Definition:
Happiness is an emotional state that includes feelings of joy, pleasure, Enjoyment, optimism, satisfaction, prosperity, gratification, euphoria, and fulfillment. Happiness is one of the most important topics of interest for people of all areas. In this world, everyone is trying to pursue happiness in life. The Pursuit of Happiness is the main goal of every person in this world.
What is Happiness to you? If you ask someone to define it. They might define it as what they are feeling at the present moment. While others define it as what they feel about life overall. In Fact, Happiness is experiencing more positive emotions than negative emotions and life satisfaction.
Happiness is one of the most important and broad topics of interest in positive psychology. To define Happiness is one of the most difficult tasks for psychologists and other social scientists. Psychologists use the term Subjective Well Being For the word happiness. So what is Subjective well-being? Subjective well Being is an Individual’s overall personal feeling about their life in the Present.
Diener is one of the most famous American Psychologists who Worked on ‘Subjective Wellbeing’ for the last 30 years. Diener also used the term Subjective well-being for Happiness. According to him, there is 2 component of “Subjective Well Being”.
Components of Selective well-Being:
Subjective Well-Being is not overall feelings of euphoria, joy, and excitement. But these two components define what is actually Happiness. There is no scale of Measuring the level of happiness but If these two components are present in you then you can consider yourself as a happy person.
Balance of Emotions:
Selective well- Being is not Experiencing positive emotions like joy, hope, pride, excitement, and euphoria all the time but Selective Well-Being is Experiencing more Positive feelings than Negative ones like anger, Frustration, and Disappointment. Happy people balance both positive and negative emotions. The balance of emotions is also Known as Affective appraisal.
Life Satisfaction:
The term Cognitive appraisal is used for Life satisfaction. If you are satisfied with your life then you are a happy person. Selective well- Being is actually how satisfied you are with different areas of your life like work, relationship, goals, and Achievement. According to Abraham Maslow, If you fulfill your needs and drives then you feel happiness and satisfaction in life. So Life Satisfaction is very important.
These two factors define overall happiness. You should work on these two factors in order to live a happy life. Choose your Goals and make decisions independently without any pressure. The science of Happiness revolves around these two components.
Do you Know? According to the World Happiness Report 2021, Finland ranked number 1 in happiness while Other top 10 countries include Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, Netherland Sweden, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, and Austria.
How to Know If you are Happy?
Are you a Happy person? How to know whether you are a happy person or not. So here are some of the signs of a happy person. Search these signs in yourself and Find out how happy you are.
If you are a happy person then you must experience more Positive emotions than Negative ones.
Feelings that you are satisfied with your life.
Feelings that You have accomplished what you want or you will accomplish.
Feeling good about yourself, your relationship, and the world around us.
Subjective well-Being is not a constant and continuous feeling of Pleasure, Joy, Excitement, and Euphoria. But it is the feeling of experiencing more positive emotions as compared to negative Emotions but it does not mean that Happy happy has no problem in their life. They still feel anger, Frustration, Boredom, and even Sadness from time to time and from situation to situation. But when they feel Discomfort and anxiety, they have a sense of optimism that everything will get better Very soon.
They have an optimistic viewpoint about the world. They can Cope with the Normal Stress of life. Even According to the WHO Organization Definition of Mental Health Explain that Mental Health is a state of well-being in which an Individual realized his or her Quality, can Cope with normal stresses of life, can work fruitfully and productively, and is also able to make Contribution to their society.
Types of Happiness:
According to Aristotle, There are two types of Happiness, Hedonia, and Eudaimonia. These two types of happiness were used in ancient times. But still, it is considered the most important type of happiness. Many journals of happiness studies show that these two types are most important.
Hedonia:
The word “Hedonia” is Derived from Pleasure. This type of subjective Well-Being includes Doing the things that feel good like Eat, Drink, Sleep, Sex, listen to Music, and so on, Self-care, Fulfilling Desires, Experiencing enjoyment and Feeling a sense of satisfaction.
Eudaimonia:
The term “Eudaimonia” is derived From Seeking Virtue and Meaning. This type of Selective well- Being includes the Feelings that life has Meaning, Purpose, value, and Goals. This type of Happiness is Concerned with Fulfilling Responsibility, Prosocial Behavior, and living with personal Ideas.
These two types of Subjective Well-Being are linked with Pleasure and meaning. Psychologists have recently added a 3rd Type called Engagement. So what is Engagement?
Engagement is the feeling of commitment and Participation in different areas of life. These three components play an important role in Overall Happiness. For Example, If you Help someone then you feel happiness and pride, there is no pleasure and joy in it but you feel happiness. This Type of Selective Well- Being is known as Eudaimonia. According to experts, Eudaimonia is Real happiness. Emotions fall Under these Categories Includes joy, Excitement, Contentment, optimism, Pride, and Gratitude.
Theories of Happiness:
Research showed that Selective well- Being is directly linked with the fulfillment of need and Positive Thinking. Also, Research suggests that Selective well- Being is linked to Meaning, Purpose, and goal in life. The two most important Theories of Selective well- Being are given Below.
Maslow Hierarchy of Needs:
According to this theory, human behavior is motivated by Certain needs and drives. Maslow defines these needs in the hierarchy in the form of Pyramids. The most basic needs are present at the Bottom of the Pyramid while the most important and high-level needs are present at the top.
The first and the most basic needs in Maslow's hierarchy theory are Physiological and Biological needs like Food, Water, sleep, then Safety needs, after that love and Belonging needs, then Self-esteem needs and at the End, the needs of Self Actualization is present at the top. Research showed that fulfillment of these needs is directly linked with happiness.
Positive Psychology:
The Pursuit of Happiness is Central to the field of Positive Psychology. The main Goal of Positive Psychology is to Increase positivity, help people to live Happy and more satisfied Lives. Rather than Focusing on Psychopathology that field strives to help people, communities, societies improve positive emotions and achieve greater happiness. Positive Thinking is also linked to happiness.
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