The Psychology Of Happiness

Happiness is a significant part of life, or rather it should be an integral part of our daily life. Across the world, individuals leave their houses and even their societies in search of keys to happiness. Many people believe that money would give them the happiness they desire, but that's not always the case. Others believe food makes them happy, but that's also not always the case as there are times when we are too sad or too angry to eat. However, the ultimate question remains, what is happiness and how can we get it?

What is happiness?

Embracing happiness by the serene beachside (tCaPC)

More than simply a positive mood, happiness represents a state of contentment and satisfaction with what is going on in your life. It is a calm state of mind that nobody wants to snap out of. Although happiness can be expressed physically, it is a psychological state that says more about your mental health than anything else. While our genetics or our environment can have a big impact on our mental health, our actions can too. What we do with our time can instantly change our mood or have a long-term impact on our psychological well-being. Multiple psychologists have opined that there are two forms of happiness:

-  Hedonic happiness: Where a person actively pursues a life of pleasure and presumably less pain, for instance, doing everything to make money because you assume money would make you happier.

-  Eudaimonic happiness: Where finding your purpose grants you a sense of fulfillment and happiness every day.

While everyone has their unique story to fulfillment, let's tackle the psychology of happiness with Sam’s journey.

The Role Of Your Environment

Sam was an introvert. He was always indoors. However, one could argue that he did not always want to be there, and they would be right. Sam enjoyed making social connections. He always wanted to meet new people and learn new things, but he could not because of his environment. Sam's neighborhood had a lot of gang-related activities and everyone was on edge. There was a lot of fighting, injuries, and even death. So, Sam focused on the most important thing in his life at that time, which was taking care of his little brother. He started staying indoors to protect his brother from seeing the life in their neighborhood. Sam no longer had the zeal to go outside and he felt empty.

Every week, he had to process that someone in his neighborhood was going through physical pain for just being on the scene when a fight broke out. One time, his mum had injured her foot while running to their house because of an ongoing shootout. Sam was always moody, except when he wanted to play with his baby brother. Nothing else about his environment made him happy. However, Sam was determined to find his happiness, even within his environment.

Finding inner peace at sunset (tCaPC)

The Power Of Resilience

Sam was determined not to allow his immediate environment to affect how he saw life, so he developed positive strategies to cope with the depressing state of his neighborhood. He decided to get himself busy after school rather than spend an awful lot of time in his neighborhood. After school every weekday, Sam volunteered in an animal shelter. He would pick up his baby brother before going to work with animals. Sam loved animals. He once had a rescued dog named Leo who was the sweetest. However, Leo later died of cancer. After a few days, Leo found out that working with animals, along with his baby brother helped him relax. 

He watched how they would wag their tail when he bathed them and the Shelter soon became his happy place.

The Power Of Social Connections 

At the shelter, Sam was able to meet new people. Many of them loved animals and they would stop by to see their favorite animal. Sam had a huge crush on Maddy, a girl who also volunteered at the shelter. She had a huge crush on him too. While Sam spent a huge part of his days at the school and the shelter, he noticed that he put less thought into worrying about his neighborhood. He focused more of his energy on his school, taking care of his brother, helping his mum around the house, and volunteering at the shelter. Every night, Sam looked forward to the next day. He wondered what kind of people would stop by the shelter. Then, there was Maddy. She made him cheese so hard.

The Impact of Mindfulness Practices

Meditation by the ocean for tranquility (tCaPC)

While talking to one of the volunteers at the animal shelter, Sam learned about the impact of mindfulness practices and how they could affect your overall psychological well-being. So, he decided to try meditation. Every time Sam was at the shelter, he would take reflective breaks, soaking in the moment and how much he was grateful to be there for these animals. After a few weeks, Sam found himself laughing more and more. He was emotionally sound and he was happy. The animals gave him a sense of purpose, especially when he was involved in finding a home for them. Sam also discovered that he was motivated. He wanted to have his shelter one day. 

Conclusion 

With Sam's story, we learn that although our genetics or environment play a vital role, fostering our wells of happiness has more to do with our actions. What do we do if we are constrained by the environment we find ourselves in, or even a negative family? Understanding the psychology of happiness helps us focus on activities to stimulate our overall well-being, however, you have to take the bull by the horns. Never wallow in your limited environment. Find a purpose and find people who share similar interests.