“Happiness is conceptualized as an appraisal of life, a state of mind, a psychological state, and a positive health indicator, and is synonymous with subjective well-being.”

“Happiness is overall satisfaction with life: Happiness has been conceptualized as an evaluation of life, as overall satisfaction with everyday life, and as the overall quality of one’s life.”

“The predominant happiness determinants were mental, emotional, and physical well-being, a purposeful holistic work–life balance, nurturing social relationships, caring for self and others, and being in harmony with one’s culture, traditions, community, religion, and environment.”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Think of happiness as a general overall feeling of life satisfaction and well-being based on a self-evaluation of your level of satisfaction with your physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and financial health.

Because whether you CHOOSE to feel satisfied is highly subjective, happiness and life satisfaction depend almost entirely on your CHOSEN attitude, your CHOSEN sense of gratitude and optimism, and your CHOSEN level of expectation.

The fact is that, when it comes to happiness and life satisfaction, it is our CHOSEN or DEVELOPED attitudes and disposition that are the greatest determinants. Health, hope, and harmony are products of our choices, and our choices are products of our knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and self-control.

You can want to achieve more as you feel grateful for what you have and for the ability and opportunity to achieve more and contribute more to others. This is a foundation of life satisfaction.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

Clearly, if you want to have a highly satisfying life, you need to consistently choose physically healthy activities that develop physical fitness, you need to choose to eat healthy foods, you need to choose psychologically healthy activities that develop psychological fitness, and you need to contribute to and benefit from being part of a community that is “in harmony with your culture and traditions.” You need to choose to live a healthy life of purpose and contribution.

All humans need and deserve the right to live in harmony with their culture and traditions - as long as they do not infringe on the equality and human rights of others.

Everyone deserves the right to pursue happiness and life satisfaction but we all must realize that health, happiness, and life satisfaction are based on a meritocracy; they are earned with good life and lifestyle habits. Please visit www.eatwellmovewellthinkwell.com for more information and resources.

Reference:

Singh et al. (2023) Health, Hope, and Harmony: A Systematic Review of the Determinants of Happiness across Cultures and Countries. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 3306. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph20043306