Meausuring Happiness

The understanding and measuring of happiness is something that has preoccupied us probably for as long as we have been on this planet. From ancient Greek philosophers to modern-day social scientists, from individuals to national Governments and global organisations, we all seem to want to understand what makes us happy and what we need to do to sustain happiness. There are no easy answers, it would appear. And we should be unsurprised by this. After all, we know when we are happy, we know when we are not, and we know how quickly we can switch from one state to the other, sometimes as a result of our own actions and inactions, and sometimes as a result of events which are entirely outside of our control. At least, that’s how it can feel.
 
Our views of what constitutes happiness are also changing. While money, a job, a home, remain important, and Maslow would be pleased to know this, we now recognise the importance of physical and mental good health, with a real attitude shift around mental well-being. Indeed, there are three fundamental pillars which we neglect at our peril: good sleep, a good diet, and good physical and mental well-being. I would take this one step further; it’s also about being at ease with how things are for us. We may not have the perfect everything and if we are at ease with this, striving to do the best we can with what we’ve got, then our underlying sense of happiness, having that eudaemonia, will increase and we are more able to deal with the good, the bad, and the indifferent.
 
One aspect of happiness remains unchanged. It is no good pursuing the state, the emotion, because events can affect this so much, irrespective of what we are doing or having. The ideal is to pursue the doing and having, doing what we enjoy and what rewards and enriches us, having what rewards and enriches us, doing and having what motivates us to live our best lives and be the people we want to be. And just imagine how good, how happy you would feel when you know that you are doing and having all that you want, doing and having to the very best of your ability, doing and having for you and those around you. And you know that you can do it, don’t you?