Seligman's Happiness Equation Happiness Often

Seligman's Happiness Equation Happiness often feels like an elusive thing. Often, the things we desire and chase after leave us feeling unsatisfied when we finally reach them. Much of art and literature, as well as vast volumes of religious and philosophical texts, are concerned with the proper way to human happiness.

Self-help books, special diets, and even pharmaceuticals have become billion-dollar industries as people clamor for happiness, and the happiness they believe their neighbors have because the advertising we are inundated with tells us that this or that product will make us happy, and that everyone else already has it. It often seems like there is something or someone promising happiness around every corner, and if even a tenth of the promises were true, we would be living in the happiest age in recorded history.

The promise of a happiness equation, then, might seem to good to be true, and if it is understood as a simple equation that guarantees happiness, then it is too good to be true. Instead, Seligman's happiness equation describes the basic and highly oversimplified factors that contribute to an individual's happiness; it does not affect happiness, but reflects it. The equation appears to be very simple on the surface, but delving deeper into the meanings of the various components of the equation reveals that it is actually far more complicated.

This is the equation that Seligman introduces: H = S + C + V, where H. is the sustained level of happiness of the given individual, S is the set range of an individual's potential happiness, C is the circumstances of the individual's life, and V is the factors that the individual can voluntarily control. Combined, these three elements make up the happiness of a person.

But though happiness seems like a simple and straightforward concept from this equation, a closer examination of each of the component parts of the equation shows the real complexities upon which this simplification is based, and shows that it really is a useful tool in changing an individual's happiness. The H. is fairly self-explanatory, or if not, the meaning and definition of sustained happiness will be made clear by an examination of the other variables listed in the equation.

Let us begin our examination of the happiness equation with the S, then. Seligman contends, after much research and experience, that each individual has their own happiness threshold, which Seligman equates to a thermostat of sorts. There are various factors that contribute to each individual's own happiness, and Seligman contends that at least half of every person's happiness level is genetically inherit. This is the basis for the set range of happiness, and research shows that there is very little that can be done to alter it.

Even huge changes in circumstance and/or lifestyle, such as winning the lottery or getting fired, tend to not have lasting effects on an individual's happiness. This can be seen as both a negative and a positive thing; on the one hand, it means that nothing will ever really raise someone's happiness level significantly over the long-term, which could be seen as a negative thing.

On the other hand, the set range of happiness also means that individuals will also not drop significantly below their happiness level for long periods, which means that people tend to be resilient when circumstances change for the worse. The other major facet of the set range of happiness has to do with what Seligman terms the "hedonistic treadmill," which is the phenomenon that constantly spurs people on to higher and higher levels of gain.

Seligman discovered through his research that we become used to the things and situations we inhabit, so things that we once strived for can become boring once achieved, and we are constantly seeking higher and higher levels of possession and achievement in order to attain the same level of happiness. Though this is a difficult phenomenon to escape, recognizing it and learning to be happy with the things we have can slightly adjust an individual's set range of happiness.

The other variables in the happiness equation are more under an individual's control than the set range. The C. In the equation stands for the circumstances of our life. Seligman lists some common life circumstances that are often associated with happiness, and shows how some are actually of relatively little or no importance, while others are more important than seems likely. Money is one example of the former case; an international study consisting of tens of thousands of people.