HAPPINESS
The Science Behind What Makes Humans Happy
A personal story — from marketing at Coca-Cola to volunteering at an NGO
Everybody wants to live a happy life. The problem is that the concept of how to be happy has not been explored in similar depth as, for example, business administration.
I get it. Happiness doesn’t pay the bills. But what is a life worth living without it?
Let me open your mind about the emerging science behind the psychology of well-being.
You might think that a respected job, sound money, a lovely house, a luxurious car, or the perfect body will make you happy.
The new science of positive psychology thinks differently. Our most definite intentions and cravings are the sources of miswanting:
Most of the things that we think make us happy, actually do not make us happy.
Being turned down for a job you wanted or getting a raise has less effect on subjective well-being than you think.
Paradoxically to common beliefs, income, and life satisfaction are only slightly correlated.
Hell, our society’s definition of success puts us on a path to impressive houses and cars. But according to a long-term study, those with materially-guided attitudes and goals tend to have lower life satisfaction later in life.
If we believe fitness models on Instagram, we will need to have the perfect slim body to be happy. Conflicting evidence indicates the opposite. Yes, weight loss reduces cardio-metabolic risk but has no psychological benefit. In other words, dieting makes you healthier but not happier.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Many things that we think make us happy don’t make us happy.
We have learned to buy more awesome stuff, to get paid more, or to train for the perfect body to have a better life. But none of these things are making us happier for the long-term. Crazy.
But then, what is it that makes us happy?
Three “Happy” Lifes
According to Martin Seligman, the founder of positive psychology, there are three different paths to happiness:
- The Pleasant Life: Maximizing pleasurable emotions and using techniques like savoring and mindfulness to extend their duration.
- The Good Life: Engaging in your hobby or work that results in frequent flow states.
- The Meaningful Life: Using character strengths to serve something higher than you.
What path do you think results in lasting happiness?
All paths are not created equal.
The pursuit of pleasure has almost no contribution to self-reported well-being.
The pursuit of meaning is the most reliable indicator of higher life satisfaction.
The Bulletproof Way To Increased Happiness
After knowing what makes humans happy, you could now go on to live a fulfilled life.
But wait. Unlike common understanding suggests, knowing is not half the battle.
How can you incorporate the three different paths to happiness into your life so that you routinely put them into action?
Volunteering for a good cause incorporates all three parts.
The pleasant life arises from having a beer or icecream with your fellow volunteers.
The flow comes from using your background and applying it to challenges in the volunteering work.
The sense of feeling useful to a more significant cause than yourself provides you with the feeling of meaning.
That’s why volunteering is a bulletproof way to living happier and more fulfilled.
With the following personal story in this context, I would like to inspire you to become happier, too.
The Community That Provided Meaning
In September 2019, I landed in Lisbon, Portugal, to pursue an entrepreneurial endeavor. This new situation led me to visit different networking events. One was the Impact Industry Social organized by the makesense Lisbon hotspot in Selinas Secret Garden.
I vividly remember the relaxing and inspiring atmosphere, listening to others working on amazing projects that seek to have a positive environmental and social impact. Being met with interest and support when talking about our business idea in education was a nice change to the usual naysayers and doubters.
It was awesome. I became intrigued.
Learning that they are looking for core team contributors, I got involved. Now, with six months perspective since that occasion, I can say that taking on this high-quality leisure activity was one of the best decisions I could have made.
For anyone who doesn’t know what makesense is: it is a non-governmental organization with more than 20,000 volunteers that are organized in city hotspots worldwide. We are the Lisbon hotspot with 14 volunteers, who commit five hours a week for a minimum period of three months.
Our mission is to inspire active citizenship and support impact-focused initiatives that seek to have a net positive effect on society and the planet.
What You Will Learn
Starting to volunteer for something I believed in, taught me many things.
By seeing the happy social entrepreneurs that left our creativity workshops with brilliant ideas and implementable solutions taught me the value of giving. No, I did not receive money. I received sincere smiles, hugs, and gratitude. Something that money can’t provide.
Meaning comes from what we give, rather than from what we receive.
By organizing and growing the monthly Impact Industry Social to provide a space for serendipity in the Impact Industry to happen, it taught me that it takes a handful of motivated and committed individuals to make a difference. The feedback we got was overwhelming: participants made meaningful connections, and people outside the Impact Industry started their projects or joined existing ones. More importantly, people had fun taking part and embracing transformational rather than transactional relationships.
Meeting with the other core team contributors every week to share our challenges, to help each other, to exchange feedback, and to optimize our makesense related workflows, taught me the value of community and open, honest conversations. “Constructive conflict and healthy communication” is what Richard Kappl, our inspiring hotspot leader, prioritizes, and lives.
Who Is Volunteering For?
Everyone who is privileged enough.
Yes, really. You might still look down on volunteering as inferior to “real” jobs, but it is a privilege. I don’t judge, I have been there for 25 years of my life. But, if you have enough to have your basic needs met and a roof over your head and are able to commit some time without pay, you are pretty privileged.
Regarding volunteering at makesense, I can say that it helps if you are curious about the topic of social and environmental impact. You surely will grow your network in the space and become part of a growing and vibrant community of changemakers.
Emotional intelligence is essential, but you will learn everything on the go. Whether it is about healthy communication, building a team, project management, business development, branding, and event planning, you will learn a lot.
Isn’t it great news? If you dislike the status quo about how our current system works, you have the chance to make a difference.
Become an activist and commit a few hours every week to make a change.
It is rewarding, fulfilling, and, according to science and my personal experience, it gives you lasting happiness.
Isn’t that what we all want?
So What?
There are no words for how grateful I am to have been part of this community of committed and motivated individuals who believe in challenging the status quo and creating change.
You might not agree with my choice of the topic of volunteering. And I would agree that there are more direct and fulfilling ways of giving, for example, caring for homeless people.
But perhaps you can support the general idea and scientific findings that “the meaningful life” is the most significant contributor to personal life satisfaction and well-being.
Volunteering makes you happier than all the money, houses, and beauty in the world combined.