Happiness+Definitions



= = = = =__What Is Happiness Anyway?__ = By formal definition, happiness is a noun that describes "emotions experienced when in a state of well-being." 1 It can range from simple contentment to euphoria. However, this formal definition only provides limited insight into the profound, extensive, biased nature of happiness. Happiness often means something different for everyone. Definitions like "a clean MRI scan because our daughter has a brain tumor" are not necessarily universally valid but tend to define happiness better than any dictionary. Compilations of definitions from various people often provide the best insight into what it really is. [|2]  Filmmaker, photographer, and Indie Film blogger Andrew Shapter used this approach to discover what happiness meant to a vast amount of people. He asked 100 different people how they would define happiness. Answers ranged from "watching a kid with the giggles and then getting them yourself" to simply "enjoying what you have." [|3]  1. Textbook Definition 2. Top 25 definitions 3. 100 Definitions of Happiness 

A definition of happiness that successfully captures its true nature has yet to be found. Terms such as pleasure, long-term, and short-term happiness all melt together in our lives as a "good feeling." As a result, most people don't know what exactly it is they pursue with such fervency. Psychology Today states that the most accurate definition is that happiness is "more like satisfied or content than "happy" in its bursting-with-glee sense. It has depth and deliberation to it. It encompasses living a meaningful life, utilizing your gifts and your time, and living with thought and purpose//."// [|1]  1. Psychology Today - Happiness

Another way to gain effective understanding of happiness is to examine what psychologists have learned about it. There are seven main theories of what happiness is. [|1]  Each is supported by a specific researcher or influential person and discusses what their definition of happiness is and why. The seven theories included dictionary definition, positive feelings and positive activities, the fuel to thrive and flourish, a genuine smile, good physiology, peace and contentment, and expansive and friendly no matter what.  1. Seven Definitions of Happiness

=__Opinions Of What Happiness Is __ =

//<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values. // <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Ayn Rand

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">//Happiness is something that you are and it comes from the way you think.// Wayne Dyer

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">//Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing.// George Sheehan

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 99%;">//Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.// Aristotle

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; line-height: 21px;">//Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.// Denis Waitley [|1] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 99%;"> //You will never be happier than you expect. To change your happiness, change your expectation.// Bette Davis

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">//Happiness is contagious...when you reflect happiness, then all others around you catch the happy bug and are happy, too.// Jennifer Leese

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">//Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so.// Robert G. Ingersoll <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; vertical-align: super;">[|2] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">

1. 10 definitions <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Happiness Quotes

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In this video, Dan Gilbert discusses the differences between synthetic and natural happiness. Surprisingly, synthetic happiness is actually better than natural happiness.

=**__<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So What Do Happy People Look Like? __**=

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The positive psychology movement has discovered several characteristics of the happiest people. They don't spend a lot of time alone, and they are not materialists. They spend quality time with family and friends. They also forgive easily. Happiness occurs most often when people are wrapped up in some activity that causes them to forget themselves, also called being in flow. Gratitude as well as altruistic acts also help to boost happiness. Everyone has a certain "set point" for happiness, half determined by genetics. Happiness can be increased or decreased from this set point, but it's not likely that someone will drastically deviate from this set point. [|1]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the most recognizable indicators of a happy person is a smile. A smile acts as a window into the state of a person's being. Contrary to what many may think, however, a smile does not always guarantee happiness, for not all smiles are genuine. There are two types of smiles, according to Dr. Martin Seligman, the author of <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">//<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Authentic Happiness // <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. The Duchenne smile is genuine and is apparent by the corners of the mouth turning up and the skin around the corners of the eyes crinkling. The Pan American smile, named after flight attendants, is a perfunctory, inauthentic smile. By putting "more oomph and joy" in one's smile as a habit can actually positively impact one's health and happiness. Psychologists Dacher Keltner and LeeAnne Harker studied 141 senior class photos and determined that the number of Pan American and Duchenne smiles was fifty-fifty. The study revealed that there may be a correlation between the smile in a yearbook photo and the marriage status and life satisfaction of the subject. The Duchenne smilers were more likely to be and stay married and to experience a greater sense of well-being (justified by a 30 year follow-up). By determining to make genuine smiling a habit, one's happiness can be significantly impacted. [|2]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 114.67%;">1. What Makes People Happy 2. Smiles

__** Identifying Happiness Around The World **__

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The most current World Values Survey has revealed that people worldwide have become happier over the past 25 years. This increase has been linked to "improved economies, greater democratization, and increased social tolerance in many nations." Based on data compiled by researchers, material wealth does not increase happiness. Americans are now twice as rich as they were 60 years ago but are none the happier for it. It is the wealthier countires that consume vast amounts of resources, and overconsumption contributes significantly to the deterioration of the environment. This brings up the question of whether an incorrect approach to happiness is actually worsening environmental issues. Society doesn't consume in ways that contribute to its happiness. "Nations with more individualistic and materialistic values also tend to be more ecologically destructive." Happiness is said to be pursued by seeking positive emotion, engagement with others, and participating in something bigger than oneself. A fundamental need of humanity is companionship or interaction with others. [|1] <span style="color: #00a5ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 102.15%;"> 1. Happiness and the Planet ​