Are There Different Kinds Of Happiness?

No happy anecdote is exactly the same as another. Despite the joy, pleasure and satisfaction, the circumstances are totally different. In light of this, have you ever wondered if there are different kinds of happiness?

It is said that the greatest aspiration of humanity has always been and will be the attainment of happiness in life. However, how can it be achieved? 

Many people believe that happiness, to be such, must be easy, constant, and therefore permanent. But the truth is that this is impossible, because it is necessary to experience other feelings and emotions in order to live a complete experience.

Likewise, it is not realistic to think that happiness is the suppression of problems, since they are part of existence, whether we like it or not.

Several philosophical currents affirmed that happiness is not inherent in human life and that, therefore, it is useless to seek it. On the other hand, the most modern currents affirm that we must forget happiness as a permanent state and enjoy the magic of the moments and the present time.

Happiness classes

If it is true that happiness is never complete, it can be thought that there are different types. Now, in how many ways can we experience that high well-being? The model established by Martin Seligman, for example, was one of the first to address this very question. 

This psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania is a benchmark in the study of happiness. He spent much of his life dedicated to the field of depression, developing theories as well known as learned helplessness.

However, there came a time in his career that he needed to make a change. He knew what was going on in the mind of an unhappy person. Why not give people strategies to find happiness? This step originated what we know today as positive psychology.

Martin Seligman’s model is undoubtedly one of the best known to understand the kinds of happiness that we can feel throughout our life cycle.

Seligman PERMA model

• Pleasant emotions.  This first dimension focuses on sensory and emotional pleasures, no matter how long they last. It is a very fragile type of happiness, as external circumstances can affect its enjoyment or put an end to it.
• Committed life. In addition to always looking for pleasant emotions, the person finds meaning in activities that he enjoys and whose value he has internalized. For example, reading, practicing a sport, an art or teaching, among others.
• Personal and social relationships. Great value is placed on personal relationships, whose development is sought and enjoyed; life is not conceived without sharing with others. In addition, they are usually people who feel comfortable and fulfilled as an active part of the communities.

• Meaningful life. In this type of happiness, people see the importance of their life beyond personal well-being. They are guided by very solid values. They focus on improving the world in some way and helping others broadly.
• Successes and achievements.  It is sought by people with a certain scale of values ​​and who based on it have planned the desired achievements. Economic success, profession, autonomy, reputation, are usually some objectives sought.

Advertising has reduced happiness to the tangible aspect  and to the cult of the material. It is a frivolous and fragile happiness that is based on economic achievement, obtaining pleasure and the fact of achieving a certain social status.

Tips for enjoying happiness

It should be said that there are many investigations that have been carried out to understand this dimension a little more. In fact, it is worth referring to that study that Harvard University carried out over 80 years to determine what factors and components mediate happiness.

Some of the most important findings were the following:

• Take care of your own physical, psychological and emotional health. Human biology is designed to feel well-being and pleasure, and that can only be achieved by enjoying good health.
• Love and express affection.  Feel, give and receive love without prejudice; love can become an effective mental tool, which takes us away from daily conflicts.
• Enjoy the present. Life can go by in an exhausting search that does not allow us to enjoy what really exists, which is the present; it is about the Here and Now.
• Appreciate everything that exists in its proper dimension. Starting with the planet, nature, animals; continuing with knowledge, art, music and all the fruits of human ingenuity; and above all, appreciate the little things.

• Dedicate ourselves to what fulfills us and that fits our scale of values.
• Seek our satisfaction without harming others.
• Do not strive to seek permanent happiness. That search itself can be exhausting and lead to frustration. Recognizing that problems are part of human life is a first step to enjoying everything else.
• Be free, as far as possible. That means living according to your own convictions and the right to choose in any area of ​​life.
• Learn to overcome adversity; it is about looking for ways to emerge stronger from difficult circumstances. The negative experiences that are lived, can be converted into important life lessons.
• Give meaning to life. It has been shown that contributing to the happiness of others gives great satisfaction and full of meaning and significance to existence.

Regardless of the kinds of happiness that you consider best for yourself, it is best to try to experience them all.

As the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) said: “Happiness, more than a wish, joy or choice, is a duty.”