We all know psychologists have come up with a formula for happiness:
Pleasure + Engagement + Meaning = Happiness
Nice and simple, isn’t it? Assuming it’s correct, of course. Personally, I don’t feel it’s quite complete.
I’ve been doing some thinking about the formula for happiness, and I’m convinced that while the above is pretty close, there’s something missing.
Let’s look at the known ingredients first, then I’ll make a stab at what I think the missing one might be.
Pleasure
It’s fairly obvious that pleasure is a factor in happiness. If we experience no pleasure of any kind, we’re unlikely to be happy. That goes without saying.
Engagement
This one surprised me when I first read about it being a factor, but the more I think about it, it does make sense.
If we’re fully engaged in something (i.e. focused on a business or a hobby), we feel happy, contented, and fulfilled. Think of the old saying, ‘Time flies when you’re having fun’. Of course the opposite is also true: when we’re not engaged, we start to feel bored, frustrated, lost, and unhappy.
Meaning
If we have a meaning to our lives, we have a reason to get up in the morning, and a reason to carry on. Meaning can come in many forms: looking after family members, raising children, caring for pets, supporting a cause, or working on a project we believe in.
So what could the missing factor be?
Freedom
Freedom must surely play a big part in determining whether or not we are happy. We may experience pleasure, we may be engaged, we may also have a meaning to our lives, but without freedom to make choices, can we ever be really, truly happy?
I don’t think we can.
I’m not suggesting we need total freedom. That’s not possible for most people unless they’re fabulously wealthy and fabulously selfish. I’m talking about having a degree of freedom – and the threshold is likely to be different for everybody.
One thing’s for sure: beyond a certain level, money doesn’t bring you happiness.
Any opinions or thoughts, please share them in the comments.
