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...

Money is one example of the former case; an international study consisting of tens of thousands of people reveals that while a country's basic economic standing can affect general happiness levels, after a certain point (an average annual per capita income of approximately $8,000), the affect disappears. On an individual basis, Seligman claims, money has very little to do with happiness when compared to other people in the same nation, and rich people are only slightly happier on average than poor people. An example of the latter phenomenon, it turns out that the experience of negative emotions has only a slight impact on the experience of positive emotions, and some people experience many positive and negative emotions. Though it seems logical that people who experience negative emotions more often would experience positive emotions less often, this truns out not to be the case.
The final component of the happiness equation, the V, stands for the things in an individual's life that are under their voluntary control. This, according to Seligman, is the largest contributing factor to happiness, and includes many different complicated facets. At its most basic level, though, the weight of V in the happiness equation means that happiness is, in a very real way, always within our grasp.