Context: Analysing the various determinants in the hunt for Happiness.
Happiness around the world:
The US constitution makes the ‘pursuit of happiness’ an inalienable right.
In various forms, South Korea, Japan and Brazil also have happiness in their charters.
Bhutan has a gross national happiness index.
The UN celebrates World Happiness Day on March 20 every year.
Analysing the various determinants of Happiness:
Finding a delicate balance between pleasure and virtue: Trying to achieve Happiness by only focusing on pleasure (as propagated by Epicurus) or by only focusing on virtue (as propagated by Epictetus) will not be complete.
Success: There is a wide perception that Happiness is the result of success. However, according to neuroscience research, the reverse is true (i.e. success is the result of Happiness).
Thought process of a person: 90% of Happiness is determined by how the brain processes the world; thus, Happiness comes from within.
One should follow the AIM (Attention, Interpretation and Memory) Model of Happiness:
Pay attention to good things that happen every day.
Interpret things correctly to come out with objective responses instead of emotional ones.
Use memory to store good experiences that can pay big dividends.
Money:
Correlation is subject to threshold limit: A 2010 Princeton study found that the correlation between Happiness and wealth in the US lasts up to $75,000 a year.
A complex relation: According to Motivation-Hygiene Theory, not having money reduces Happiness, but having more money does not necessarily increase Happiness.
The fact that money brings control over life is a bigger determinant than what money buys.
Habits (sum of faith, family, friends and work): According to Arthur C Brooks, subjective well-being is a sum of genes, circumstances and habits, among which habits had a dominant role.
According to a study by Harvard in 1938, people who were more socially connected were happier.
It is at the centrality of productive human endeavour.
Controlling Desire: and getting off the hedonic treadmill is important for achieving happiness.
Behaviour with fellow being: Showing gratitude and kindness towards other persons will increase the Happiness of oneself.