There is no universally accepted definition of happiness. If you google the definition of happiness, you will read that happiness means "the state of being happy". Not very helpful! So what does happiness mean to you? And what does happiness mean to me?
If I were to ask you and your neighbor what happiness means to you, the two answers would be completely different. In fact, a survey we conducted of 1,155 respondents showed that virtually no two people have the same meaning of happiness.
If you're still looking for personal meanings of happiness that differ from person to person, then you're in luck. Here are 11 different answers to this question to inspire you to think about what happiness means to you!
Contents
- Our survey on the importance of happiness
- What is happiness for you?
- Raffi Bilek - Director and Therapist at Baltimore Therapy Center
- Traci Schoblom - MS. in psychology, certified holistic health educator and coach for personality development
- Emma Donovan- M.A., LPC, Therapist and Coach
- DanaAvey - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at Fulfillment Counseling and Life Coaching
- Amrita Madhusudan – Neuroscientist, Emotional Wellbeing Practitioner and Productivity Coach
- Kahlil King - Professor of Psychology at Hofstra University and Economics
- WendyJones – Life Design Coach bei The Optimists Journal
- Lauren Cook - Master of Marriage and Family
- Kellie Zeigler - Certified Practitioner in Applied Positive Psychology
- Carla Manly - Clinical Psychologist and Happiness Expert
- Hugo - Founder of Tracking Happiness
- closing words
Our survey on the importance of happiness
If you were asked what happiness means to you without using the word happiness, how would you answer? We asked this question over a thousand people and recorded the answers.
We asked them the following question:
Of the following words, which 5 words do you associate most with "happiness"?
Each respondent had to select 5 words that they thought were most associated with the word happiness.
Here are the words they most associate with "happiness":
These results showed us how differently people think about the meaning of happiness. (If you would like more details on our results,You can find them here!)
💡By the way: If you want to feel better and more productive, here we've combined information from hundreds of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet.👇
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Download the FREE cheat sheet here
What is happiness for you?
So it is clear that the meaning of happiness differs from person to person. In fact, it even changes over time. What made me happy as a kid probably won't make me happy anymore when I get older.
That means no one will share my exact meaning of happiness. Sure, some people will agree on what happiness means to me, but if you dig into the details, my definition of happiness is as unique as I am.
So I rounded up a handful of different people with different backgrounds and personalities and asked them this simple question:
What is happiness for you?
Here are their answers:
what happiness means...
Raffi Bilek - director and therapist amBaltimore Therapy Center
Happiness means being able to recognize and appreciate the good things.
Happiness is when you can recognize and appreciate the good things in your life without letting the bad things overshadow you. For the vast majority of us, the good in our lives far outweighs the bad. Has your back hurt lately? Remember that the rest of your body feels good today.
Life is imperfect, full of advantages and disadvantages. Focusing on the positive and enjoying it is what happiness is all about.
what happiness means...
Traci Schoblom - MS. in psychology, certified holistic health educator andPersonal development coach
Happiness is when your behavior aligns with your values.
Happiness is when your behavior aligns with your values. In other words, if you are a person who values family and invests time and resources and spends time with your family, you are happy. If you are a person who values health, you will be happiest when you engage in health promoting activities. So the core element of happiness is knowing what you value and then incorporating those things into your life. A happy life is a series of happy moments strung together.
what happiness means...
Emma Donovan- M.A., LPC, Therapist and Coach
Happiness means embracing the clutter that comes from being a flawed person in an unpredictable world.
I used to believe that I could find happiness by fulfilling my full potential, both personally and professionally. However, what I have come to realize is that failure, disappointment, personal shortcomings, and uncomfortable emotions are part of life.
Happiness is not about overcoming it through achievement, but rather about embracing the clutter that comes from being a flawed person in an unpredictable world. Happiness is not achieved, it is lived as I embrace each moment.
what happiness means...
DanaAvey - Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist atFulfillment counseling and life coaching
Happiness is the ability to experience gratitude and meaning in the midst of all experiences.
Happiness is the ability to experience gratitude and meaning in the midst of all experiences. Happiness is not a life of perfection, but rather finding the good or purpose in any circumstance - however flawed and imperfect they may be. This is what creates happiness.
Life will give us all kinds of experiences, but if we can practice a grateful heart in them, we can be lucky in any given moment, and to be lucky in any moment is to have it fully. We can never have complete control over what happens to us. So if we can find a little bit of gratitude and meaning in all scenarios, we can still thrive and be happy.
what happiness means...
Amrita Madhusudan – Neuroscientist, Emotional Wellbeing Practitioner andproductivity coach
Happiness means enjoying the simple things in life.
When I think of happiness, I think of being curled up with a cup of tea and a good book on a rainy afternoon. I think of the smell of my mother's freshly baked chocolate cake. I think about snuggling my sleeping baby and feeling the softness of his cheek against mine. Happiness is dark chocolate, good friends andclean laundry fresh out of the dryer. I think of freshly fallen snow and rainbows, the sound of waves crashing on the beach,and the birds that call at dawn. Happiness is meeting my husband's eyes across the room and feeling enveloped in his love.
what happiness means...
Khalil king- Professor of Psychology at Hofstra University and Economics
Happiness is the highlight of my life - good and bad.
Happiness is self-care and mental well-being. Having the autonomy to make my own decisions about how to contribute to the well-being of others. Happiness is a balance between hedonistic and personal growth efforts that make me a better person, and amuse me in the process! Happiness is the highlight of my life - good and bad. Everything that has made me who I am has made me happy in its own way.
what happiness means...
WendyJones - Life Design Coach beiThe Optimist Journal
Happiness is a mindset that is within our control.
We find happiness when we can be content exactly where we are today and have the conviction to pursue what we want tomorrow. It's found in those moments of stillness, when our vision is clear, and when we're learning to enjoy the little things like a sunset, our favorite coffee, or a great conversation. We all want to be happy, so it's best if we train our mind to find it in the things that happen almost every day.
Happiness is above all a mindset that is under our control, it just takes confidence to access it, so spend some time getting to know yourself and your definition of happiness will follow.
what happiness means...
Lauren Koch- Master of Marriage and Family
Happiness is when you live in accordance with your values.
Happiness is living in accordance with your values. It's when you know what's important in your life (which many people struggle to actively define) and you actively strive for those values. This does not mean that you are always successful in your endeavours; Rather, you intentionally determine how you use your time and energy.
Happiness also comes from practicing gratitude every day. It's when we not only appreciate the aspects of our lives that went "right," but also when we give thanks for the fight. Even when we are in pain we grow and there is just as much beauty in that experience.
what happiness means...
Kellie Zeigler -Certified Practitioner in Applied Positive Psychology
Happiness means being at peace with my past, optimistic about the future and enjoying the present.
To me, happiness means being at peace with my past, looking to the future with optimism and enjoying the present. This means that I can look back on my past with gratitude for what I experienced. I can look to my future and have hope for what is to come and the experiences I want to have. In the present I use mindfulness, gratitude, indulgence, meaning and purpose to experience positive emotions frequently.
what happiness means...
Carla Manly- Clinical Psychologist and Happiness Expert
Happiness is exploring and being in touch with our best selves.
I have found that happiness comes from exploring and connecting with our best selves. When we consciously invest time and energy in tuning into what offers peaceful, lasting inner joy, we tend to be happier in the long run. Also, those who are the happiest tend to focus on the present—being in the here and now—rather than getting stuck in the past or worrying about the future. Indeed, those who learn that happiness exists in the present moment - not in the future or in the past - tend to beam with joy.
what happiness means...
Hugo - Founder ofpursue happiness
To me, happiness means finding the perfect balance between long-term and short-term happiness. Short-term happiness can be found in life's simple pleasures, like going on a nice date with my girlfriend, going outside, having a laugh with my friends, or just enjoying a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning. On the other hand, I find long-term happiness in itfollow my purpose in life, be free and stress-free and actively work towards a better future.
In short, my meaning of happiness is to enjoy my life as it is now while not worrying about my happiness in the future!
💡By the way: If you want to feel better and more productive, here we've combined information from hundreds of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet.👇
Download our FREE Mental Self-Care Cheat Sheet!
Thrive under stress and achieve your goals with these 10 instant mental health tips.
Download the FREE cheat sheet here
closing words
There you have it: 11 different examples of what happiness can mean to you. What this article proves once again is that happiness is different for everyone. What makes me happy doesn't necessarily make you happy. That's what makes learning about happiness so fun.
On that note, I'd love to hear from you in the comments below! What is happiness for you?
Hugo Huijer Founder of Tracking Happiness
Founder of Tracking Happiness and lives in The Netherlands. Run 5 marathons, one of them in less than 4 hours (3:59:58 to be exact). Data junkie and happiness tracker for over 7 years.