THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Is happiness the most important thing in life?  If so, how can we have more of it?  Most people think that happiness is something intangible and is something that just happens to us.  We can't seem to achieve it if we aim directly for it.  Be the best that you can be, and happiness will come to you.  Or so, they say.

Yet, there are many thinkers, philosophers, scientists, psychologists and self-proclaimed experts who think happiness is a concept and can be analyzed and an endeavor that can be conquered.  They have come up with concrete formulas which I'll list below:


Magic Formulas

1.  Happiness level = genetic/biological Set point + Conditions of your life + Voluntary activities that you do
(H = S + C + V).  By Martin Seligman.


2.  Two steps to happiness.  Step one: choose to feel happy.  Step two: use happiness actions to create your happiness.  By Julian Kalmar.

3.  Happiness = pleasure + engagement + meaning.  By psychologists.

4.  Happiness = health + money + social life + meaning (in descending order of priority).  By Scott Adams.

5.  Three simple steps to sustained happiness: one, be aware of what you do; two, be aware of what you say; and three, be aware of what you think.  By Andrea DeBell.

6.  Happiness is proportional to the Resources at your command and inversely proportional to your Needs (H = R/N).  By Mahatma Gandhi.


7.  Happiness = (level of Gratitude +  consistency with your own personal Definition of Happiness + how much you Contribute to others + success in Relationships, obeying Rules, and lack of Regrets.  H = (G + DH + C + 3R) ÷ 6.  By Jimmy DeMesa. 

8.  Happiness =  Equanimity + Wonder + Exhilaration + Love.  By Gavriel Shaw. 

9.  Happiness = Decision - Obstacle + Choice.  By Lionel Ketchian.

10. Happiness = 50% genetic + 10% life circumstances and 40% self control. By Sonya Lyubomirsky.

11. Happiness = robust health.

12. Happiness = acceptance. 

A Simpler Approach

Perhaps, for those who are fond of flow charts, this one here will simplify things:

Daniel Lee's 2 Laws of Happiness
 
And here's my contribution to the world:

1.  Happiness is achieved once you are able to reconcile the apparent contradiction between a relentless pursuit of perfection and an easy readiness to accept imperfection.


2.  What produces happiness for a human being is unique for that particular person.  Therefore, the best route to happiness is for an individual to construct a list of past happy personal experiences; and to replicate them as far as possible whenever such similar happy feelings are desired.  There is no magic bullet for everyone!