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32 LIFESTYLE
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HAPPINESS RELIES ON
BELIEF
VENI HARANIA AND PRITESH K. SHAH REFLECT ON THE SCIENCE OF LASTING HAPPINESS
The pleasant life
Then was the last time you felt
really happy? Do you
remember why you felt happy? Was it when you were last given a box of chocolates? Or perhaps when you were promoted at work?
Last November, the Royal Society, the most prestigious scientific body in Britain, brought together distinguished professors from all over the world to unfold a new science exploring exactly what it is that makes people happy.
Rather than simply investigating suffering, the consensus of the two-day conference was that the focus needs to turn towards encouraging wellbeing, a healthy lifestyle and inner happiness. This was not some new age thinking advocated by less than scrupulous self-help gurus, but a £18m-funded study that is firmly grounded in science. It was led by a luminary in the field, Martin Seligman, president of the American Psychological Association (APA). Happiness, according to Seligman, can be categorised into three main forms or types:
The first kind is the pleasant life! This is a type of happiness that we obtain from simple hedonistic pleasures such as sex, eating and drinking or watching a good film.
The second kind is the good life! This type of happiness is generated by enjoying an activity we might be good at or possess a natural talent for. It is important to first identify our strengths and then participate in activities that utilise them.
Finally, the third kind is the meaningful life! This offers the most lasting happiness and is a combination of finding something you believe in and then placing your identified strengths at its disposal.
If we are able to achieve a balanced mix of these three types of happiness then we will attain a positive sense of wellbeing. It is of paramount importance that we do strike a balance and do not rely solely on the pleasant life' for happiness as mass retailers, advertising bodies and the media try and encourage us to. Any happiness achieved would be fleeting, and sustained happiness is a product of more
than simple hedonism - it is about paying close attention to how we live on a dayto-day basis as well as making sure we strive for the good life' and 'the meaningful life!
Research has also identified a number of factors that are attributed to our propensity for happiness. Genes play a pivotal role, as does upbringing. Growing up as part of a healthy, happy family and establishing a meaningful relationship with parents paves the way for a brighter future. Children who come from broken homes are more likely to be unhappy as adults. Equally influential as environment is to our state of happiness, is our level of social activeness. By establishing deep friendships and engaging in social events, whether it is a quiet coffee at a café or a family wedding, we are creating close relationships that will be the bedrock of our happiness. More so than any worldly possession, relatives and friends provide us with unfettered joy. Through our relationships with others we nurture core values such as trust, love and intimacy that
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