There are many models and theories that explain “what” happiness is.
There are many historical perspectives on Happiness
Our conditioned beliefs about happiness are often incorrect.
When the causes and conditions are right, the consequence arises.
Everything in the universe follows this basic law of causality. As Carl Sagan said – “if you want to bake an apple pie from scratch you must first create a universe.”
Think about it. It applies to literally all experiences and phenomena: when the causes and conditions are right, the result, the feeling, the thing manifests. When you have water, soil, sun, and seed you get a tree. When you have a tongue and teeth and a hungry belly interacting with a piece of pork steak you get a delicious experience, etc. Everything – literally – is a constellation of causation manifesting moment after moment.
So it goes with happiness. When the causes and conditions for happiness are present, happiness manifests.
In terms of “what” exactly constitutes happiness. I am not overly tied to a rigid philosophical debate or definition. I almost feel like the old saying about a judge who tried to establish a legal definition or standard for pornography. He said something like “I don’t know how to define it, but I know it when I see it.”
Happiness is a bit like this. But for the sake of our discussion of what happiness is, consider this: when you are satisfied with your life (past-oriented), experiencing positive emotion in your life (present-oriented), and feeling good about your life to come (future-oriented) – then you have “Happiness with a capital h.”
That’s what this work is concerned with: how do you move towards a balance of experience where you have more happiness across the past, present, and future?
| Type | Time | How |
|---|---|---|
| Happy with your life | Past-oriented | When you look back on your life you feel satisfied. This comes from a sense of meaning, achievement, and usefulness. Generally when your circumstances exceed your expectations. |
| Happy in your life | Present-oriented | You generally experience positive states. Barbara Fredrickson suggests there are ten big positive emotions: joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love. When you are present (not mind-wandering) this helps too. |
| Happy for your life | Future-oriented | This is about optimism which is grounded in something called explanatory style and growth mindset. |
Before we continue, let’s consider again how happiness comes from causes and conditions.
Happiness is learned… Learned Happiness Model (LHM)
The LHM is just that. If you study and practice, you learn happiness. You study: acquire knowledge of the causes of happiness. And then you practice: you cultivate the causes of happiness.
And in doing so you learn happiness.
This perspective comes from contemplative and wisdom traditions. Buddhism, for example, emphasizes mental training: sometimes called conditioning. Matthieu Ricard in his talk on the Habits of Happiness explains this perspective.
Think of an Olympic athlete. Over and over again they practice certain physical capacities. And with thousands of hours they transform their bodies. A monk in this case is sort of an olympic athlete of psychological training. Having spent thousands of hours cultivating awareness of the present moment, peace of mind, and positive mental traits like compassion and equanimity – they transform their mind.
This perspective is confirmed by modern science too. In that same talk Matthieu shares brain scans of himself and other monks in comparison to those of normal people. In brain states associated with things like love, kindness, and peace – their brains were many standard deviations beyond the norm.
RESOURCE: Neuroscience research shows happiness is learned: wellbeing is a skill.