What Makes A Person Happy?

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “Happiness is when you want to think what you think what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Describing happiness can seem as ambiguous as accomplishing and achieving it. Without help, we as different individuals all have the same want---- happiness. However, the satisfaction in life can not be defined through just one definition or study. The concept of happiness and it’s sources have been defined through religious, psychological and abstract ground. People in general are happier when they are around a set of people that uplifts them, because psychologically their happiness is affected by their environment.

In today’s world, it seems as if everyone is searching for happiness but is happiness influenced by nature or nurture? It is debatable whether it is inherited at birth or it is attainable through how one lives their life. Beth Levine states that scientists have proven that much of the responsibility of our personality and our emotions lies within our DNA, to some degree, but according to Dr. Agnes Oh, “happiness can be equally achieved and enhanced by certain choices and lifestyles.”

In life, people tend to face the question of what makes them happy. Happiness can be defined as “a state of well-being and contentment” (Merriam-Webster). Everyone has their own opinion and definition of what happiness is in their own lives. When I am asked this question, I tend to say that being with my friends and family who I can fully be myself around is what makes me happy.

Thus, all three studies showed that the gratitude condition not only raised daily positive affect, but also, reduced daily negative affect, during the 21-day study period. In addition, the experimentation based on gratitude caused improvement people’s amount of sleep and the quality of that sleep. Furthermore, the effects on well-being (positive affect and life satisfaction) were quite obvious to the participants (Emmons & McCullough,

According to Heffernan and Boniwell (2011) gratitude promotes the savouring of positive events and may counteract hedonic adaptation. Heffernan and Boniwell (2011) continue to mention that when people count their blessing once a week there is an increase in well-being. Gratitude has been shown to contribute to not only an increase in positive affect and other desirable life outcomes but also to a decrease in negative affect and problematic functioning as demonstrated in diverse samples such as among patients with neuromuscular disease, college students, hypersensitives, and early adolescents (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Froh, Sefick, & Emmon, 2008; Shipon, 2007). McCullough et al. (2001) showed that grateful individuals were especially appreciative of the contribution of others to their happiness. However, it is thought that when people count their blessings more than three times a week the exercise becomes a chore and loses meaning. Therefore, implementation of the gratitude intervention is highly important for its fruition. According to Robert A. Emmons and Anjali Mishra gratitude motivates moral behaviour, enhance the ability to access positive memories, builds social resources, increases self-esteem and reduces materialistic

To increase subjective well-being and overall happiness, there are gratitude interventions which help us understand why it is vital to our mental, physical, and social health. The following review of literature confirms that forms of interventions, such as simple gratitude surveys, physical exercise, and displaying kindness provides a solution which plays a vital role in improving personal well-being, which also improves our psychological thinking, physical health, and welfare of others. Psychology research indicates that by receiving positive gratitude interventions, it can result in people becoming optimistic, and grateful of others which in turn increases personal happiness levels.

In a research done by Casaundra and Michael (2014), it was proposed that the happiness level of an individual increases when he practice gratitude. Total participants recruited for this study were 164 undergraduates from a large Midwestern university. The scales used for this research were Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and Gratitude questionnaire-6 (GQ-6) (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002). An ANOVA test was done which showed significant results among both scales (F (2, 159)=15.75, p<0.01). The author has suggested form his research that exercising gratitude can effectively enhance happiness (Harbaugh & Vasey,

For two weeks, a group of 48 people who were on waiting list to receive Psychotherapy, participated in a journal of Happiness study. The group was split into three smaller groups. One group kept a gratitude Journal, another kept a kind of sternal, and the last group kept a journal that focused on their emotions, tasks, and relationships. McKinney concluded with this, “according to researchers, those in the kindness and gratitude groups built a sense of connectedness, and hand satisfaction with daily life, increased optimism, and reduced anxiety.” (McKinney). In fact, for some of those who participated, the benefits from the studies help to offset some of the problems they were seeking help for

So, what is happiness? The research suggests that happiness is a combination of how satisfied you are with your life. For example, finding meaning in your work and how good you feel on a day to day basis. Both of these are relatively stable. Life changes and our mood changes, but our general happiness is more genetically determined than anything else. The good news is that with consistent effort, this can be offset. Think of it like you think about weight: if you eat how you want to

Psychologists have not located assured causes that lead people to well-being. David G. Myers in his article “The Funds, Friends, and Faith of Happy People” published in the American Psychologist (2000) and Michael Wiederman in “Why It's So Hard to Be Happy” published in the Scientific American Mind (2007), discuss the reasons which lead people to be happy, and the factors which contribute to unhappiness.

Have goals: In general, happy people have goals in life. They do not randomly do things or aimlessly pursue activities that

Billions of people all over the would strive for happiness. It is the main driving factor about why humans do goals that they set. Age, maturity level, and personal interests have an effect on what brings an individual happiness. Today's society sees happiness as having a plentiful amount of money so someone can buy their way to happiness. Consequently, a multitudinous amount of people may assume money can buy happiness, but contrary to popular belief, miniscule details that compose our daily lives are the building blocks to happiness.

“I’m not happy!” It’s shouted from toddlers’ mouths, complained from high schoolers jaws, and mumbled through the lips of a nine-to-fivers. There isn’t a magic pill to make these people happy, but there are several way it can happen. Creating a life of happiness can be done through a mix of science, engagement, and a desire to achieve the goal of lifetime happiness.

Happiness may have diverse meanings to diverse individuals. But regardless of how we define happiness, our distinct passions and life experiences contribute in making each one of us cheerful. Undoubtedly, the secrets on how to live a happy and healthy life depends on how we sort out all the factors that play an imperative role in accomplishing the level of happiness we desire for ourselves.

Credibility establishment: In an article entitled “Happiness for a lifetime” published in the 2010 issue of the Greater Good Magazine, psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky discusses a key insight from her research conducted with colleagues Ken Sheldon and Dave Schkade. 1. 50% of happiness is in our genes (a relatively small %), 40% in behavior and daily activities, and 10% on lifestyle. 2. In one of the studies, they asked one group of students to do all five of their acts of kindness in one single day (they felt one single day and a small act would be more powerful), did succeed in making them happier, when the acts were small and conducted that day, it was more powerful to be more concentrated “Why might kindness have these kinds of effects on our happiness? I believe that when you are kind and generous to others, you start to see yourself as a generous person, so it’s good for your self-perception. Plus, it helps you see yourself as interconnected to others, it makes you interpret other people’s behavior more charitably, and it relieves distress over other people’s misfortune—all things that are good for happiness.