How Do Psychologists Define Happiness?

Here are questions you should ask yourself to know if you are happy:

• Do you feel like you have the life you want? Are you working towards the life that you want?
• Does your environment bring you peace of mind?
• Have you accomplished the things you want in your life? Are these goals important to you?
• Are you content as you are right now? What are the things you're doing that is contributing to your happiness?
• Have you stopped and wondered if you feel more positively than you were before?

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle differentiated the varieties of happiness:

1. Hedonia (pleasure): this is the type of happiness that is associated with self-satisfaction and doing what makes you happy.
2. Eudaimonia (meaning): this is the type of happiness that is self-fulfilling. It happens when you invest in yourself, when you seek what is important to you and what allows you to mold yourself into a better version of yourself.

To some people, happiness comes naturally, but if it doesn't for you here are some things you can do to raise your happiness level:

• Achieve the goals you want to achieve
• Learn how to be in the present moment and let yourself enjoy the things you enjoy doing
• Practice gratitude towards yourself and the other areas in your life
• Be mindful of your thoughts and behavior, negativity only leads to more negativity. Don't let your intrusive thoughts take over you.

Being happy affects your health and well-being more than you think. It makes you become more content with what you have currently. It allows you to build stronger relationships with people.

Happiness makes an individual more resilient. This allows them to manage stress better and happy people live longer on average than negative people. Being satisfied with life also helps you get sick less often. Happier mental state is connected to having increased immunity.

We do not have complete control over everything that happens in our lives, but we can always choose which paths to go to and the actions we make. Purpose is something you can cultivate, remember that always.

It is important to explore your interests and find the things that you are passionate about. If volunteering bring you joy and satisfaction, so be it. If exercise does, go for it. It is important to recognize what is important to us and to understand why we live for them.

It's fairly easy to look for the things that make us happy, but we have to note that choosing the wrong things to value can lead to more harm than good. We need to be able to pick the thing that bring us happiness and makes our life better in a general sense.

Moreover, while evaluating happiness, don't be afraid to seek help from the people you trust and allow yourself to open up to them. Social support is another important aspect of happiness, don't let loneliness discourage you.

Scientists believe that these two theories are the reason why people pursue happiness:

1. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: The basic needs of people are always put first before anything else. Once their basic needs have been covered, this motivates people to pursue psychological and emotional needs.
2. Positive Psychology: This field is central to the field of psychology. The pursuit for happiness is focused on bettering the lives of people, communities, and societies.