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Happiness

Happiness is a state of a man which corresponds to the greatest internal satisfaction of his being
conditions, completeness and conciseness of life, realization his human destination.
Psychological “happiness”: A non-evaluative term that denotes a particular state of mind—
otherwise known as ‘subjective well-being

i) positive affect–the presence of ‘positive’ emotions such as joy, contentment, and affection;

(ii) negative affect– the relative absence of ‘negative’ emotions such as fear, anger, and sadness;
and

(iii) personal judgments about satisfaction (i.e. comparing what you have to a baseline, what you
“expected yourself to have”).

Taken together, a happy person is someone who is frequently cheerful, only occasionally sad,
and generally satisfied with his or her life. I assume that happiness is at least one of the things we
value and want in our own lives, and in the lives of those we care about: When we wish for our
kids to be happy, something like this seems to be what we want. All other things being equal,
most of us would prefer to live a life that contains more of the postive emotions - joy,
contentment, etc - to one which contains more of the negatives- anxiety, despair, anger etc.

Ancient philosophers think that the search for happiness is living well, being 'fully human' and
healthy. They did not distinguish 'being good' and 'being happy'. Today, we see happiness in a
form of personal satisfaction. Happiness is a feeling. therefore, you can't be wrong about being
happy. you feel happy, you are happy. This is subjective and not always the case. Sometimes,
you cannot determine being happy and feeling happy. This complexity is called Classical notion
of happiness. Therefore, it is possible for you to think that you are happy but you are actually
not. Ancient and modern philosopher gives their views on happiness.

Philosophers Aristotle believed in 'Natural Happiness'. In Aristotelian terms, happiness is the

state of actualizing or realizing a thing's function, its entelechy. He also stated "happiness
depends on us". Aristotle studied virtue ethics, he stated that ethical virtue is virtuous and can
lead to happiness (eudaimonia). It gives human beings to realize their human nature fully.

Ways to measure happiness

1. Scale
2. Tests
3. success

Comparing different questionnaires: all about you, you compared to peers, traits exhibited during
a day. Information useful? Could be used to bring about changes in an individual’s lifestyle to
promote happiness. Group reaction: skeptical
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Happiness and Needs According Abraham Maslow

1. Physiological needs
2. Need to be safe and protected
3. Need of membership and love
4. Need of self-respect
5. Need of uncovering potential

Positive psychology simply deals with the process of getting the understanding what of makes
people happy and well. Therefore, this essay will major on a number of factors.to begin with; it
will cover the concept and measurement of signature strengths and explore the determinants of
well-being like optimism, resilience and self-efficacy. This will be of benefit to students as it will
help them get a better understanding on the various ranges of positive psychology interventions
to strengthen their well-being. Moreover, 40% of happiness may be within our control
Circumstantial factors do not explain different levels of happiness. Happiness-inducing strategies
show that people can increase levels of happiness. People can use strategies to stay happy, even
after "less-than-happy event. Heritability estimates describe variations in groups rather than
individuals Environmental variables predict happiness and are uncontrollable Strategies have
weak statistical effects that show under specific circumstances. People adapt to negative and
positive changes and return to previous levels of happiness.

The Science of Happiness 7 Habits of Happy People

Relationships: Express your heart. People who have one or more close friendships are happier.
It doesn’t seem to matter if we have a large network of close relationships or not.

Acts of Kindness: Cultivate kindness. People who volunteer or simply care for others on a
consistent basis seem to be happier and less depressed. Although “caring” can involve
volunteering as part of an organized group or club.

Physical Wellbeing: Keep moving and eat well. Regular exercise has been associated with
improved mental well-being and a lower incidence of depression.

Flow: Find your flow. If we are deeply involved in trying to reach a goal, or an activity that is
challenging but well suited to our skills, we experience a joyful state called “flow.”

Spiritual Engagement and Meaning: Discovering Meaning. Studies demonstrate a close link
between spiritual and religious practice and happiness. Spirituality is closely related to the
discovery of greater meaning in our lives.

Signature Strengths and Virtues: Discover and use your strengths. Studies by experts such as
Martin Seligman in the new field of Positive Psychology show that the happiest people are those
that have discovered their unique strengths (such as persistence and critical thinking) and use
those strengths for a purpose that is greater than their own personal goals (Authentic Happiness.
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Positive Mindset: Optimism, Mindfulness and Gratitude: Treasure gratitude, mindfulness, and
hope. Of all the positive emotions studied in the relatively young field of positive psychology,
gratitude has perhaps received the most attention. Grateful people have been shown to have
greater positive emotion, a greater sense of belonging, and lower incidence of depression and
stress.

The mind is a very powerful tool. It controls all of our cognitive processes and has the ability to
change the mood and emotions of an individual. According to some study models, up to 40
percent of happiness is within our control. Personally I believe the more motivated an individual
is the more capable of achieving the mindset to what they want. If an unmotivated person sets a
goal and does not achieve they will not be happy and furthermore they will lack more motivation
next time that they set a goal. However if a motivated person sets a goal and achieves it they will
achieve happiness as well as a sense of pride in themselves thus they are in charge of cognitive
processes and mental capabilities.

Positive psychology is defined in many different ways. The Positive Psychology Institute
describes it as the study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals and communities to
thrive. The positive psychology movement was started by Martin Seligman, also known as the
father of positive psychology. Psychology has mainly been focused around treating mental
illnesses, however psychology was not really used to help improve the lives of the people who
aren’t affected by mental illness and that are what made Seligman and a group of others work on
positive psychology. The main goal of the positive psychology movement was to make
psychology focused on not just weakness, but strength and how to make normal life more
fulfilling. There are three different types of happiness one can experience. The pleasant life,
having as much positive emotion as possible, the life of engagement, in which time stops for you
when you are doing what you enjoy and the meaningful life, using your strengths for a bigger
cause.

The first type of happiness, the pleasant life, is about seeking happiness with the senses and
experiencing as much pleasure as possible, such as having a good meal, going on a fun vacation
or buying a new car. It is basically trying to have as many positive experiences as you can.
However, there are a couple of setbacks to the pleasant life. One is that positive emotion is 50
percent heritable and not very modifiable. Everyone comes from different walks of life, thus
giving them different ideas of happiness and different ways of experiencing happiness, some
being able to experience more than others. Another setback is that positive emotions tend to
habituate fairly quickly. For example, someone may have just gotten a new crazy high definition
3D TV, they are very happy with it at first, but after a while they just stop feeling so impressed
and just view it as any other TV.

The second type of happiness is the life of engagement, also known as the good life. This life is
all about finding your “flow”. Flow is a feeling someone gets when they are absorbed in their
own worth. For example, if swimming is someone’s passion, while they are doing laps around
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the pool, they may feel like time has stopped for them and that they are completely focused on
what they are doing and nothing else.

The final type of happiness is the meaningful life. The meaningful life is knowing your strengths
and using them to contribute to something larger than yourself. It is feeling like your life has a
purpose, like you are working toward fulfilling your destiny Martin Seligman started the positive
psychology movement because he felt psychology was focused on treating mental illnesses and
the negative side of psychology when in reality it is just as important to help people with and
without mental illnesses to find happiness. Positive psychology focuses on people’s strengths
rather than their weaknesses.

Honestly, I believe that an individual has control over his or her own happiness. Sure a
psychologist can suggest ways that one can become "happier" or that being around
positive/happy individuals can affect one's happiness, but it is ultimately up to the individual
whether he or she wants apply the suggestions or mirror the positive/happy individuals' choice.
An individual chooses what he or she would like to apply to achieve a certain level of happiness.
So I believe that positive psychology can make one happier but it can affect how one chooses to
be happier. It solely lies in the individual's hands.

Reference

https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/happiness

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/