Written by | Chuang Wei-Hsuan, Intern Psychologist
Reviewed by | Chang Tzu-Jung, Counseling Psychologist
What do happiness and a good life mean to you?
For some, happiness is spending time with loved ones, sharing and interacting; some believe happiness is constantly experiencing new adventures; others see happiness as living a life of their own choosing, having freedom and flexibility in work, family, and personal time.
"Happiness" and "A Good Life" from a Theoretical Perspective
Everyone can have their own definition of "happiness" and "a good life."
Imagine this: If you had a week where you didn't have to worry about anything, only had to care about yourself, and could use your time freely, how would you spend it?
The scene you're envisioning in your mind right now might be a concrete scenario, or perhaps there's no image at all yet. The first step to embarking on a good life is to understand what "happiness" means to you.
Happiness is built upon our subjectively felt joy and satisfaction, also known as subjective well-being. This is related to how we perceive and evaluate our lives; the more we affirm and are satisfied with our current life, the more likely we are to experience happiness and satisfaction.
The elements of a good life can be viewed from several aspects: health, a successful career, rich interpersonal relationships, etc. Everyone assigns different weights to these aspects. A good life is not necessarily judged solely by outcomes, such as how much we've accomplished or how impressive our achievements are; it also includes our personal "subjective well-being."
This means that a good life is not necessarily based on "what life must look like," but rather whether we can feel content and satisfied with "our current state of life."
Sources of Subjective Well-being
Speaking of well-being, scholars like Ryan & Deci point out that pleasure and meaning are among the elements that constitute well-being. Positive psychology further breaks down "happiness" into five elements (PERMA):
- Positive Emotion: Positive feelings such as joy, delight, gratitude, love, and hope.
- Engagement: Being fully absorbed in something to achieve a state of flow.
- Relationships: Building genuine connections with others where one feels understood and supported.
- Meaning: Feeling that what one does has value to the world or others.
- Accomplishment: Seeing oneself constantly growing, achieving goals, and striving for excellence.
The PERMA theory tells us that happiness can be "created" by ourselves. It can arise from engaging in certain activities, interpersonal interactions, and other situations.
Consciously enhancing positive emotions, building supportive connections, and seeking meaningful activities are all sources of cultivating happiness. We can reflect on a few aspects:
- Examine each of the five PERMA elements: Under what conditions and in which situations do these five elements occur? List a few examples, recording these moments (including the scene of people, events, time, place, and objects), and specifically mark the moments that make us feel happy.
- What from these marked happy moments can be incorporated into your vision of a good life? If possible, draw out the image in your mind.
Proposals for Enhancing Life's Happiness
From the five elements of happiness discussed above, to achieve "a good life of one's own," one first needs to better understand the concrete manifestations of "feeling happy." Additionally, another element for enhancing happiness is "the freedom to choose for oneself":
Choose your lifestyle
The state of happiness varies across different eras and cultural backgrounds. When we lack money, having money is happiness; when we prioritize work, achieving success at work is happiness. We need to first understand what kind of environment we are in and what matters to us.
Know what for, then you can control it yourself
One of the conditions for increasing happiness is feeling that one can "freely" control one's life. Knowing what lifestyle one cares about and pursues allows for greater focus on personal happiness goals (if you are financially affluent, you might pursue a quality life; if you have a strong desire for self-actualization, you might pursue a life where you are recognized by others and feel accomplished...)
Prioritize your life
Once you know what freedoms you possess (freedom to eat, freedom to dress, freedom to arrange your living space...), in addition to concretely visualizing these, please also arrange them in order. The benefit of prioritizing is that we can get a more comprehensive view of the proportion of our ideal life.
For example: Considering "food, clothing, shelter, transportation, education, and entertainment," do you value any of these more? To what extent must each be fulfilled to satisfy you? Discover your "pleasant experiences" "A good life is about using your unique strengths to gain genuine happiness and abundant satisfaction" (Seligman, 2011). Practice seeing the values you care about in your life from the perspective of "choosing" and "creating happiness." May we all find happiness on the path of reclaiming control over our lives and choosing for ourselves. Honda, N. (2013). Hokubeki-shiki no jiyū seikatsu teian [Nordic-style proposal for a free life] (H. S. Chang, Trans.). Taipei City: Linking Publishing. Tseng, W. C. (2007). The common sense concepts of a good life and subjective well-being among college students. Bulletin of Educational Psychology, 38(4), 417-441. https://doi.org/10.6251/BEP.20070120 Seligman, M. (2011). Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment. Atria Books.
(For example, due to valuing daily life, intentionally arranging a larger, more comfortably furnished living space)
As Seligman, the father of positive psychology, said: "Optimists weather setbacks better because they cope more effectively and seek solutions. (Life inflicts the same setbacks and tragedies on the optimist as on the pessimist, but the optimist weathers them better.)" Choosing to see or recall the beautiful small things in life makes it easier for people to have positive emotions. The final proposal for enhancing happiness is "intentionally noticing positive experiences":
A good life is not just about planning anew; noticing every small good thing that happens in daily life accumulates into nourishment for happiness. Therefore, don't hesitate to invite yourself to recall 1-2 small good things from today each day, or write a gratitude journal. This will bring you unexpected rewards.
References:
Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Oishi, S. (2005). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and life satisfaction. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 63-73). New York: Oxford University Press.
Seligman, M. (2011). Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life. Vintage.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. I. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141-166
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