What is happiness?
What is happiness?
In fact,
We all wonder what it is,
And sometimes we don't know how to answer it.
And for thousands of years,
Lots and lots of philosophers and thinkers and psychologists tried to figure out the answer.
So what is happiness?
In fact,
When we think about it,
We may imagine some tropical waters,
Some paradise holidays,
Bathing in a warm sea,
Or perhaps engaging in a favorite hobby.
But is it really happiness?
All of this shows that in fact,
Two to four weeks after your wonderful holidays,
The effect of holidays disappears,
Unfortunately.
So this is not a note against holidays,
Of course,
But unfortunately that's not something that can last.
So what is happiness?
I'm going to consider this question from two different perspectives.
From the perspective of what the science actually says,
And from the perspective of what normal people like you and me actually think.
Okay,
So let's start with the first.
Scientists,
Or specifically psychologists,
Define happiness in two different ways.
First of all,
We look at happiness as life satisfaction,
Which is how satisfied are you overall with your overall life,
Taking everything into account.
So if you consider yourself,
For example,
In relation to your previous life,
Or if you compare yourself with others,
If you compare yourself with your own achievements,
Are you actually satisfied with what you have and what you are?
The second part of it is affect.
Affect relates to feelings and emotions we commonly experience.
So we are happy when we have a lot of positive affect.
