What happiness looks like?

Happiness is a human emotion people worldwide are trying to achieve and something that is at the root of a lot of good and a lot of bad.  We all have different paths to happiness that are influenced by our cultures, values, and personalities.  What brings a monk happiness will look a lot different from what brings a stockbroker happiness.  Therefore, what happiness looks like will be in the eye of the beholder.  At a scientific level, happiness is a state of mind in which certain stimuli have activated the happy hormones in our bodies.  The path in which we get our minds to produce those hormones looks very different from person to person. 

There are several different types of stimuli that can trigger happiness in us.  Due to this, there are varying degrees of happiness with each stimulus.  Some things might bring us a little happiness, and some might bring a lot of happiness.  Again, two people could experience the same stimuli and have differing degrees of happiness.  On that same note, each person’s experience with happiness will have varying lengths as well.  Some things might bring us immediate happiness and not last as long as other things come with lasting happiness.  For example, vacations are universally a pretty happy experience, but for a lot of us, vacations are limited and not long-lasting. 

As you think about what triggers happiness for you, it is important to think through having various things.  When we become dependent on one thing, in particular, that can be really dangerous because if that thing goes away, the person will be left without much happiness in their life.  Some people do really well with putting a number scale to the things that bring them happiness.  Rating different things in your life on a scale can help you have a good toolkit of things to pull from.  Try to keep in mind accessibility to the things in your toolkit.  For example, going to a concert might be something that brings you happiness but will be less accessible than something like listening to music.