The secrets of happiness

By Andrea Barthelemy Mar 31, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - What is the key to happiness? Friends, humour, sex, money? Conventional thinking says there is no sure formula. Or is there? For many years now the number of scientists grappling with the definition, the genesis and the effects of happiness on individuals and on society has been steadily growing.

Their work takes into account the social, economic and psychological aspects of happiness and all of them are looking for a formula for something that is very difficult to pin down.

However, it does appear that there are a couple of essential ingredients for happiness that apply to everyone, irrespective of their personal and cultural background. That's according to a newly published book, 'The World Book of Happiness,' which analyses the theses of 100 of the world's best researchers in this field.

Professor Ruut Veenhofen of Erasmus University in Rotterdam is an expert in the area of positive psychology. Veenhofen defines happiness as the 'subjective appreciation of life' and he has posed the question 'How happy are you, taking everything into account, with your life at the moment?' to people in 148 nations.

Using a scale of one to 10, Veenhofen has identified the happiest nations on earth as Costa Rica (8.5), Denmark (8.3), Canada and Switzerland (both 8.0). The least happiest countries are Togo (2.6), Tanzania (2.6) and Zimbabwe (2.8).

Most researchers emphasize that being on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world is no guarantee of having a happy and fulfilled life. Happiness does not grow along with material wealth as shown by the example of Norway. Researchers have spent years studying happiness levels in Norway, a very materially wealthy nation, that scores 7.9 on Professor Veenhofen's scale.

'When people put the poverty threshold behind them, higher income does almost nothing to make them more happy,' says Professor Robert Lane of Yale University.

Being happy while owning less means not comparing yourself to others who are materially better off. 'Free yourself from envy,' recommends Professor David Watson of the University of Iowa while Professor Claudia Senik at the Sorbonne in Paris advises: 'Do not compare yourself to others, concentrate on your own plans and be ambitious.'

However, it's at this stage that opinion among researchers divides. Depending on their cultural background, the researchers either place more importance on individual development, inner life and an active drive to achieve happiness or they focus on service to the greater good and the desire to achieve a functional society that is made up of sometimes contradictory elements.

That last aspect is more often shared by Asian researchers as the key to happiness. 'By balancing Ying and Yang, you can achieve an inner harmony that will encourage an inner feeling of happiness,' says Professor Daniel Shek of Hong Kong University.

There are also diverse opinions on how great a role faith and religion play in happiness. Many researchers, however, do agree that spirituality does play at least a role. Fully rational people, they believe, are less likely to be happy.

But is the ability to be happy just a matter of fate? 'Fifty per cent of our potential to be happy is born within us. Ten per cent is linked with our living conditions but 40 per cent lies within our own hands,' says social psychologist Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California.

She has spent 20 years researching the subject. Many of her colleagues believe it is possible to train and learn the ability to be happy. That's done, for example, by focusing on the positive and interpreting failure as good experience.

Others stress the importance of exercise, humour, work, health and sex as factors that play a big role in happiness. Another element is the ability to be more thoughtful about your time. It's also worth your while attempting to train yourself to be more fun loving, although how to do that may not be so obvious if you are an introverted type. One Australian researcher even believes that some day in the future brainwave stimulation will lead to major advances in achieving happiness.

Until that day arrives another school of thought holds out the promise of success for everyone around the globe. That theory says you should nurture the ability to live your life as a social being. You should develop friendships, partnerships and family ties with the aim of creating reliable connections and networks that will last under pressure. Develop an interest in your environment, do things for others.

Professor Jose Zaccagnini of the University of Madrid says, 'Be more conscious of yourself and then use what you have learned to aid others.'

So what about the recipe for happiness? Psychologists Dubravka Miklovic and Majda Rijaves of the University of Zagreb have developed a list of six essential ingredients: close and reliable friends, a stable love-life, a job that fits your abilities, enough money to live on, at least three positive experiences a day, gratitude for what you have.

In addition there are another five things that could help you achieve happiness: having a child or children, believing in a God, getting more education, good health and experiencing few disappointments. Then combine all that with sheer conviction and more positive than negative feelings. Et viola! Be happy!

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