Happiness is affected by satisfaction which in a way is the outcome of fulfilment of needs.  In that sense satisfaction becomes a prerequisite for happiness.  Happiness is also viewed as a state of mind.  The relationship between unhappiness and dissatisfaction does not seem to be as close as between happiness and satisfaction.  Satisfaction depends on one’s aspirations so once the aspirations are not met it results in dissatisfaction and ultimately into unhappiness.  However, if the aspirations are met one feels satisfied which may not necessarily lead to attaining happiness rather drives to increase aspiration levels.  This process of step-by-step meeting aspirations develops a momentary sense of satisfaction and wants and aspirations get expanded. Interestingly, satisfaction depends on change and disappears with continued consumption, when it comes to its physical manifestation.  Similarly, when income increases it increases aspiration level as well. If the aspirations are set modestly and the wants well crafted, a degree of happiness could be attained which does not make an individual dissatisfied as the chances of frustration get reduced. Finnish philosopher von Wright termed it as ‘the ascetic ideal of life’.  The needs are needed to be reduced or the expectations need proper management.  The imbalance compromises freedom and peace, comfort, and happiness.

Happiness is defined in terms of belief, desire, and thought.  It is also viewed as a state of mind and trait-like when it is related to one’s temperament. Happiness influences health state, directly as well as indirectly.  Everybody wants to lead a happy and peaceful life; hence it is general assumption that nobody wants to lead an unhappy life. Happiness is a fundamental value found in all cultures and enhances quality of life by inspiring and uniting people.  It drives a common interest and attracts everybody to live together.  Though money (or income) and happiness are related, yet happiness remains an elusive phenomenon for the wealthy as well as for the poor.  When individuals are asked to state what makes them happy or unhappy or when do they feel happy or unhappy, it is found that a happy person is young, healthy, well-educated, well-paid, extrovert, optimistic, worry-free, religious, married, having high self-esteem, having high job morale, with modest aspirations, and with wide range of intelligence.

I asked a group of my students in the last semester (open course on Life Skills and Communication) to tell me as to what are the constituents of a good life or a happy life.  According to these young students—health, money, stress free life (or mental peace), being able to make best of everything (or being successful), being able to fulfill aspirations (or freedom to make life choices), making others happy (or building social support network), maintaining good relationships, valuing oneself, deriving meaning out of life, being happy with loved ones, challenging life, and having good food, were some of the important factors.  These correlates of happiness help one understand the range of variables and dimensions that contribute towards making an individual happy.  When I look at what my students responded and compare their views with that of the researches done across world, I find more similarities in expressions.

Hence it is observed that happiness has many angles to its definition, perception and practice.  It is influenced by external factors like income, job, community, governance standards, religion, etc.  It is also driven by the personal factors like mental and/or physical health, family and friendship experiences, education, gender, age, etc.  Many studies have concluded that happy people live longer, stay married longer, make more money, receive better evaluations from work supervisors, take fewer sick days, and are more altruistic and creative.  It is also found that individuals, families, organizations, and societies need happy individuals to flourish.  It is believed that the measures of happiness are reliable, as observed, happy people are found to be smiling more often during conversations and their friends and family members consider them to be happy.  Happy people are more likely to be curious and explorative; they like to take risks and to seek new social contacts.  A positive behavior like forgiveness is found to be related to happiness, for short term as well as long term. Similarly, leisure experience is also found to be closely related with happiness vis-à-vis life satisfaction.   A sense of gratitude, perseverance and generosity predicts the level of life satisfaction (vis-à-vis happiness) which is found to be strongly linked to love, hope, curiosity, and zest.

So cheer up, more than the meaning of happiness what is important is the sense and feeling of happiness. One needs to understand its essence in one’s own way, in one’s own language and with one’s own explanation.  You do not need to go into the complexities to dive into the real meaning and finding exact tool to measure happiness.  Rather you need to prioritise those activities that make you happy, that gives you satisfaction.