What is your level of happiness now? If you are like many of us, the answer may be a resounding "Happiness" and "having enough." Many of us struggle with defining happiness in our daily lives, however for most of us, there is an ongoing need to find that proverbial middle ground that allows us to be both happy and successful in every endeavor we undertake.
The word happiness itself is used in the broader context of emotional or mental states, which include pleasurable or positive feelings ranging from mild to extreme happiness to eudaimonic bliss. It is also utilized in the broader context of life happiness, subjective satisfaction, eudaemonic bliss, flourishing and overall well being. What is hedonia? Heddan is Latin for joy and it is the basis for the "happiness" definition we hear often in the social sciences, in relation to the pursuit of pleasure. Simply defined, hedonia is a state of joy that results from receiving and enjoying pleasure.
For many psychologists, hedonia is not simply the cause of happiness, but the means of happiness. In fact, in recent years, many psychologists have adopted the "hedonics" theory, which suggests that pleasure is the result of two major drives, namely sociability and self-esteem. According to this theory, happiness arises when one feels that he or she has succeeded in meeting their essential needs (self-esteem) and has been rewarded socially and physically. In contrast, if one does not feel worthy of gainful employment or is not able to achieve comparable levels of success with similar individuals, then no amount of pleasure can effectively equal the loss of either self-esteem or social networking, which then effectively cancels out the otherwise beneficial effects of happiness.
