Prompt: Watch a documentary by Roko Belic, Happy, and read a few articles, then write about what I think causes happiness.

The Pursuit of Happiness

As we get older, many of us start reflecting on our sense of purpose and begin to recognize that reaching a state of happiness not only leads to feeling a sense of fulfillment but also benefits ourselves and those around us. We flourish and thrive in happiness and contrarily have difficulty functioning in depression. We start to identify the things that make us feel good, whether it's spending time with family or playing a game with friends, and revisit these things in an attempt to recreate the familiar feelings of satisfaction and joy. Scientific research has also concluded that happiness can lead to longevity by way of making our hearts healthier and our immune systems stronger. (Newman, 2015) Fortunately, thanks to Roko Belic’s documentary Happy, data from the longest study ever conducted on happiness, and various articles that refer to research conducted by psychologists, neuroscientists, and other health professionals, we have discovered that the concept of happiness isn’t quite as abstract as we once thought. There is enough scientific evidence to determine what causes these positive feelings biologically, how much control we truly have over them, and what types of intentional behavior could possibly lead to a more consistent state of happiness. 

To develop the skills and habits to achieve happiness, we can first identify just what causes the positive feelings and how much influence we have over them. As Loretta Breuning, Ph.D wrote in her book Habits of a Happy Brain, “When you feel good, your brain is releasing dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, or endorphin.” (9, 2016) These chemicals are associated with feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, optimism, empathy, trust, relationship-building, and even reduction of pain. As far as how much we can influence our own happiness, we can refer to research conducted by positive psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D. Her research concludes that approximately 50% of our happiness is determined by our genes, 10% by our circumstances and 40% by intentional behavior. (Happy, 00:05:44-00:07:00) Intentional behavior includes conscious choices that can pertain to our state of mind, variety of actions, attitude, and the way we choose to handle situations that we encounter. Now that we have established how much intentional behavior can determine our happiness, we can focus on what to prioritize in order to maximize production of the four feel-good chemicals. 

The first thing to note is that prioritizing intrinsic goals, such as personal growth, building relationships and community, over extrinsic goals, such as praise, image, money and status, can ensure a more consistent state of happiness. (Happy, 27:00) Maslow's hierarchy of needs states that our basic motivations include fulfilling our physiological and safety needs, which includes food, shelter, rest, and a sense of security. These are certainly obtained through focusing some of our time on extrinsic goals. However, once these basic needs are met, by observing the potential for those who are living far simpler lives to achieve happiness, we can see clear evidence that money does not necessarily equate to more happiness. In fact, based on the Hedonic Treadmill, “whatever level of wealth or material goods you have, you adapt to it and you’ll always want more.” (Happy, 23:00) In our capitalist consumer-driven environment, there is almost always a bigger, better, or newer version of what we currently have. Thus, associating extrinsic goals such as the accumulation of excessive wealth with happiness could ultimately lead to a perpetual state of dissatisfaction. 

To further emphasize on the negative effects of focusing too heavily on extrinsic goals at the cost of our intrinsic goals, we can take a comparative look at the overall happiness of residents in two cities in Japan - Tokyo and Okinawa. Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world and recognized as one of the unhappiest. Many residents feel the need to focus so much on their career that they are left with little time to build quality personal relationships and sometimes literally work themselves to death by way of exhaustion. (Happy, 28:00-31:00) Meanwhile, in Okinawa, there is a large concentration of centenarians. We have previously established a link between longevity and happiness, and through observing the lifestyles of the residents of Okinawa, we can identify some clear differences between how they live their lives. A large majority of Okinawans dedicate a lot of their time towards engaging in community activities including farming together, sharing tea, checking up on each other, and even share a communal burial space for the ashes of the deceased. (Happy, 44:30) It seems that a large portion of the residents of Okinawa focus more of their time on intrinsic goals while those in Tokyo, on extrinsic goals. While we all need to allocate some of our time on the few extrinsic goals that may satisfy our basic needs, we also need balance in our lives to make room for meeting our intrinsic goals - personal growth, relationships, and community.

Personal growth is an intrinsic goal that involves incorporating physical activity into our routines, developing skills, taking up hobbies, consuming a healthy balanced diet, and getting enough rest. Taking a holistic approach to overall well-being is healing, as evidenced by observing the life of a man who’s lung cancer mysteriously disappeared after he moved to Ikaria, Greece, and achieved happiness after changing his sleep, diet, physical activity, and social habits. (Buettner, 2012) Physical activity releases dopamine, endorphins, serotonin, and, if we involve other people, can also address our social needs, releasing oxytocin. A healthy diet can help boost serotonin levels. With as much as our minds are constantly racing with thoughts of responsibilities, lap swimming provides me a rare opportunity to practice mindfulness and enter a meditative state as I consciously clear my mind, focusing on the motions and my breaths. This is what psychologists refer to as “flow,” also known as the state of being “in the zone.” (Happy, 14:25) This has been established by psychologists as a factor that encourages more happiness in people that experience it on a regular basis than those who don’t. (Happy, 14:25) When we take better care of ourselves, we do better overall, including more positive interactions with others, leading us to the next focus on our list of three primary intrinsic goals - relationships. 

Maintaining quality relationships is another intrinsic goal that can encourage production of a combination of feel-good chemicals. This is apparent in friendship, family, and romantic relationships. Oxytocin helps to create the bond between a mother and child and plays a large role in childbirth and breastfeeding. Hugging those we care about and physical intimacy can also encourage production of oxytocin. It’s no wonder that we get those warm fuzzy feelings every time we snuggle with our children or spend time bonding with friends and family. We instinctively reach out to loved ones and find comfort in familiar faces during times of crisis. Even the longest study ever conducted on happiness concluded that the happiest of subjects were the ones who were among the most satisfied in their relationships and felt a sense of safety and security with their partner. (Waldinger, 2016) As we build more quality relationships, we can also start to develop our sense of community belonging, which happens to be the last of the three intrinsic goals.

We can obtain happiness through achieving a sense of belonging and purpose through collectivism and, addressing the third and final intrinsic goal, contributing to the betterment of our community. Back home in Indonesia, my relatives used to purposely buy homes next door to each other. With my father being one of eight children, each of whom had an average of six kids, this allowed for a lot of bonding through conversation over meals and allowed us the opportunity to identify when someone in the family might need more support as they encounter challenges. The accumulation of my personal life experiences as well as observation of other tight-knit communities I’ve encountered has shown me that those who collaborate and work together, thrive together. We were reminded once again through our experience with the pandemic over the past year that a collective effort to prevent the spread of a virus like COVID-19 can be  necessary to prevent unnecessary loss of lives within our communities. It would require a collective effort to reduce our impact on the environment and slow down climate change. Whether by recycling, reducing waste, or planting, we can all make a difference with the accumulation of  small actions. Wendell Berry once wrote, “A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world.” Collectivism has also assisted in making citizens of Scandinavian countries among the happiest people in the world as relatively high taxes help pay for many of its citizen’s basic needs, allowing them more time to focus on intrinsic goals. (Altman, 2016) If we all spent a little more time being conscious of how small acts of kindness, generosity, and our everyday choices can contribute to the overall good of our global community, we would all be better off.

Being more compassionate, giving, and kinder individuals can also assist with fulfilling some of the three intrinsic goals such as fostering better relationships and establishing a community feeling. We know that giving makes us feel happy, is good for our health, promotes cooperation and social connection, evokes gratitude, is contagious, and has also been linked to the production of oxytocin. (Marsh & Suttie, 2010) There is a joy we obtain from the simple things like baking an extra batch of cookies or muffins to share with others. A mere two weeks of compassion meditation can trigger activity in the front prefrontal cortex, the region of the brain associated with positive feelings. (Happy, 1:03:00) Compassion meditation helps to focus our attention away from judgment and more towards caring, connecting, understanding, loving kindness, and overall compassion. This is especially helpful after dealing with a spirit crusher. Instead of allowing ourselves to be consumed by negative emotions, we can instead focus on empathy, forgiveness, and self-healing through personal growth, one of the three intrinsic goals. Positive psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, Ph.D, also mentions that acts of kindness are actually the most effective method of boosting overall happiness. (Happy, 1:01:00). 

Ultimately, to achieve happiness, we must first establish clear priorities, allocate our time appropriately, and continue to make conscious choices around our intentional behavior on a regular basis. If we focus more on personal growth, foster quality relationships, and establish a sense of community by being kinder, more generous individuals we may finally ensure a steady supply of the positive feelings we so crave. These conscious everyday choices can ultimately assist us in the pursuit of true happiness. After all, as Aristotle eloquently said, “Happiness is the ultimate end and purpose of human existence.” (Aristotle & Happiness)

Works Cited

Author Unknown. “Aristotle & Happiness” Web Article. (Date Unknown), https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/aristotle/

Altman, Anna. “The Year of Hygge, the Danish Obsession with Getting Cozy” The New Yorker, (December 18, 2016), https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-year-of-hygge-the-danish-obsession-with-getting-cozy

Belic, Roko. Happy. Documentary. Directed by Roko Belic, Wadi Rum Productions. (2012)

Breuning, Loretta, Ph,D., Habits of a Happy Brain. Book. Simon & Schuster. (2016)

Buettner, Dan. “Welcome to the Island Where People Forget to Die”, The Blue Zones, National Geographic, (2012)

Marsh, Jason & Suttie, Jill. “5 Ways Giving Is Good for You,” (December 13, 2010), https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/5_ways_giving_is_good_for_you

Newman, Kira M., “Six Ways Happiness Is Good for Your Health”, Web Article. (2015), https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_ways_happiness_is_good_for_your_health

Santos-Longhurst, Adrienne. “Why Is Oxytocin Known as the ‘Love Hormone’?” Medically reviewed by Virginia Pelley. (2018), https://www.healthline.com/health/love-hormone

Stoewen, Debbie L. “Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life”, (August 2017), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5508938/

Waldinger, Robert. "What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness" YouTube, commentary by Robert Waldinger, (January 25, 2016),