Mahatma Gandhi one defined happiness as “when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Barring any better definition of happiness from either positive psychologists, self-help gurus, or any other academic source, I tend to think this is a great summation of the definition of happiness. Gandhi doesn’t say anything about how these things make you feel, rather looks at it from a point of view of harmony between thoughts, expressions, and actions. Since one single accepted definition of happiness doesn’t seem to exist, and happiness is different for everyone, this begs the question; how can you increase your own personal level of happiness? Since WW II psychologist have been studying our brains as they pertain to our mental health. Approximately 30% of people in the USA suffer from some sort of mental disorder (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 418). After we figured out how to treat these 30% of people, psychologists then turned to the remaining 70% of the population with the thinking that “although these people may not be experiencing severe pathology, there is good evidence to indicate the absence of maladies does not constitute happiness” (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 418). The conclusion these psychologists came to was that “…we believe “happiness” is a condition over and above the absence of unhappiness… A review [of the literature] led us to identify three constituents of happiness: (i) pleasure (or positive emotion); (ii) engagement; and (iii) meaning” (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 418). These studies identifying the three major factors that constitute happiness gave birth to “positive psychology” and helped give a blueprint for what we as humans could do to improve our happiness levels. Happiness researchers frequently use the equation H=S+C+V, or happiness equals our genetic set point plus our circumstances plus what we voluntarily change (Senior 428). Percentage wise, this makeup is further broken down into our genetic set point being 50%, our circumstances at 40% followed by the things we can voluntarily change only making up around 12% (The NY Times). This voluntarily able to change 12% is where we find the constituents of happiness pleasure, engagement, and meaning. These three categories seem to be the three things we can use to boost our happiness. There are many ways we can increase our happiness levels by increasing our pleasure levels, or our levels of positive emotion. It is said thought that we can “increase our positive emotion about the past by cultivating gratitude and forgiveness, our positive emotion about the present by savoring and mindfulness, and our positive emotion about the future by building hope and optimism” (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 418). To further this point, Jennifer Senior in her essay “Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness states that “apparently, we define and remember our experiences by their highs, lows, and how they end.” (Senior 425) A few ways to accomplish boosting our overall pleasure levels are listed in the essay “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy, Then you Probably Aren’t Spending it Right.” One way according to the authors is to buy experiences instead of things, by doing this you are creating lasting positive memories in your mind – a study showed that “57% of respondents reported that they had derived greater happiness from their experiential purchases, while only 34% reported greater happiness from their material purchases.” (Dunn, Gilbert, and Wilson 439). Increasing happiness through engagement, or gratification, appears to be a little bit more difficult. Gratification comes from any even that engages us fully. Seligman claims that “…individuals may find gratification in participating in a great conversation, fixing a bike, reading a good book…or accomplishing a difficult task at work.” (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 419) Senior also states that “doing something that engages or enhances our strengths is a gratification, whether it’s swimming, welding, or listening to a friend in need.” (Senior 428) It is interesting to note that engagement activities aimed at increasing happiness are not always enjoyable in and of themselves. Seligman notes that “consider, for example, the gratification that comes from training for an endurance even such as a marathon. At any given point during the grueling event, a runner may be discouraged or exhausted or even in physical pain; however, they may describe the overall experience as intensely gratifying.” (Seligman, Parks, and Steen 419) From this we see that gratification may help enhance our overall happiness, not through the activity itself, but from the feeling of accomplishment or well-being we experience as the end result. The third route to increasing happiness comes through meaning which is comprised mainly of the four basic values of faith, family, community, and work. (The NY Times) This avenue boosts happiness through a sense of being part of a higher thing that ourselves. “40 percent of married Americans describe themselves as ‘very happy’ compared with just 24 percent of unmarried Americans who said the same… the faithful are less likely to abuse drugs, commit crimes or kill themselves. The act of worshipping builds community – itself another source of happiness – and belief systems provide structure, meaning, and the promise of relief from pain in this life.” (Senior 425) This shows that through strong family, community, and sense of faith, one can help to raise their overall levels of happiness in life. Also addressed in this, the path of happiness through meaning, is the happiness we can gain from our work. Arthur Brooks addresses this in his NY Times article by stating that “rewarding word is unbelievably important, and this is empathetically not about money.” (The NY Times) He also goes on to say that “work can bring happiness by marrying our passions to our skills, empowering us to create value in our lives and in the lives of others.” (The NY Times) This correlates with the ideas of raising our happiness levels through faith, family, and community as it brings us a sense of accomplishment, belonging, and purpose to draw happiness from. It seems that overall as long as we try our best to live fully in every aspect of our life we can increase our happiness levels in many different ways. While these three constituents of happiness aren’t a guarantee, meaning if you work on them no one can promise you greater happiness, it seems that if you apply yourself to being aware of these aspects you can achieve some happiness benefits in your personal life. What I propose is that instead of actively seeking these things out like a checklist, you follow your head and your heart – do what makes you happy; enjoy your family and friends, engage in activities you enjoy, and seek out experiences or things that you personally find great pleasure in. As Mark Twain once said “Sing like no one is listening, love like you’ve never been hurt, dance like nobody is watching, and live like it’s heaven on earth.”

Works Cited
Brooks, Arthur C. “A Formula for Happiness.” The New York Times 14 Dec, 2013: New York Times Online Web. 4 March 2015
Dunn, Elizabeth W., Gilbert, Daniel T., Wilson, Timothy D. “IF Money Doesn’t Make You Happy, Then You Probably Aren’t Spending It Right.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum 12th edition. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 437-447. Print
Seligman, Martin E. P., Parks, Acacia C., Steen, Tracy. “A Balanced Psychology and a Full Life.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum 12th edition. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 417-420. Print
Senior, Jennifer. “Some Dark Thoughts on Happiness.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum 12th edition. Eds. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 422-430. Print