based on reaching one’s full potential and
operating at full functioning
Aristotle argued that, because of man’s unique capacity to reason, pleasure
alone cannot achieve happiness – because animals are driven to seek
pleasure, and man has greater capacity than animals (The Pursuit of
Happiness, 2018).
Aristotle, “activity expressing virtue” that will therefore lead to a happy life.
The theory of eudaimonic happiness has its basis in the concept of the self-
actualising individual (proposed byMaslow) and the concept of the ‘fully
functioning person’ (Rogers) (Norrish & Vella-Brodrick, 2008).
Affective state – that happiness depends on an individual’s overall emotional
state. Bradburn (1969) put forward the argument that happiness is made up of
two separate components that are quite independent and
uncorrelated:positive affect and negative affect
According to Bradburn, happiness is a global judgment people make by
comparing their negative affect and positive affect (Diener, 1984)

A measure of the quality of life, as an indication of happiness, is derived by

the sum of the ‘negative’ items are taken away from the sum of the ‘positive’
items (Diener, 1984).

Affect state theory also takes the view that the absence of negative affect is
not the same thing as the presence of positive affect (Diener, 1984).

Theories Developed by Positive Psychologists

Seligman (2002) introduced the Authentic Happiness theory. This theory is
based around the notion that authentic happiness results from a person living
according to their ‘signature strengths’ which develop as people become
aware of their own personal strengths and take ownership of them (Seligman,
2002).
Another theory of happiness isCsikszentmihalyi’s ‘flow’ theory. Flowmay be
defined as “the state of engagement, optimal happiness, and peak experience
that occurs when an individual is absorbed in a demanding and intrinsically
motivating challenge” (Norrish & Vella-Brodrick, 2008, p. 395). This state of
engagement has been proposed to be a pathway to happiness (Norrish &
Vella-Brodrick, 2008)
There are three ways that psychologists study happiness:

1. Need and Goal Satisfaction Theories

These theories suggest that happiness results from striving to achieve
appropriate goals and meeting one’s fundamental human needs (Nelson,
Kurtz & Lyubomirsky, in press). Deci and Ryan (2000) for example, proposed
Self-determination Theory, which stipulates that wellbeing is achieved when
one meets their basic human needs including autonomy, competence, and
relatedness.

2. Genetic and Personality Predisposition Theories

These propose that wellbeing is influenced by genes, and is associated with
the personality traits of extraversion and neuroticism (Nelson et al., in press).
This, in turn, implies that wellbeing does not change much over time.

3. Process/activity theories
Process/activity theories argue that wellbeing may be improved by
participating in activities that are engaging and require effort (Nelson et al., in
press).
The PERMA Model: Your Scientific Theory of Happiness

The PERMA model was designed by Martin Seligman, founder of positive

psychology

P – Positive Emotion
Being able to focus on positive emotions is more than just smiling, it is the
ability to be optimistic and view the past, present, and future from a positive
perspective.

E – Engagement
It is important in our lives to be able to find activities that need our full
engagement. We all need something in our lives that entirely absorbs us into
the present moment, creating a ‘flow’ of blissful immersion into the task or
activity. This type of ‘flow’ of engagement is important to stretch our
intelligence, skills, and emotional capabilities.

R – Relationships
Relationships and social connections are one of the most important aspects of
life. Humans are social animals that thrive on connection, love, intimacy, and
a strong emotional and physical interaction with other humans. Pain centers in
our brain become activated when we are at risk of being isolate.

M – Meaning
Having a purpose and meaning to why each of us is on this earth is important
to living a life of happiness and fulfillment. Rather than the pursuit of pleasure
and material wealth, there is an actual meaning to our life.

A – Accomplishments
Having goals and ambition in life can help us to achieve things that can give
us a sense of accomplishment. You should make realistic goals that can be
met and just putting in the effort to achieving those goals can already give you
a sense of satisfaction when you finally achieve those goals a sense of pride
and fulfillment will be reached. Having accomplishments in life is important to
push ourselves to thrive and flourish
HOW TO BE HAPPY?

David Myers suggestion for a happy life are as follows:-

- take control of your time.happy people feel in control of their lives of

an added by mastering their use of time

- act happy we can sometimes act ourselves into a frame of mind.

- happy People of an organism called flow observed in a task that
challenge them without overwhelming them

- give your body the sleep it wants Happy People live active vigorous life
yet reserve time for renewing sleep and solitude

- aerobic exercise not only promote health and energy it also is an

antidote for mild depression and anxiety

- priority to close relationship intimate friendships with those who care

deeply about you can help you in difficult Times. To not show your
closest relationships

and to not take them for granted to display to them the thought of
kindness that you display to others, to inform them, to play together
and share together to rejuvenate your affections, resolve in such way to
at lovingly.

- focus beyond the self. Reach out to those in need. Happiness

increases helpfulness ;those who feel good do good but doing good also
make one feels good

- a gratitude journal - nurture your spiritual self for many people faith
provides support community a reason to focus beyond self and a sense
of purpose and hope

According to (Goldsmith,2012) using the following strategies can

enhance our hapiness:-

Be with people that make you feel joyful. Best way to tell is that they put a smile
across your face.
Always honor your values. The more you take a stand on your values the
stronger you will feel.
Accept the good, the bad, and the annoying.
Always picture your goals.
What makes you happy is what you should do.
Have a purpose.
Follow your heart.
Be flexible, not rigid.
Notice the beauty in everything.
Be in the moment, and go with the flow.

Some Interesting Facts and Findings are as follows:-

1. Happiness is linked to lower heart rate and blood pressure, as well as

healthier heart rate variability.
2. Happiness can also act as a barrier between you and germs – happier people
are less likely to get sick.
3. People who are happier enjoy greater protection against stress and release
less of the stress hormone cortisol.
4. Happy people tend to experience fewer aches and pains, including dizziness,
muscle strain, and heartburn.
5. Happiness acts as a protective factor against disease and disability (in
general, of course).
6. Those who are happiest tend to live significantly longer than those who are
not.
7. Happiness boosts our immune system, which can help us fight and fend off
the common cold.
8. Happy people tend to make others happier as well, and vice versa – those who
do good, feel good!
9. A portion of our happiness is determined by our genetics (but there’s still
plenty of room for attitude adjustments and happiness-boosting exercises!).
10.Smelling floral scents like roses can make us happier.
11.Those who are paid by the hour may be happier than those on salary
(however, these findings are limited, so take them with a grain of salt!).
12.Relationships are much more conducive to a happy life than money.
13.Happier people tend to wear bright colors; it’s not certain which way the
relationship works, but it can’t hurt to throw on some brighter hues once in a
while—just in case!
14.Happiness can help people cope with arthritis and chronic pain better.
15.Being outdoors – especially near the water – can make us happier.
16.The holidays can be a stressful time, even for the happiest among us – an
estimated 44% of women and 31% of men get the “holiday blues.”
17.Happiness is contagious! When we spend time around happy people, we’re
likely to get a boost of happiness as well (Florentine, 2016; Newman, 2015).