characteristics of happy life essay

The Character of a Happy Life Summary & Analysis by Sir Henry Wotton

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
• Poetic Devices
• Vocabulary & References
• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme
• Line-by-Line Explanations

"The Character of a Happy Life" is 17th-century English poet Sir Henry Wotton's bracing advice to men trying to make their way in a corrupt world. The truly happy man, Wotton advises, is he who turns away from the fickle, gossipy, power-hungry world to follow his own conscience. The poem was first printed after Wotton's death in the 1672 collection Reliquiae Wottonianae.

• Read the full text of “The Character of a Happy Life”

The Full Text of “The Character of a Happy Life”

1 How happy is he born and taught

2 That serveth not another's will;

3 Whose armour is his honest thought,

4 And simple truth his utmost skill!

5 Whose passions not his masters are;

6 Whose soul is still prepared for death,

7 Untied unto the world by care

8 Of public fame or private breath;

9 Who envies none that chance doth raise,

10 Nor vice; who never understood

11 How deepest wounds are given by praise;

12 Nor rules of state, but rules of good;

13 Who hath his life from rumours freed;

14 Whose conscience is his strong retreat;

15 Whose state can neither flatterers feed,

16 Nor ruin make oppressors great;

17 Who God doth late and early pray

18 More of His grace than gifts to lend;

19 And entertains the harmless day

20 With a religious book or friend;

21 —This man is freed from servile bands

22 Of hope to rise or fear to fall:

23 Lord of himself, though not of lands,

24 And having nothing, yet hath all.

“The Character of a Happy Life” Summary

“the character of a happy life” themes.

Independence and Virtue

• See where this theme is active in the poem.

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Character of a Happy Life”

How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another's will; Whose armour is his honest thought, And simple truth his utmost skill!

Whose passions not his masters are; Whose soul is still prepared for death, Untied unto the world by care Of public fame or private breath;

Who envies none that chance doth raise, Nor vice; who never understood How deepest wounds are given by praise; Nor rules of state, but rules of good;

Lines 13-16

Who hath his life from rumours freed; Whose conscience is his strong retreat; Whose state can neither flatterers feed, Nor ruin make oppressors great;

Lines 17-20

Who God doth late and early pray More of His grace than gifts to lend; And entertains the harmless day With a religious book or friend;

Lines 21-24

—This man is freed from servile bands Of hope to rise or fear to fall: Lord of himself, though not of lands, And having nothing, yet hath all.

“The Character of a Happy Life” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• See where this poetic device appears in the poem.

Alliteration

Juxtaposition, “the character of a happy life” vocabulary.

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Private breath
• None that chance doth raise
• Rules of state
• See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Character of a Happy Life”

Rhyme scheme, “the character of a happy life” speaker, “the character of a happy life” setting, literary and historical context of “the character of a happy life”, more “the character of a happy life” resources, external resources.

A Brief Biography — Learn more about Wotton's life and work.

The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.

Reliquiae Wottonianae — Take a look at Reliquiæ Wottonianæ, the posthumous book in which this poem was first published.

A Portrait of Wotton — Admire a friendly-looking portrait of Wotton from the National Portrait Gallery in London. Wotton is the very picture of a respectable 17th-century gentleman here.

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The Character of a Happy Life

By Sir Henry Wotton

‘The Character of a Happy Life’ delves into the essence of true contentment, advocating for integrity and spiritual focus.

Sir Henry Wotton

His poems include ‘O his Mistris, the Queen of Bohemia.'

Poem Analyzed by Emma Baldwin

B.A. English (Minor: Creative Writing), B.F.A. Fine Art, B.A. Art Histories

‘The Character of a Happy Life’ is a simple, straightforward poem in which Sir Henry Wotton sets out the principles of a good life and what a man should avoid at all costs. The poem addresses themes of happiness, joy, simplicity, and religion.

Explore The Character of a Happy Life

• 2 Structure
• 3 Poetic Techniques
• 4 Analysis of The Character of a Happy Life

‘The Character of a Happy Life’ by Sir Henry Wotton speaks on the minimal necessities of a happy life and how one may draw closer to God.

The poem takes the reader through the different attributes of a good and beneficial life. The speaker also addresses the things that one should avoid if they’re seeking to maintain happiness beyond the immediate. Some of the things to avoid include servitude, passion, and flatterers. In the end, it is only God and one’s own self that is needed to live purely and blissfully.  

‘The Character of a Happy Life’ by Sir Henry Wotton is a six-stanza poem that is divided into sets of four lines, known as quatrains . These quatrains follow a simple rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD, and so on, changing end sounds as the poet saw fit. Wotton also makes use of half-rhyme . Also known as slant or partial rhyme , half-rhyme is seen through the repetition of assonance or consonance . This means that either a vowel or consonant sound is reused within one line or multiple lines of verse . For example, “happy” and “he” in line one and “early” and “feed” and “freed” in stanzas three and four.  

The poem is written in iambic tetrameter . This rhythm gives the poem a lively and steady momentum, suitable for delivering advice. There is a notable variation in line 23, where the line begins with a trochee ( DUM -da) for emphasis, though:

Lord of | him self , | though not | of lands ,

The rhyme scheme is ABAB, creating a straightforward and memorable pattern. This simple rhyme scheme complements the poem’s clear and sensible advice, making it easy to recall and internalize.

Poetic Techniques

Wotton utilizes several poetic techniques in ‘The Character of a Happy Life’. These include alliteration , repetition and anaphora . The first, alliteration, occurs when words are used in succession, or at least appear close together, and begin with the same letter. For example, “flatterers feed” in the third line of the fourth stanza and “fear” and “fall” in line two of the sixth stanza.  

Wotton also makes use of repetition or the use and reuse of a specific technique, word, tone or phrase within a poem. In this particular piece, words such as “rules” are repeated . Additionally, there is anaphora. This is another kind of repetition. This time of a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines, usually in succession. For example, “Whose” in stanza two and stanza four.  

Analysis of The Character of a Happy Life

Stanza one  .

How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armour is his honest thought, And simple truth his utmost skill!

In the first stanza of ‘The Character of a Happy Life,’ the speaker begins with a simple statement. The old-fashioned, poetic diction confuses the line slightly, but overall it is clear. He states that “he” who is born and learns immediately not to serve another human being is very happy. The theme of servitude reoccurs within the poem a number of times.  

If “he” is going to be happy, he must have an “armour” of “honest thought”. His mind must be pure and the man must have a willingness to pursue truth at all costs. It is this basic, simple truth that is at the root of this generalized man’s life.  

Stanza Two  

Whose passions not his masters are; Whose soul is still prepared for death, Untied unto the world by care Of public fame or private breath;

Continuing on into the second stanza of ‘The Character of a Happy Life’ , Wotton rearranges the syntax of the next lines in order to more poetically describes how “he” should regard his passions. They shouldn’t be his masters. Then, the speaker tells the listener that one needs to remove oneself from the world of “public fame” if one wants to really be prepared for death.  

Stanza Three

Who envies none that chance doth raise, Nor vice; who never understood How deepest wounds are given by praise; Nor rules of state, but rules of good;

A good and happy man will not envy those who by luck have had their statue raised. Nor will they indulge in vice. He believes that “rules” of good rather than rules of state should control one’s life. There is also a warning in these lines against praise and how it can corrupt one’s good intentions.  

Stanza Four  

Who hath his life from rumours freed; Whose conscience is his strong retreat; Whose state can neither flatterers feed, Nor ruin make oppressors great;

Similar principles are reiterated in the next lines of ‘The Character of a Happy Life’ . The speaker says that a  happy man will free himself from rumors and turn to his conscience when in doubt. The same man’s ego will not be corrupted by flatterers who come with praise. He also shouldn’t, and won’t, give in to oppressors who seek to “ruin” his soul.  

Stanzas Five  

Who God doth late and early pray More of His grace than gifts to lend; And entertains the harmless day With a religious book or friend;

It does not take great skill or talent, the speaker adds in these lines of ‘The Character of a Happy Life,’ to live a happy life. It is only God’s grace that one needs, not his gifts, that will bring pleasure. A truly happy man can entertain himself with a friend or a “religious book”.  

Stanza Six  

—This man is freed from servile bands Of hope to rise or fear to fall: Lord of himself, though not of lands, And having nothing, yet hath all.

In the last stanza of ‘The Character of a Happy Life,’ the speaker returns to the themes of servitude and freedom. Because this man is free he does not have to worry about the disappearance or reemergence of fear or hope. These things do not bother him. All he needs is God and his own life to make him happy. He is “Lord of himself” and in control of all that he feels. The man has nothing, “yet hath all,” or everything.  

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Thanks a lot for make me understand the poem’s soul. This is such a great idea to know how we should live.

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you’re welcome.

This is really nice thank you Emma Baldwin this helps me a lot with my homework

Glad to be of help!

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Baldwin, Emma. "The Character of a Happy Life by Sir Henry Wotton". Poem Analysis , https://poemanalysis.com/sir-henry-wotton/the-character-of-a-happy-life/ . Accessed 4 July 2024.

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The Character of a Happy Life

Follow Henry Wotton’s step-by-step guide to peace and contentment.

“Diplomat and author, who was Britain’s ambassador to Venice for nearly twenty years.” The National Portrait Gallery

If you’re somebody who likes to read the Agony Aunt section of a monthly magazine or books about finding happiness , then today’s poem is definitely for you. The Character of A Happy Life reads like the 17th century equivalent of a self-help guide, written by eminent diplomat and traveller Henry Wotton. In this ambitious poem, Henry sets out to distill the secrets of happiness and writes about how one can attain this elusive state of being. His advice is varied and plentiful and over six verses he probably lists a couple of dozen dos-and-don’ts for you to unpick; however, despite the sheer number of suggestions he has for us, there are some core themes that he returns to time and again. It’s very important to Henry that a person should be able to control their own thoughts and actions, and not blindly follow in the footsteps of others. He also warns against the false trappings of material success and the temptation of, shall we say, questionable habits (which he terms vice ) as a substitute for true happiness. At times, the poem is quite didactic in tone ( didactic means that the writer deliberately sets out to teach readers a lesson or impart a moral) which was not unusual for pieces written in this period of English writing. So, without further ado, let’s discover secrets to finding happiness for ourselves- explained later in six easy steps:

# 1: Pay Attention at School, Kids.

Henry’s poem begins with a simple statement of intent: How happy is he… You can think of this as the poet’s central thesis (or theme ) that the rest of his poem will go on to elaborate upon. He sets out his stall with strength and determination, using a particular type of alliteration called aspirant . Made with the letter H, aspirant is a good way of expressing emotion (think about the way you might expel a big breath) and conveys both Henry’s assertiveness and sets a ‘happy’ and upbeat tone for the verses that follow. Throughout the poem, Henry will employ a type of repetition called anaphora (which is repetition of words and phrases at the beginning of lines of poetry). Take a moment to count the number of lines beginning with the word whose (or who ). The effect of anaphora is to give Henry’s poem that assertive tone, as if he is a wise and experienced teacher delivering a moral lesson to you, dear reader.

Some writers advise you to begin with your strongest argument, and it’s up to you to decide whether that means Henry’s first piece of advice is his most important. Crucial to a person’s happiness is the ability to think for oneself. He uses the word taught to suggest this process is a lifelong lesson that one should begin almost as soon as one is born. He warns: serveth not another’s will, implying that people who have independence of thought and control over their own decision-making tend to be happier people. While this might seem self-evident to you and I, and is one of the core purposes of modern education, remember that Henry was writing in the late 1500s and early 1600s. While not wanting to generalise, it’s true that many ordinary people in Henry’s day would not necessarily have had the luxury of independent thought. Literacy in England at the time of Henry’s death (in 1639) hovered around 30 percent – for men (women’s literacy struggled to break one in ten until the 18 th century) – and most people had finished school by the time they were seven or eight years old. In this context, Henry’s idea that one must be born and taught is not something that we should take for granted!

However, let’s not kid ourselves, Henry’s audience was most likely to be gentlemanly (remember he was a diplomat and a man of letters) so anyone with access to poetry like this was surely educated. You may already have noticed the way his hypothetical listener is a ‘he’, which we should try not to hold against him too much. Henry exhorts those lucky enough to possess an educated mind to put critical thinking skills to use as a form of protection against dishonesty and deception. His metaphorical comparison of clear thinking to a suit of armour sets the pattern for Henry’s use of figurative language throughout the poem. In this example, the idea of being armoured in honest thought suggests that a person who thinks for themselves will be protected against ‘weapons’ of dishonesty, flattery and deceit, as one wearing plate mail would be protected from sword blows. Similarly, when he suggests that truth can be wielded as a skill , he is speaking figuratively . What’s interesting about these metaphors is they convey the idea that concepts such as honesty and truth can be learned; in Henry’s view, these are not inherent character traits. Nobody is born wearing armour; armour is forged and acquired, shaped and worn. In this way Henry suggests that happiness and contentment, insofar as it relies on honesty and truth , can be acquired through patience, skill and learning. In modern parlance, we might say that Henry has a growth mindset.

# 2: Keep Calm and Stay Balanced

Henry reiterates the idea of independence at the beginning of this stanza, writing whose passions not his masters are . Reiteration is a form of repetition by which the same idea is expressed in a different way, and you might like to compare the first line of stanza two with the line serveth not another’s will . What’s different here is that Henry cautions you against being ruled by your own emotions ( passions ), by which he surely means powerful negative emotions such as anger or fear. Henry appears to be a logical man who likes to keep an even temper, an idea that he’ll return to in the fifth stanza when he mentions the value of grace . Another thematic seed that is starting to bear fruit is that of ‘freedom and servitude’, revealed through a lexical field of words such as serveth, master, untied, rules, freed (twice), oppressors, servile bonds and Lord . So, throughout the poem, Henry keeps linking the concept of happiness to that of different ‘freedoms’: freedom of thought, freedom from anger, from oppression, and from the illusory temptations of the material world.

The second verse also introduces a stylistic feature of Henry’s poem, which is the use of contrasting words – often binary oppositions – to suggest that happiness lies not in the extremes of life, but by finding a way to walk the middle path. In this stanza, Henry presents public fame and private breath as binary opposites which prevent one from finding one’s own, unique path through the world . In the case of public fame Henry warns us that seeking adulation and adoration from others will lead one to care too much about what people might think of you; in our social-media-dominated world, where grubbing for ‘likes’ on Instabooks and Facetoks creates constant anxiety. this advice seems particularly apt. Henry’s solution, though, is not to retreat into the opposite world of private breaths , a phrase which implies insularity can be as damaging and distracting as the criticism of others. Later, he’ll mention rumour as a force that might undermine happiness, which collocates neatly with the dangers of both public fame and private breaths. A consistent theme of Henry’s advice is that plotting a route through the middle, finding a course that avoids the pitfalls of either extreme, is the path that most likely leads to happiness. After all, anything we achieve in this world is transitory and will eventually fade or crumble into dust, a fact that Henry reminds us of in the second line of verse two. Paradoxically, to be truly happy we must accept our mortal limitations and ensure we are mentally prepared for death .

# 3: Beware of a Whole Load of Things.

As the poem develops, you may feel it starts to sound a little list-like, and no verse is more guilty of this than the third. Henry begins by warning you not to feel jealous of others, particularly those who happen to have succeeded in life ( chance doth raise ) where maybe you haven’t yet. He pointedly cautions you against vice , which can mean any of a whole host of nebulous immoralities, and is a word that he isolates almost by itself at the start of line two. His warnings echo his previous implication, that happiness balances on stable foundations, so one should avoid extremes of behaviour, whether wallowing in jealousy, cursing your own misfortune, or falling into sin. If you’re finding all this advice hard to follow, read carefully to punctuation and you’ll notice Henry pauses here, using a technique called caesura , which is a deliberate break in the middle of a line of poetry. He uses a semi-colon to create this pause, before continuing with his next piece of advice; in fact, he often relies on the semi-colon to help him separate out the various pieces of advice he wants to give, and even ends some verses using a semi-colon instead of a full-stop. Although you may feel this makes the poem read a little bit like a checklist, it also grammatically links different pieces of advice together. Perhaps he’s implying that each piece of advice is like one piece of a puzzle – only when you put everything together will you be able to see the complete picture.

This next piece of the puzzle, who never understood how deepest wounds are given by praise, seems odd, because it sounds as if Henry is saying that praise , or compliments, can actually cause unhappiness. But remember, his central theme is that being able to think for oneself protects against the illusory temptations of the world. The idea of praising someone insincerely, or being tricked by flattery, or not realising when luck plays a huge part in one’s success, are all ways of being deceived. Or maybe Henry was just ahead of his time, and understood that overpraising someone can be detrimental in the long run! Whatever you decide, don’t neglect the way that deepest wounds extends the metaphor he began back in stanza one with the idea that freedom of thought is a protective suit of armour one needs to protect oneself. According to Henry’s worldview, remember, happiness does not come naturally and is not given for free: it must be fought for and defended, which explains so many references to battle.

# 4: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You

We haven’t discussed morality much so far, but Henry has already alluded to the importance of having a strong moral compass. He’s especially keen for you to avoid sin and vice and, at the end of the third stanza, claims that a happy man doesn’t need laws and decrees to guide him through life ( rules of state ) – he obeys the rules of good because it’s the right thing to do. He develops this theme further in stanza four, which brings the word conscience into play for the first time in the line, whose conscience is his strong retreat . Once again, he extends the metaphor of battle through the phrase strong retreat – in this phrase, retreat is actually a noun referring to a defensible position, such as a castle or fortress. Yep, it’s that protective metaphor again. Basically, Henry says that, if in doubt, armour yourself in your conscience, that inner voice that tells you right from wrong, and you’ll be happy whatever the world throws at you.

We’ve already noted how reiteration is a major component of Henry’s advice-guide, and those pesky flatterers make their reappearance in stanza four: whose state can neither flatterers feed, nor ruin make oppressors great . This time, Henry employs a particular type of alliteration called fricative . Made with the letter F and TH ( nei th er f latterers f eed ), here fricatives replicate the whispery, sly tones of those who would gull you for their own benefit and seek to tempt you from that middle path. He ends this verse with a warning not to mistake brute force for true strength; the ability to smash things doesn’t make an oppressor great , and those who seek their own happiness should be careful not to trample and tread on the dreams of others as they do so.

# 5: Read the Bible

This one’s pretty simple: as a devoutly religious man in a religious society, it’s no surprise that Wotton might exhort his readers to regular prayer. He wants you to pray twice a day ( early and late ) and reiterates his warning that happiness does not lie in earthly achievements or the allure of materiality that he first brought up in verse two ( untied unto the world ). He champions humility and modesty by reminding us not to expect handouts – God does not directly intercede in our lives and we should not overly covet his attention. Rather, ask for His grace , not gifts to lend . It’s becoming more and more obvious that Henry defines happiness as an abstract ideal (such as grace ) rather than in the concrete realm of materiality and earthly interests ( gifts is a concrete word ). Interestingly, Henry’s tone of voice strengthens in these lines through alliteration using the letter G: guttural . Sometimes this can be a hard, unpleasant sound, but I rather think here it suggests strength; not the brutal brawn of those ruinous oppressors , but the kind of strength a resilient person might display in the keeping up of regular prayer, or the quiet fortitude one might get from following his or her religious faith.

Quietness and comfort are the ideas that spring to mind at the end of stanza five, particularly when he mentions how a happy man is content to entertain the harmless day by simply reading or chatting. Despite his previous use of battle metaphors, Henry comes across as a peaceful man (after all, armour and retreats are both defensive measures and harmless is, well… harmless, suggesting a pacifist ideal of life) and the tone of his poem, which has sounded somewhat like a cross between a lesson and a warning, softens as he contemplates whiling away a day in by reading. Is there a faint whiff of personification in the way he mentions religious books or friends , as if one is as good as the other if the purpose is peaceful contemplation or conversation? Whether you agree or not, this religious book is a concrete symbol representing abstract concepts such as companionship, religious devotion and lifelong learning that Henry equates to a happy life .

# 6: Find Your Inner Peace

Anyone who’s watched Kung-fu Panda will already know the secret to success , but almost 400 years ago Henry Wotton got there first. And anyone who’s read Rudyard Kipling’s If – will recognise that moment in a poem that signals the end is coming. There’s a subtle departure from the anaphora ( Whose… whose…) that’s been a feature of the poem so far, to This… which tells us that he’s about to wrap up today’s lesson just in time for the bell. You’ve probably already realised the poem is written in regular iambic tetrameter , an extremely common and popular rhythmical arrangement (Stephen Fry, in his book The Ode Less Travelled, describes iambic tetrameter as the bread and butter of English poetry) by which each foot of two syllables is organised into an unstressed-stressed combination (called an iamb ) and repeated four times in each line ( tetrameter ). Also, Henry writes in stanzaic form , whereby each verse is four lines long; a stanza of four lines is called a quatrain and, again, this is a frequent choice made by writers in Henry’s time and beyond. And he also employs a simple ABAB rhyme scheme in every verse. Taken together, and because they are deployed with such aplomb, these formal writing choices give his poem a reassuring and trustworthy feeling, as if you’re listening to a wise teacher whose experience you can rely on and advice you should follow.

So, just like a good teacher at the end of a lesson, Henry quickly summarises his main arguments and reiterates some of the ideas that he’s previously brought up. Firstly, he repeats his assertion that a happy man is freed from servile bonds – he wants you to think for yourself and not head in the direction that others set out for you. Servile means to have an excessive need to please others, but this word also has connotations of slavery, especially when used in combination with the word bonds . Although the shackles Henry means are mental rather than physical, he clearly believes that the inability to think for oneself is the equivalent of a life lived only for the benefit of others.

Secondly he reiterates the importance of finding balance in your life presenting a series of extreme juxtapositions , all of which he hopes you will avoid: hopes to rise warns against the dangers of excessive ambition whereas the fear to fall might paralyse one completely in life; Lord of himself, though not of lands repeats his warning against the temptations of material or earthly goods as a route to happiness – the 17 th century equivalent of advising you against taking a quick-fix shopping trip to make you feel better about yourself. In both these lines Henry uses simple alliteration ( f ear to f all, l ord… l ands ) to emphasise his points and make them memorable (actually, Henry’s poetry was not published until after his death; it’s probable that The Character of a Happy Life was intended to be heard, not read, and alliteration is a pleasing way of catching a listener’s ear. Maybe this ‘musicality’ in the poem explains why it was later made into a hymn for singing in church too).

His final line – And having nothing, yet have all – is stated in the form of a paradox , where one half of the line seemingly contradicts the other. But, by now, readers should be attuned to the idea of finding the middle ground as a surer road to happiness. Therefore, the last line neatly encapsulates some of the big ideas we’ve been mulling over up till now. Throughout the poem, happiness has been abstract , unattached to material possessions or worldly achievements. According to Henry, it’s more of a state of mind, a way of thinking independently and, above all, clearly; achieved through taking ownership of one’s own life and decisions, and not letting yourself be ruled by your emotions. Happiness is not impossible to achieve, but one may have to work at it a little. There will be temptations and seductions along the way, and the world is full of people who will beckon you down the wrong path, seeking to trick or deceive you. But, with a little faith in yourself (and in God, of course) it’s possible to find that delicate balance and walk the middle path – the one that leads to a happy life .

Suggested poems for comparison:

• In Praise of Angling by Henry Wotton

Something he didn’t mention in The Character of a Happy Life was one of Henry’s favourite pastimes – fishing. In this wonderful poem he extols the highs and lows of what he calls the ‘worldling’s sport’.

• If – by Rudyard Kipling

Arguably the most famous of all didactic poems, Kipling gives his son some good advice on how to be a proper man.

• That All, Everyone, Each in Being by Mai Der Vang

The daughter of Hmong refugees, Mai Der Vang lives in California and won the 2016 Walt Whitman prize for her poetry. Find out what she has to say about fulfilment in this beautiful and mysterious poem.

• The World is a Beautiful Place  by Laurence Ferlinghetti

For a little bit of perspective on the topic of happiness, try this poem by American master Laurence Ferlinghetti. Be warned – the title is deeply ironic.

• Happiness by Karlis Verdins

Finally, in this lovely poem from Latvia, you’ll find happiness can be as simple as eating a boiled egg with a tiny spoon…

Additional Resources

If you are teaching or studying  The Character of a Happy Life  at school or college, or if you simply enjoyed this analysis of the poem and would like to discover more, you might like to purchase our bespoke study bundle for this poem. It normally costs £2 – but you can download it for free if you look now: 

• Study Questions with guidance on how to answer in full, analytical paragraphs. 
• A sample Point, Evidence, Explanation paragraph for essay writing. 
• An interactive and editable powerpoint, giving line-by-line analysis of all the poetic and technical features of the poem. 
• An in-depth worksheet with a focus on explaining stanzaic form as used in this poem and many others.
• A fun crossword quiz, perfect for a starter activity, revision or a recap.
• A four-page activity booklet that can be printed and folded into a handout – ideal for self study or revision.
• 4 practice Essay Questions – and one complete model Essay Plan.

And… discuss! 

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I live a happy life. I think of you sometimes. My maiden name was Stenner. Festive wishes to you. I hope you are loved, and well.

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The Character of a Happy Life  | Summary And Analysis

Summary of the character of a happy life by henry wotton.

Composed by the English author, diplomat and politician, Sir Henry Wotton, “The Character of a Happy Life” was published as a part of the collection ‘Reliquiae Wottonianae’ (1651) and is one of his most famous works. The poem lists the attributes possessed by one who is truly happy and showcases the path to a good and content life.

The Character of a Happy Life  | Summary, Stanza 1

How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; Whose armour is his honest thought, And simple truth his utmost skill!

In the first stanza, the poet says that a happy man is one who displays independence in his thoughts and actions. This quality of being self- reliant, and not being subordinate to others’ disposition and desires, is something that one might either be born with, or might learn later on in his life. Such a man exercises the freedom to have his own perception and unique take on the world and is not governed by the ideals of others. He makes his own decisions, his own choices and is not under the control of any external force. This fills him with a sense of contentment and joy.

The Character of a Happy Life  | Summary, Stanza 2

Whose passions not his masters are; Whose soul is still prepared for death, Untied unto the world by care Of public fame or private breath;

The second stanza further elaborates on the qualities possessed by happy men and the poet says that those who are not governed by their passions, who lead a balanced life, are the ones who find their lives to be full of bliss. Unmoved by the force of their passions and emotions, they remain unfazed in all the ups and downs of life. They are not consumed by the feelings of love, hatred, jealousy or despair. Instead, they rise above these worldly emotions to lead a simple, straightforward life which is free from any sort of turmoil. Having been so evolved, they stand fearless in the face of death as they have accepted it with all their heart. Instead of being afraid of dying, they embrace its truth and are prepared to face it whenever it comes. Their detachment from strong emotions and sentimentalities, makes them level-headed and composed which brings them tranquility and elation.

The Character of a Happy Life | Summary, Stanza 3

Who envies none that chance doth raise, Nor vice; who never understood How deepest wounds are given by praise; Nor rules of state, but rules of good;

In the third stanza, the poet says that the truly content men harbour no jealousy or ill-will against those who have achieved more than them in life. He does not envy those who, being destiny’s favourite, rise above them in stature. He is immune to flattery and false praise, and pays no heed to those who try to bring him down by backstabbing him. A happy man aims not to be the king of states through fear and force, but rather he desires to rule over people’s hearts, wooing them with his goodness and kind spirit.

The Character of a Happy Life | Summary, Stanza 4

Who hath his life from rumours freed; Whose conscience is his strong retreat; Whose state can neither flatterers feed, Nor ruin make oppressors great;

Only the one who moves ahead without giving any attention to the rumours circulated behind his back attains the joy of accomplishment. People may keep saying a lot of things behind his back, many of them being blatant lies, but this does not deter such a man. He possesses a clear conscience which gives him the courage to ignore the unkind words spoken about them. Their inner strength and belief in their righteousness brings their heart to peace. The state of tranquillity so attained cannot be shaken by the adulations of others nor can it be ruined by oppression and misery inflicted upon them by those who wish them harm.

The Character of a Happy Life | Summary, Stanza 5

Who God doth late and early pray More of His grace than gifts to lend; And entertains the harmless day With a religious book or friend;

The Character of a Happy Life | Summary, Stanza 6

—This man is freed from servile bands Of hope to rise or fear to fall: Lord of himself, though not of lands, And having nothing, yet hath all.  

In the final stanza, the poet sums up the characteristics of happy people and states that their most important quality is that they are not confined by the desire to rise high or trapped in the fear of failing. Their ambitions do not control them and their failures do not intimidate them. Even though they may not be as powerful as kings and landlords who have immense wealth and power under their control, they are the sole masters of their soul. They are not controlled by anyone and this quality of being able to exercise their free will on themselves is what makes them happy. They might not possess any material possessions, but owning their independent will, they are the wealthiest of all men. They are their own masters and thus, free from all desires and fears, they possess everything despite having nothing.

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What Does Happiness Really Mean?

It's not the same for everyone

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

Verywell/ Jiaqi Zhou

How to Cultivate Happiness

How to be a happier person.

Happiness is something that people seek to find, yet what defines happiness can vary from one person to the next. Typically, happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. While happiness has many different definitions, it is often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction. 

When most people talk about the true meaning of happiness, they might be talking about how they feel in the present moment or referring to a more general sense of how they feel about life overall.

Because happiness tends to be such a broadly defined term, psychologists and other social scientists typically use the term ' subjective well-being ' when they talk about this emotional state. Just as it sounds, subjective well-being tends to focus on an individual's overall personal feelings about their life in the present.  

Two key components of happiness (or subjective well-being) are:

• The balance of emotions: Everyone experiences both positive and negative emotions, feelings, and moods. Happiness is generally linked to experiencing more positive feelings than negative ones.
• Life satisfaction: This relates to how satisfied you feel with different areas of your life including your relationships, work, achievements, and other things that you consider important.

Another definition of happiness comes from the ancient philosopher Aristotle, who suggested that happiness is the one human desire, and all other human desires exist as a way to obtain happiness. He believed that there were four levels of happiness: happiness from immediate gratification, from comparison and achievement, from making positive contributions, and from achieving fulfillment. 

Happiness, Aristotle suggested, could be achieved through the golden mean, which involves finding a balance between deficiency and excess.

Signs of Happiness

While perceptions of happiness may be different from one person to the next, there are some key signs that psychologists look for when measuring and assessing happiness.

Some key signs of happiness include:

• Feeling like you are living the life you wanted
• Going with the flow and a willingness to take life as it comes
• Feeling that the conditions of your life are good
• Enjoying positive, healthy relationships with other people
• Feeling that you have accomplished (or will accomplish) what you want in life
• Feeling satisfied with your life
• Feeling positive more than negative
• Being open to new ideas and experiences
• Practicing self-care and treating yourself with kindness and compassion
• Experiencing gratitude
• Feeling that you are living life with a sense of meaning and purpose
• Wanting to share your happiness and joy with others

One important thing to remember is that happiness isn't a state of constant euphoria . Instead, happiness is an overall sense of experiencing more positive emotions than negative ones.

Happy people still feel the whole range of human emotions—anger, frustrastion, boredom, loneliness, and even sadness—from time to time. But even when faced with discomfort, they have an underlying sense of optimism that things will get better, that they can deal with what is happening, and that they will be able to feel happy again.

"Even people who have experienced terrible trauma can still also experience happiness," says Hannah Owens, LMSW , "though it is important to recognize that it might be more difficult for them to obtain the balance generally associated with overall happiness, and that their happiness might look very different from others' who have not had to deal with such challenges."

Types of Happiness

There are many different ways of thinking about happiness. For example, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle made a distinction between two different kinds of happiness: hedonia and eudaimonia.

• Hedonia: Hedonic happiness is derived from pleasure. It is most often associated with doing what feels good, self-care, fulfilling desires, experiencing enjoyment, and feeling a sense of satisfaction.
• Eudaimonia: This type of happiness is derived from seeking virtue and meaning. Important components of eudaimonic well-being including feeling that your life has meaning, value, and purpose. It is associated more with fulfilling responsibilities, investing in long-term goals, concern for the welfare of other people, and living up to personal ideals.

Hedonia and eudemonia are more commonly known today in psychology as pleasure and meaning, respectively. More recently, psychologists have suggested the addition of the third component that relates to engagement . These are feelings of commitment and participation in different areas of life.

Research suggests that happy people tend to rank pretty high on eudaimonic life satisfaction and better than average on their hedonic life satisfaction.  

All of these can play an important role in the overall experience of happiness, although the relative value of each can be highly subjective. Some activities may be both pleasurable and meaningful, while others might skew more one way or the other.

For example, volunteering for a cause you believe in might be more meaningful than pleasurable. Watching your favorite tv show, on the other hand, might rank lower in meaning and higher on pleasure.

Some types of happiness that may fall under these three main categories include:

• Joy: A often relatively brief feeling that is felt in the present moment
• Excitement: A happy feeling that involves looking forward to something with positive anticipation
• Gratitude: A positive emotion that involves being thankful and appreciative
• Pride: A feeling of satisfaction in something that you have accomplished
• Optimism: This is a way of looking at life with a positive, upbeat outlook
• Contentment: This type of happiness involves a sense of satisfaction

While some people just tend to be naturally happier, there are things that you can do to cultivate your sense of happiness. 

Pursue Intrinsic Goals 

Achieving goals that you are intrinsically motivated to pursue, particularly ones that are focused on personal growth and community, can help boost happiness. Research suggests that pursuing these types of intrinsically-motivated goals can increase happiness more than pursuing extrinsic goals like gaining money or status.  

Enjoy the Moment

Studies have found that people tend to over earn—they become so focused on accumulating things that they lose track of actually enjoying what they are doing.  

So, rather than falling into the trap of mindlessly accumulating to the detriment of your own happiness, focus on practicing gratitude for the things you have and enjoying the process as you go. 

Reframe Negative Thoughts

When you find yourself stuck in a pessimistic outlook or experiencing negativity, look for ways that you can reframe your thoughts in a more positive way. 

People have a natural negativity bias , or a tendency to pay more attention to bad things than to good things. This can have an impact on everything from how you make decisions to how you form impressions of other people. Discounting the positive—a cognitive distortion where people focus on the negative and ignore the positive—can also contribute to negative thoughts.

Reframing these negative perceptions isn't about ignoring the bad. Instead, it means trying to take a more balanced, realistic look at events. It allows you to notice patterns in your thinking and then challenge negative thoughts.

Avoid Social Comparison

Another way to cultivate happiness and to make sure that you are able to maintain your happiness, Owens says, is to stop comparing yourself to others.

"No two lives are alike, and focusing on what others have is a sure-fire way to feel envy and regret. Focus on the good things in your own life, and you'll be more likely to find contentment in them," she says.

Impact of Happiness

Why is happiness so important? Happiness has been shown to predict positive outcomes in many different areas of life including mental well-being, physical health, and overall longevity.

• Positive emotions increase satisfaction with life.
• Happiness helps people build stronger coping skills and emotional resources.
• Positive emotions are linked to better health and longevity. One study found that people who experienced more positive emotions than negative ones were more likely to have survived over a 13 year period.
• Positive feelings increase resilience. Resilience helps people better manage stress and bounce back better when faced with setbacks. For example, one study found that happier people tend to have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and that these benefits tend to persist over time.
• People who report having a positive state of well-being are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors such as eating fruits and vegetables and engaging in regular physical exercise.
• Being happy may make help you get sick less often. Happier mental states are linked to increased immunity.

Some people seem to have a naturally higher baseline for happiness—one large-scale study of more than 2,000 twins suggested that around 50% of overall life satisfaction was due to genetics, 10% to external events, and 40% to individual activities.

So while you might not be able to control what your “base level” of happiness is, there are things that you can do to make your life happier and more fulfilling. Even the happiest of individuals can feel down from time to time and happiness is something that all people need to consciously pursue.

Cultivate Strong Relationships

Social support is an essential part of well-being. Research has found that good social relationships are the strongest predictor of happiness. Having positive and supportive connections with people you care about can provide a buffer against stress, improve your health, and help you become a happier person.

In the Harvard Study of Adult Development, a longitudinal study that looked at participants over 80 years, researchers found that relationships and how happy people are in those relationships strongly impacted overall health.

So if you are trying to improve your happiness, cultivating solid social connections is a great place to start. Consider deepening your existing relationships and explore ways to make new friends. 

Get Regular Exercise

Exercise is good for both your body and mind. Physical activity is linked to a range of physical and psychological benefits including improved mood. Numerous studies have shown that regular exercise may play a role in warding off symptoms of depression, but evidence also suggests that it may also help make people happier, too.

In one analysis of past research on the connection between physical activity and happiness, researchers found a consistent positive link.  

Even a little bit of exercise produces a happiness boost—people who were physically active for as little as 10 minutes a day or who worked out only once a week had higher levels of happiness than people who never exercised.

Show Gratitude

In one study, participants were asked to engage in a writing exercise for 10 to 20 minutes each night before bed.   Some were instructed to write about daily hassles, some about neutral events, and some about things they were grateful for. The results found that people who had written about gratitude had increase positive emotions, increased subjective happiness, and improve life satisfaction.

As the authors of the study suggest, keeping a gratitude list is a relatively easy, affordable, simple, and pleasant way to boost your mood. Try setting aside a few minutes each night to write down or think about things in your life that you are grateful for.

Find a Sense of Purpose

Research has found that people who feel like they have a purpose have better well-being and feel more fulfilled.   A sense of purpose involves seeing your life as having goals, direction, and meaning. It may help improve happiness by promoting healthier behaviors. 

Some things you can do to help find a sense of purpose include:

• Explore your interests and passions
• Engage in prosocial and altruistic causes
• Work to address injustices
• Look for new things you might want to learn more about

This sense of purpose is influenced by a variety of factors, but it is also something that you can cultivate. It involves finding a goal that you care deeply about that will lead you to engage in productive, positive actions in order to work toward that goal.

Challenges of Finding Happiness

While seeking happiness is important, there are times when the pursuit of life satisfaction falls short. Some challenges to watch for include:

Valuing the Wrong Things

Money may not be able to buy happiness, but there is research that spending money on things like experiences can make you happier than spending it on material possessions. 

One study, for example, found that spending money on things that buy time—such as spending money on time-saving services—can increase happiness and life satisfaction.  

Rather than overvaluing things such as money, status, or material possessions, pursuing goals that result in more free time or enjoyable experiences may have a higher happiness reward.

Not Seeking Social Support

Social support means having friends and loved ones that you can turn to for support. Research has found that perceived social support plays an important role in subjective well-being. For example, one study found that perceptions of social support were responsible for 43% of a person's level of happiness.  

It is important to remember that when it comes to social support, quality is more important than quantity. Having just a few very close and trusted friends will have a greater impact on your overall happiness than having many casual acquaintances.

Thinking of Happiness as an Endpoint

Happiness isn’t a goal that you can simply reach and be done with. It is a constant pursuit that requires continual nurturing and sustenance.

One study found that people who tend to value happiness most also tended to feel the least satisfied with their lives.   Essentially, happiness becomes such a lofty goal that it becomes virtually unattainable. 

“Valuing happiness could be self-defeating because the more people value happiness, the more likely they will feel disappointed,” suggest the authors of the study.

Perhaps the lesson is to not make something as broadly defined as “happiness” your goal. Instead, focus on building and cultivating the sort of life and relationships that bring fulfillment and satisfaction to your life. 

It is also important to consider how you personally define happiness. Happiness is a broad term that means different things to different people. Rather than looking at happiness as an endpoint, it can be more helpful to think about what happiness really means to you and then work on small things that will help you become happier. This can make achieving these goals more manageable and less overwhelming.

History of Happiness

Happiness has long been recognized as a critical part of health and well-being. The "pursuit of happiness" is even given as an inalienable right in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Our understanding of what will bring happiness, however, has shifted over time.

Psychologists have also proposed a number of different theories to explain how people experience and pursue happiness. These theories include:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

The hierarchy of needs suggests that people are motivated to pursue increasingly complex needs. Once more basic needs are fulfilled, people are then motivated by more psychological and emotional needs.

At the peak of the hierarchy is the need for self-actualization, or the need to achieve one's full potential. The theory also stresses the importance of peak experiences or transcendent moments in which a person feels deep understanding, happiness, and joy. 

Positive Psychology

The pursuit of happiness is central to the field of positive psychology . Psychologists who study positive psychology are interested in learning ways to increase positivity and helping people live happier, more satisfying lives. 

Rather than focusing on mental pathologies, the field instead strives to find ways to help people, communities, and societies improve positive emotions and achieve greater happiness.

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Kringelbach ML, Berridge KC. The neuroscience of happiness and pleasure .  Soc Res (New York) . 2010;77(2):659-678.

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Lee MA, Kawachi I. The keys to happiness: Associations between personal values regarding core life domains and happiness in South Korea . PLoS One . 2019;14(1):e0209821. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0209821

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Steptoe A, Wardle J. Positive affect and biological function in everyday life . Neurobiol Aging . 2005;26 Suppl 1:108‐112. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2005.08.016

Sapranaviciute-Zabazlajeva L, Luksiene D, Virviciute D, Bobak M, Tamosiunas A. L ink between healthy lifestyle and psychological well-being in Lithuanian adults aged 45-72: a cross-sectional study . BMJ Open . 2017;7(4):e014240. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014240

Costanzo ES, Lutgendorf SK, Kohut ML, et al. Mood and cytokine response to influenza virus in older adults . J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci . 2004;59(12):1328‐1333. doi:10.1093/gerona/59.12.1328

Lyubomirsky S, Sheldon KM, Schkade D. Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change . Review of General Psychology. 2005;9 (2):111–131. doi:0.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111

The Harvard Gazette. Good genes are nice, but joy is better .

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By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

189 Happiness Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

😊 key points to use to write an outstanding happiness essay, 🏆 best happiness topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 most interesting happiness topics to write about, ⭐ simple & easy happiness essay titles, 👍 good research topics about happiness, 💡 interesting topics to write about happiness, ❓ research questions about happiness.

Writing a happiness essay may seem easy at first, but many students fail to achieve a high grade because their responses are too general. To avoid falling in this trap, read this post and take note of the key points to write about.

The Meaning of Happiness

The word “happiness” means various things to various people, and it would be a good idea to explore this topic in your paper. To get some perspectives, you could ask your friends or family members what happiness is to them. Alternatively, browse sample essays on happiness online. Once you’ve done your research, consider the following:

• What does happiness mean to you?
• Do you think that you are happy where you are now? Why or why not?
• Is achieving happiness essential to do you, or do you think that one can be satisfied with life without being truly happy?

The Importance of Happiness

This is probably among the most important happiness essay titles because there is a lot to talk about here. You would likely be surprised to find out that not all people view happiness as a crucial goal in life. In fact, most people live their days without considering whether or not they are happy. These are a few questions that you could think about:

• Why is happiness more important to some people than to others?
• Should a person strive to be happy? Why or why not?
• What is the influence of happiness on a person’s mind and body?

Sources of Happiness

The third point you could cover in your paper is the relationship between happiness and achievements. People often believe that they will be happy when they achieve certain things and their life.

Some examples are starting a profitable business, marrying their loved one, having kids, and traveling the world. If you want to examine the correlation between happiness and other factors, these questions should give you some ideas:

• Is happiness influenced by life circumstances and events? If so, how?
• Why do you think some people never become happy, even after achieving what they’ve always wanted?
• What external factor plays a key role in your happiness? Why do you think that is?

Happiness and Money

The link between happiness and money is possibly one of the most popular happiness essay ideas and titles.

Many people think that wealth has a direct influence on happiness, but others disagree. You could explore this theme in your paper using the following questions to guide your thoughts:

• In your opinion, can a person to buy happiness? If so, how?
• Why do you think people often associate happiness with wealth? If money is the key to happiness, why are there so many wealthy people who are unhappy?
• Do you believe that true happiness is possible without financial success? Why or why not?

Regardless of what you choose to write about, be sure to maintain a good essay structure throughout your paper. To assist you with this, create a detailed outline and stick to it while writing.

Start your paper with a happiness essay hook, a sentence to draw the reader’s attention to your work. Support your thoughts with relevant examples or research where applicable.

Finally, make sure to close off your paper with a happiness essay conclusion. If you want to learn more about essay structure, browse our website – we also have a good selection of essay topics and other useful materials!

• What Is Happiness Essay One would say that happiness is to be with a loved one, the second would say that happiness is the stability, and the third, on the contrary, would say that happiness is the unpredictability.
• Can Money Buy You Happiness? First of all, given that happiness is related to the satisfaction of personal needs, there is also a need to consider the essential need of human life such as housing, medicine, and food.
• Connection Between Money and Happiness Critical analysis of money-happiness relationship shows that socioeconomic factors determine the happiness of an individual; therefore, it is quite unsatisfactory to attribute money as the only factor and determinant of happiness.
• Life as a Human’s Struggle for Happiness He said he was eager to get his degree and live his life to the fullest. After a while, Ali understood that the answer to his question was life.
• Money, Happiness and Relationship Between Them The research conducted in the different countries during which people were asked how satisfied they were with their lives clearly indicated the existence of a non-linear relationship between the amount of money and the size […]
• I Don’t Believe Money Can Buy Happiness This shows that as much as money is essential in acquisition and satisfaction of our needs, it does not guarantee our happiness by its own and other aspects of life have to be incorporated to […]
• World Happiness Index and Its Six Factors This variable allows the researchers to evaluate the status of the economy since it is the estimation of the value of all products and services a company creates.
• Painfulness and Happiness of Childbirth The second stage is associated with the child’s passage through the birth canal; it begins after the complete opening of the cervix and ends with the birth of a child.
• Discussion: Can Money Buy Happiness? Reason Two: Second, people are psychologically predisposed to wanting more than they have, so the richer people are, the less feasible it is to satisfy their demands.
• The Psychology of Happiness The psychology of happiness is closely related to philosophy, as the science of happiness is based on three major theories, namely “the emotional state theory, the life satisfaction theory, and hedonism”. As far as happiness […]
• The Key to Happiness and Satisfaction with Life For example, in the documentary ‘Happiness,’ the hunters and gatherers of Namibia in Africa were found to be having a high happiness index.
• Goals of the Life: Personal Experience of Responsibility for Life and Happiness I have a lot of goals in my life and do all my best to realize them in my life. The best way to achieve your goal is to make a plan of steps to […]
• Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness Positive psychology is a science of positive features of the life of a human being, including happiness, welfare, and prosperity. According to him, happiness is freedom from pain in the body and a disturbance in […]
• Emotions of anger and happiness The emotion of anger is usually considered to be negative and it can lead to various negative consequences. On the other hand, the emotion of happiness is positive and it has numerous benefits to our […]
• Philosophy Issue: Truth vs. Happiness The only way the truth will be concealed and still lead to happiness is when the truth is substituted with a lie.
• Is Happiness the Beginning or the End? Jamie Anderson’s “Is Happiness the Beginning or the End?” discusses the view on happiness in the American cultural consciousness and the perceived ideological conflict regarding the specificities of its nature.
• This I Believe: Happiness Is a Choice I know that I can choose to be happy. I was ashamed and worried that he would know I took it.
• Psychology of Happiness in the World Psychology of happiness touches on various fields of social and cultural life and seeks to interfere with the lives of individuals for improving their talents and endowing their normal existence with greater meaning.
• Does Money Buy Happiness? Billions of people in all parts of the world sacrifice their ambitions and subconscious tensions on the altar of profitability and higher incomes. Yet, the opportunity costs of pursuing more money can be extremely high.
• Pursuit of Happiness Film Analysis Thus, while the film centers on the theme of “pursuit of happiness,” this paper shows that the film distorts the concept of happiness to represent the orientation of earthly goods through which our reality revolves […]
• Happiness and Morality This paper will look at the meaning of happiness and morality, the relationship between morality and happiness and why many philosophers hold that in order to be happy, one has to be moral.
• Social Media in Enhancing Social Relationships and Happiness Social media and technology assist to foster and maintain relationships where the people live in different geographical regions. There is a major concern that social media and technology poses a threat to the traditional fabric […]
• Stay-Home Moms and Full-Time Working Mothers: Indicators of Happiness In some parts of the world, it’s considered well that a woman is working, but mostly in eastern countries, women are preferred to stay at home at look after their houses and children.
• Aristotle’s Concept of Happiness Aristotle’s concept of happiness is an expression of virtue that is similar to the flow state, happiness is a combination of the baseline level where basic needs are fulfilled and a broader area managed by […]
• Acts of Kindness and Happiness in Human Life The research at hand is aimed to prove that, to boost happiness through receiving positive emotions, a person should commit more actions that can be referred to as acts of kindness.
• Money and Happiness in Poor and Wealthy Societies Comprehending the motivations for pursuing money and happiness is the key to understanding this correlation. The Easterlin paradox summed this view by showing that income had a direct correlation with happiness.
• Environmental Injustice Impeding Health and Happiness The authors note that there is a constant flow of the white population to the areas most protected from flooding and the displacement of the black population from there.
• Thoughts on Stress Management and Happiness Although she has all her financial needs met overwhelmingly, her failure to proceed with her studies and get employment makes her feel unsatisfied.
• Study of the Happiness Index Parameters Thus, the chronological data allow us to evaluate not only the countries among themselves according to this criterion but also to provide the dynamics of the change in the happiness index within the country.
• Concept of Happiness in the Workplace The task of every employee is to find a way to work in harmony with their personal values and build successful relationships with colleagues and managers.
• Relationships of Social Class and Happiness In the United States, for instance, the gap between the rich and the poor has been on the rise and the government seems to be doing very little to curb the sad realities of the […]
• How Is the “Greatest Happiness Principle” Supposed to Be Useful in Determining What I Ought to Do? Therefore, the main idea of the greatest happiness principle is to make sure that more people are satisfied, however, the volume of the satisfaction is not discussed as well as the level of harm caused […]
• Happiness is not always fun These words show what the movie is all about, the fluctuations that accompany the pursuit and maintenance of happiness. This close connection of the movie to the viewer facilitates the general acceptance of the intellectual […]
• My Relationship with Time and Its Effect on Happiness Eventually, I think that it is necessary to use time correctly, to sleep well and to work in the most productive hours.
• The idea of Happiness Although Weiner shows that trusting the leadership is a source of happiness by contrasting Bhutan with the people of Medova, one can still argue that so long as the leadership provides the required security, be […]
• Edwin Arlington Robinson: Money and Happiness in “Richard Cory” It is evident that money cannot guarantee happiness in one’s life due to the uncertainties that surround each one of us.
• Consumerism and Happiness To the surprise of Luedicke and Giesler, “The more goods produced and consumed in the society the higher the growth rate of the economy”.
• Bhutanese Views on Happiness and Subjective Wellbeing The purpose of this task is to explore Bhutanese views on happiness as a form of positive psychology that depicts national progress.
• Happiness: Personal View and Suggestions For an individual to increase his or her level of happiness, it is necessary to be aware of the things that make him or her happy.
• Self-Happiness and Its Impact on Romantic Relationships This boosts self-happiness and contributes to the general success of a romantic relationship. Self-happiness is vital in maintaining relationships and the overall connection between partners for relationship success.
• The Role of Employee Happiness in the Productivity Among Government Employees The national UAE Program of Happiness features a set of three initiatives: Happiness in policies, programmes and services of all government entities and work environments; Promotion of values of positivity and happiness as a lifestyle […]
• Sigmund Freud’s Ideas of Happiness One of these means, and the only one that Freud seems to feel provides any sense of satisfaction as to why happiness cannot be obtained, is found in the realm of religion.
• Happiness and Success as a Life Meaning I find meaning in my life when I help people that I encounter in my life. This means that life, when a person follows the Christian rules, is full of spirituality and thus meaning.
• Technology Fails to Deliver Happiness With the advancements in information technology and the massive use of the internet, communication has become quite effective as people can connect when they are in different countries around the world, at any time.
• Importance of Training Mind to Find Happiness and Meaning of Life According to Buddhist thinking, mind training “…is training in stability in order to “reveal the mystery” of the ultimate nature of reality, our own and that of other phenomena”.
• In the Pursuit of Liberty and Happiness: How the Life of Mohammad Yunus Continue to Impact the World By any standards, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States can be termed as two of the most fundamental and enduring documents in the Nation’s history due to the very fact […]
• Happiness and Its Social Psychological Aspects The well being of an individual is very critical to performance and several meaning of life to that particular individual. Several researchers have studied aspects like obedience, intervention of bystander, behavior and altruism as being […]
• True Happiness by St. Augustine Augustine put emphasis on one’s soul and spiritual connection with God to be happy rather than material goods and body.St. I concur with this idea and believe that in seeking happiness, one should prioritize what […]
• Moral Virtue and Its Relation to Happiness Furthermore, Aristotle believed that moral virtue is the primary means to happiness and the most important of all things that are really good for people.
• Happiness in Mills’ Utilitarianism Theory Mill further supports his claim by explaining that the justice sentiment is based on utility and that the existence of rights is due to human happiness. The freedom from pain involving health issues and other […]
• Aristotle’s Understanding of Happiness If happiness is “wholeness”, then for a person to become happy, it is necessary to become “whole”. Thus, all a person has to do to become whole is lower goods.
• Happiness: Cuddy’s vs. Dowthwaite’s Articles Comparison Although Cuddy and Dowthwaite have different perspectives on the matter, they both concur that it is natural for individuals not always to be happy.
• The Happy Planet Index of Long-Term Happiness The Happy Planet Index contributes to answering the issue, “Is it possible to live happy lives without harming the environment?” The relationship between happiness and ecological footprints can be clearly understood by interpreting the data […]
• Leadership for Happiness in Workplaces The relationship between the leaders and the workforce determines how the employees react and perceive the decisions made by the management.
• Ways to Ensure Happiness at Work For employers to gain a high amount of trust from their workers, they have to believe that their workers have the organization’s best interest and that their actions are driven to better their services.
• Happiness: Common and Personal Criteria Since the emergence of the term happiness in the times of Plato and Aristotle, the topic of happiness, its philosophical meaning, and its application to the real world became a case of many discussions.
• Happiness Areas and Goals in Personal Life The point that most of the global population leads a life of acting contributes significantly to the loss of happiness. That is why one of my goals to achieve the second area of happiness involved […]
• Aristotle’s View of Ethics and Happiness Aristotle guarantees that to find the human great, we should recognize the capacity of an individual. He set forth the thought that joy is a delight in magnificence and great.
• Changing a Client’s Life From a Mess to Happiness In the beginning, I disclosed these details to make the woman’s physical portrait.”She averages one meal per day”: The woman has a great risk of problems with gastritis due to the lack of vitamins and […]
• Happiness in Arts: Happiness Through Virtue This way, the premise of the Marble statue resembles that of the portrait of Antisthenes, namely, that happiness is the greatest good and it can be attained by nurturing goodness.
• Exegetical Paper on Aristotle: Meaning of Happiness It is in the balance, according to Aristotle, that the completeness of the human personality lies, and only through balance can a person find true self-satisfaction.
• Create Happiness Organization: Marketing Donor organizations, which are going to buy the Create Happiness Organization’s cards and card devices in order to use them for discounts and making bargains.
• Happiness: The Best Way to Achieve and Prolong It If a person can combine work and rest, lives a healthy life, and has time for hobbies and family, they will be able to attain lasting happiness.
• Money, Happiness and Satisfaction With Life Nonetheless, the previously mentioned examples should be used to remind us that money alone is not a guarantee of happiness, satisfaction with life, and good health.
• How Can Humans Find Happiness? Generally, evaluating the facts, it can be said that Aristotle’s concept of happiness is authentic, and happiness for a number of people is truly in acquiring knowledge, but this is not always true as there […]
• Mental Health: Happiness and Social Interaction It is quite curious to observe the way parents are teaching their children to be kind and good to others and right after the lesson they express quite negative feelings to a family member who […]
• Happiness and Deviant Behaviour in “Happiness” Movie In this manner, he was able to connect to Joy Jordan who happened to be the sister of Trish, the wife of his psychiatrist.
• Changed Views of Happiness: Context and Aim of the Definition The truest happiness arrives through the task of a person’s highest function: the utilization of the coherent rule of mind. The first one is “The universal run of individuals and the crudest,” which identifies happiness […]
• Influence of Television on People’s Happiness The idea of mass culture influencing the development of society is closely connected with a concept of a need to be happy.
• Effects of Gambling on Happiness: Research in the Nursing Homes The objective of the study was to determine whether the elderly in the nursing homes would prefer the introduction of gambling as a happiness stimulant.
• American Literature: Happiness Is Only Real When Shared This implies that he had started valuing the presence of other people in his life and the aversions that he had towards his parents started to wither after realizing that he had to share his […]
• Women’s Quest to Attain Happiness in Literature Thus, our definition of the most important difference between the characters of Janie and Emma will sound as follows: whereas, Janie never ceased to be a woman in both: the physiological and psychological context of […]
• How Much Emphasis Should One Place on Personal Happiness or Fulfillment? The aim of the paper is to explore the main tenets of utilitarianism and happiness, apply them to personal vision of happiness and compare it to Aristotle’s notion of happiness and ideal life.
• Cultivating Happiness for Different People Though one of her daughters was born with Down’s syndrome, the lady is really happy to have her and she does not regret a moment in her life.
• Psychology: Happiness from a Personal Viewpoint Because of my ability to see the good in people, I think I am more inclined to want to do things that will help them, and these times I have done this have appeared in […]
• Aristotle and His Definition of Happiness The best taste a person can have in his life is happiness because of success. But in my point of view, happiness is the main feeling that comes from the success of any useful act […]
• Happiness at the Workplace in the UAE The primary approach that should be taken by the governmental entities of the UAE to improve the happiness of their employees should be focused on creating an appropriate environment.
• Psychology of Happiness and Effect on Human Health The main characteristics of the impact of feelings on human health are the rapid pulse and palpitations, the dilatation of pupils, and changes in the skin.
• Hurricane Katrina Survivors’ Happiness Factors The paper is dedicated to the study of factors influencing the happiness of women, whose lives were affected by the Katrina Hurricane, one and four years after the hurricane.
• Happiness: Health, Marriage, and Success In this paper, I will examine the issue of happiness by scrutinizing it through the lenses of health, marriage, and success the three components that previously appeared to me to be necessary for an individual […]
• The Architecture of Sustainable Happiness The feeling of happiness and the intention to change it were measured before and after the participants listened to the music.
• Happiness vs. Production in the Workplace I think that good leader has to clarify the possible levels of the job performance of their employees to understand what kind of work may be expected when goals can be achieved, and what rewards […]
• John Stuart Mill’s Happiness Philosophy Consequently, the outcome of a course of action that is on the course of being undertaken or is to be undertaken lies in the value of the outcome.
• Touchpoints for Improved Happiness Index in the UAE The study is aimed at establishing the critical success factors in quality management of service delivery charter in the UAE government institutions. Research question: What is the impact of the UAE government’s touchpoints in improving […]
• Emirati Happiness in National Agenda and Vision 2030 Using evidence from the existing literature, this report argues that the examination of touchpoints will help promote the objective of making the UAE the happiest nation across the world.
• Touchpoints in UAE Government’s Happiness Initiatives This paper aims at conducting a literature review on the concept of touchpoints with the objective of developing a sound argument regarding the extent to which they can effectively help the UAE to achieve remarkable […]
• Happiness Without Money in Sociology and Psychology The tendency’s mechanics are simple – being in the possession of any substantial sum of money increases a person’s chance to secure a dominant status within the society, which in turn will result in strengthening […]
• The Meaning of Happiness On the other hand, another study found that the birth of a child is associated with the loss of spousal love, and the decrease in the total level of happiness is stated to be the […]
• Volunteering Effects on Happiness Taking that into consideration, it is necessary to pay an increased attention to the effect that volunteering and all the people connected to it produce on representatives of one of the social groups whose opportunities […]
• David Leonhardt: May Be Money Does Buy Happiness After All The case study of Japanese citizens that support Easterlin paradox do not factor in the confounding psychological effects of the Second World War on the entire population and the country.
• Bhutan’s Concept of Gross National Happiness The concept of GNH in Bhutan emphasizes the need for gauging the progress of this country from the perspective of its population’s degree of happiness.
• Happiness and Its Influence on Decision-Making The strength of this paper is that it explores not only the meaning of the word but also the results of its offered revision, including the reconsideration of the importance of the phenomenon of competition, […]
• Thomas Jefferson’s Goals: Life, Liberty and Happiness Prior to the writing of this phrase, the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness were not acknowledged by the political systems of the day.
• Philosophy Terms: Justice, Happiness, Power and Virtue Socrates argues that autocratic leadership is an important structure of ensuring that the rule of law is followed and that the common good of all societal members is enhanced.
• Money and Happiness Connection – Philosophy Based on measures of happiness and household income, these economists have claimed that money, in this case, economic development, has a significant impact on happiness.
• Does Intelligence Predict Happiness? Overall, this concept can be described as the ability of a person to apply cognitive skills while using various types of information.
• The Definition of Happiness For example, Aristotle’s work raises questions such as, “What is the purpose of human life?”, “What is happiness?” and “Why do people do the things they do?” On the other hand, Plato’s text raises questions […]
• Psychological Research: Money Can Buy Happiness In the article, the author has given enough evidence to prove that money can be used to buy happiness. Based on the evidence presented in the article, it is obvious that proper utilization of money […]
• Mill’s Greatest Happiness Principles: A Practical Guide to the Theory of Life In the given question, Mill draws the line between the moral principles and the human mind. Hence, Mill questions the link between the moral and the ethical.
• Can Aristotle’s Theory of Happiness Be Achieved by Applying Friedman’s Ideas of Corporate Social Responsibilities? According to Aristotle, politics is the master of all arts since it is concerned with the end in itself. This is a central argument to the ideas of Aristotle and underscores his idea that politics […]
• Happiness Meaning and Theories This essay aims to analyze Happiness, what makes happiness special to people, the meaning of it and the essence of it. The second happiness is a general consensus about the goodness of your life at […]
• Secular Worldview: Attaining Earthly Happiness It is a form of religious worldview in which man is the overall measure that is; man is the ultimate judge of truth and also evaluates the values which are to be followed.
• Happiness: Philosophical Description Serenity of mind to Gertrude is found by accepting things that are beyond her control and seeking the strength and courage to change things that can be changed like cloth the naked, feed the hungry, […]
• Essence of Happiness of Indira’s Life According to Plato’s and Aristotle’s Views on Education She finds her inspiration in the languages and other subjects and, obviously, the girl knows that education is the best solution of solving a number of problems and difficulties that she may face during the […]
• Aristotle’s Ideas on Civic Relationships: Happiness, the Virtues, Deliberation, Justice, and Friendship On building trust at work, employers are required to give minimum supervision to the employees in an effort to make the latter feel a sense of belonging and responsibility.
• Influence on Happiness of Gender, Education Level and the Number of Children According to Easterlin, the number of children a family has is inversely proportional to the level of happiness the family will enjoy; this shows that the higher the number of children, the less happy the […]
• Gender, Education Level and the Number of Children Influencing Perception on Happiness It is also found out that the increase in the number of children leads to lack of love in the family and later leads to decline in the degree of happiness.
• Well-Being as a Happiness Definitions Michael Marmot in his book The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects Our Health and Longevity tries to justify happiness from a social perspective.
• How Aristotle Views Happiness Aristotle notes that “the attainment of the good for one man alone is, to be sure, a source of satisfaction; yet to secure it for a nation and for states is nobler and more divine”.
• Which is Basic in Ethics: Happiness or Obligation Logically, the basic element in any pursuit is the end itself; consequently, the task here is to determine the element that stands out as the end as opposed to means to something else.
• The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness – Folks and Fairy Tales “What seems like a blessing may be a curse. What seems like a curse may be a blessing”.
• The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness The following essay is concerned with the book’ The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness’ by Joel Ben Izzy. Joel Ben’s story,’ The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness’ resonates in my life.
• Pursuit of Happiness by Women in Modern Day America Civil rights are what citizens in a democratic country are entitled to and they include rights such as the right to vote, right to equal treatment and opportunities, the right to life and the right […]
• Breaking the Stereotype: Why Urban Aboriginals Score Highly on Happiness Measures
• Electing Happiness: Does Happiness Effect Voting and Do Elections Affect Happiness
• Freedom, Justice, and the Pursuit of Happiness
• Individual and Contextual Factors of Happiness and Life Satisfaction in a Low Middle Income Country
• Technology and Its Effects on Satisfaction in Society
• Neural and Genetic Correlates of the Social Sharing of Happiness
• Emotional Intelligence as Mediator Between Need for Relatedness, Happiness, and Flourishing
• Serotonin the Happiness Hormone and Effect on Neurotransmitters
• Defining Happiness Through Metaphorical Expressions, a Person’s Behavior, and Its Relation to Success
• Cultural Capital and Happiness: Why the Rich Are Happier
• Relationship Between Spiritual Well-Being and Happiness
• Finding Happiness in Homosexuality, Overcoming Rejection, Identity, and Desire
• Measuring Happiness: From Fluctuating Satisfaction to Authentic, Durable Happiness
• Income and Happiness: Earning and Spending as Sources of Discontent
• Adaptation Amidst Prosperity and Adversity: Insights From Happiness Studies From Around the World
• Modern Ritualism for Finding Peace & Happiness & Living With Meaning
• Aristotle’s Eudaimonia: Are Pleasure and Happiness the Final Goals in Life
• Beauty and Equality: The Key Elements to the Pursuit of Happiness
• Collective Happiness: Labor Union Membership and Life Satisfaction
• Law, Sustainability, and the Pursuit of Happiness
• Against Positive Thinking: Uncertainty as to the Secret of Happiness
• Age and the Pursuit of Happiness Among Immigrants
• Happiness and Its Correlation With Marriage, Earnings, and Age
• Poor and Distressed, but Happy: Situational and Cultural Moderators of the Relationship Between Wealth and Happiness
• Job Satisfaction and Family Happiness: The Part-Time Work Problem
• Migrants, Health, and Happiness: Evidence That Health Assessments Travel With Migrants and Predict Well-Being
• Adult Happiness and Prior Traumatic Victimization in and Out of the Household
• Happiness and Growth the World Over: Time Series Evidence on the Happiness-Income Paradox
• Economic Growth Evens Out Happiness: Evidence From Six Surveys
• Children, Spousal Love, and Happiness: An Economic Analysis
• Our Relationship With God as the Pathway Toward Happiness
• Parenthood and Happiness: Direct and Indirect Impacts of Parenthood on Happiness
• Gender and Well-Being Around the World: Some Insights From the Economics of Happiness
• National Happiness and Genetic Distance: A Cautious Exploration
• Basic Needs and Wealth as Independent Determinants of Happiness
• Money and Happiness: Problems Understanding Its Dynamic Relationship
• Buddhism: Happiness and the Four Noble Truths
• Nicomachean Ethics and Reasons Role in Happiness and Virtue
• Commitment Beyond Self and Adolescence: The Issue of Happiness
• Absolute Income, Relative Income, and Happiness
• Does Economic Prosperity Bring About a Happier Society?
• What Does Sociology Bring to the Study of Happiness?
• What Affects Happiness: Absolute Income, Relative Income, or Expected Income?
• What’s Special About Happiness as a Social Indicator?
• What the Buddha Taught – Fundamental Principles Ensuring Human Happiness
• What Are the Relationship of Inequality, Happiness, and Relative Concerns?
• How Does Happiness Mediate the Organizational Virtuousness and Affective Commitment Relationship?
• What Are Happiness and Success?
• What Is Happiness? What Makes Life Happy?
• How Can People Find Happiness?
• What Are the Main Factors for Achieving Happiness?
• How Can Happiness Improve Productivity?
• Does Government Ideology Affect Personal Happiness?
• Happy for How Long? How Social Capital and Economic Growth Relate to Happiness Over Time
• How Do Gender and Age Effect Happiness?
• How the Economy and Institutions Affect Happiness?
• What Are the Differences Between Happiness and Self-Esteem?
• What Role Does Government Play in Human Happiness?
• What Can Economists Learn From Happiness?
• How Much Does Money Matter? Estimating the Causal Effects of Income on Happiness
• What Do Happiness Indices Tell Us About Life?
• How Can Enduring Happiness Arise From Friendship?
• Money Cannot Buy Happiness: What Are Your Views?
• What Can Happiness Research Tell Us About Altruism?
• Why We’re Happier When We’re Older?
• Happiness Explained: What Human Flourishing Is and How We Can Promote It?
• Why Happiness Eludes the Modern Woman?
• How Does the Economic Crisis Influence Adolescents’ Happiness?
• Do Fulfilling Desires Lead To Happiness?
• How Does Happiness Relate to Economic Behaviour?
• Psychology Questions
• Success Ideas
• Cultural Identity Research Topics
• Virtue Essay Ideas
• Conflict Resolution Essay Topics
• Freedom Topics
• Dreaming Essay Titles
• Human Development Research Ideas
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Character of a Happy Life Poem Summary Notes and Line by Line Explanation in English Class 12th

Back to: UP Board Class 12th English Guide and Notes

Table of Contents

Introduction:

‘Character of a Happy Life’ is a poem by Sir Henry Wotton. It is a poem that details on how leading a simple, honest life without the luxuries of the world can still provide happiness and the good graces of God. 

About the Poet:

Sir Henry Wotton (1568-1639) is a seventeenth-century author/scholar. In addition to this, he was also a diplomat. Famous works of him include ‘The Character of a Happy Life’, ‘You Meaner Beauties of the Night’, and ‘A Hymn to my God’. 

The poem revolves around the theme of simplicity and the subsequent contentment and joy received from leading a life in such a way. Being religious is also a recurring theme that can be found in the course of the poem. 

The poem begins with a reference to a ‘he’. The poet’s persona uses ‘he’ to elaborate on the key to a happy life throughout the entirety of the poem. The very first line of the poem states that ‘he’ would be a happy person if he is born and taught  not  to serve another, thus shunning the idea of slavery. The poem then goes on to state that ‘he’ would also be happy when he is honest and speaks nothing but the truth at all times.

Again, the persona states that ‘he’ would be happy if he does not fall prey to jealousy of those who are graced with good fortunes and vile thoughts. ‘he’ is also said to be happy if he realises that praises too can wound a person deeply. The stanza ends with how ‘he’ would be happy if he follows rules of ‘good’, rather than ‘state’, thus giving predominance to morality and ethical values. 

The poem points out that ‘he’ would also be happy if he were to lead a life free of rumours and has a solid conscience he can turn to when in need. ‘he’ must also not fall prey to mindless flattery and must be cautious of ‘oppressors’ who seek to ‘ruin’ him and make themselves great. 

The final stanza wraps up everything the persona has laid out for a man to lead a happy life neatly. The persona proclaims that such a man who lives in the way this poem has taught would be free from servitude.

He would be unruffled by human trivialities as he would be one who neither hopes exceedingly nor has anything to fear. He would, simply put, be ‘Lord of himself’ but ‘not of lands’ meaning to say that despite not being rich, he would be the master of himself, not anyone else. The poem concludes with how he, whom would have nothing, is truly the one who has everything in life. 

Conclusion:

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The Character of a Happy Life

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How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another's will; Whose armour is his honest thought, And simple truth his utmost skill!

Whose passions not his masters are; Whose soul is still prepared for death, Untied unto the world by care Of public fame or private breath;

Who envies none that chance doth raise, Nor vice; who never understood How deepest wounds are given by praise; Nor rules of state, but rules of good;

Who hath his life from rumours freed; Whose conscience is his strong retreat; Whose state can neither flatterers feed, Nor ruin make oppressors great;

Who God doth late and early pray More of His grace than gifts to lend; And entertains the harmless day With a religious book or friend;

—This man is freed from servile bands Of hope to rise or fear to fall: Lord of himself, though not of lands, And having nothing, yet hath all.

This poem is in the public domain.

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Man with a Hoe

Jean-françois millet, getty center.

Sir Henry Wotton

The character of a happy life.

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Other works by Sir Henry Wotton...

You that on Stars do look, Arrest not there your sight, Though Natures fairest Book, And signed with propitious light; Our Blessing now is more Divine,

Who would have thought, there coul… Such joy in tears, wept for our si… Mine eyes have seen, my heart hath… The most and best of earthly joyes… The sweets of love, and being lov’…

Oh, thou great Power! in whom I m… For whom I live, to whom I die, Behold me through thy beams of lov… Whilst on this couch of tears I l… And cleanse my sordid soul within,

YOU meaner beauties of the night,    That poorly satisfy our eyes More by your number than your ligh…    You common people of the skies;    What are you when the moon shal…

Eternal Mover, whose diffused Glo… To shew our groveling Reason what… Unfolds it self in Clouds of Natu… Where Man, thy proudest Creature,… Whom yet (alas) I know not why, w…

Soul. Whilst my Souls eye beheld no lig… But what stream’d from thy graciou… To me the worlds greatest King, Seem’d but some little vulgar thin…

Silence (in truth) would speak my… For, deepest wounds can least thei… Yet, let me borrow from mine own u… But time to bid him, whom I lov’d… O my unhappy lines! you that befor…

He first deceased; she for a littl… To live without him, liked it not,…

Untimely Feaver, rude insulting g… How didst thou with such unharmoni… Dare to distune his well-composed… Whose heart so just and noble stro… What if his Youth and Spirits wel…

Dazled thus with height of place, Whilst our Hopes our wits Beguile… No man marks the narrow space ‘Twixt a Prison and a Smile. Then since Fortunes favours fade,

OH thou great Power, in whom I m… For whom I live, to whom I die, Behold me through thy beams of lov… Whilest on this Couch of tears I… And Cleanse my sordid soul within…

You meaner beauties of the night, That poorly satisfy our eyes More by your number than your ligh… You common people of the skies, What are you when the sun shall ri…

My soul, exalt the Lord with hymn… O Lord my God, how boundless is t… Whose throne of state is cloath’d… And round about hast robed thyself… Who like a curtain hast the heaven…

Rouse up thy self, my gentle Muse… Though now our green conceits be g… And yet once more do not refuse To take thy Phrygian Harp, and pl… In honour of this chearful Day.

Ho. Noble, lovely, vertuous Creat… Purposely so fram’d by Nature To enthral your servants wits. Wo. Time must now unite our heart… Not for any more deserts,

The Science of Happiness in Positive Psychology 101

Whether on a global or an individual level, the pursuit of happiness is one that is gaining traction and scientific recognition.

There are many definitions of happiness, and we will also explore those in this article. For now, we invite you to think of a time when you were happy. Were you alone? With others? Inside? Outside.

At the end of this article, revisit that memory. You may have new insight as to what made that moment “happy,” as well as tips to train your brain towards more happiness.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Happiness & Subjective Wellbeing Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients identify sources of authentic happiness and strategies to boost wellbeing.

This Article Contains:

A definition of happiness, a look at the science of happiness, the scientific research on happiness at work, 17 interesting facts and findings, a study showing how acts of kindness make us happier, the global pursuit of happiness, measures of happiness, four qualities of life.

• How to Train your Brain for Happiness

A Take-Home Message

In general, happiness is understood as the positive emotions we have in regards to the pleasurable activities we take part in through our daily lives.

Pleasure, comfort, gratitude, hope, and inspiration are examples of positive emotions that increase our happiness and move us to flourish. In scientific literature, happiness is referred to as hedonia (Ryan & Deci, 2001), the presence of positive emotions and the absence of negative emotions.

In a more broad understanding, human wellbeing is made up of both hedonic and Eudaimonic principles, the literature on which is vast and describes our personal meaning and purpose in life (Ryan & Deci, 2001).

Research on happiness over the years has found that there are some contributing correlational factors that affect our happiness. These include (Ryan & Deci, 2001):

• Personality Type
• Positive Emotions versus Negative Emotions
• Attitude towards Physical Health
• Social Class and Wealth
• Attachment and Relatedness
• Goals and Self-Efficacy
• Time and Place.

So what is the “ science of happiness? ”

This is one of those times when something is exactly what it sounds like – it’s all about the science behinds what happiness is and how to experience it, what happy people do differently, and what we can do to feel happier.

This focus on happiness is new to the field of psychology; for many decades – basically since the foundation of psychology as a science in the mid- to late-1800s – the focus was on the less pleasant in life. The field focused on pathology, on the worst-scenario cases, on what can go wrong in our lives.

Although there was some attention paid to wellbeing, success, and high functioning, the vast majority of funding and research was dedicated to those who were struggling the most: those with severe mental illness, mental disorders, or those who have survived trauma and tragedy.

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with doing what we can to raise up those who are struggling, there was an unfortunate lack of knowledge about what we can do to bring us all up to a higher level of functioning and happiness.

Positive psychology changed all of that. Suddenly, there was space at the table for a focus on the positive in life, for “ what thoughts, actions, and behaviors make us more productive at work, happier in our relationships, and more fulfilled at the end of the day ” (Happify Daily, n.d.).

The science of happiness has opened our eyes to a plethora of new findings about the sunny side of life.

Current research and studies

For instance, we have learned a lot about what happiness is and what drives us.

Recent studies have shown us that:

• Money can only buy happiness up to about $75,000 – after that, it has no significant effect on our emotional wellbeing (Kahneman & Deaton, 2010).
• Most of our happiness is not determined by our genetics, but by our experiences and our day-to-day lives (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005).
• Trying too hard to find happiness often has the opposite effect and can lead us to be overly selfish (Mauss et al., 2012).
• Pursuing happiness through social means (e.g., spending more time with family and friends) is more likely to be effective than other methods (Rohrer et al., 2018).
• The pursuit of happiness is one place where we should consider ditching the SMART goals; it may be more effective to pursue “vague” happiness goals than more specific ones (Rodas et al., 2018).
• Happiness makes us better citizens – it is a good predictor of civic engagement in the transition to adulthood (Fang et al., 2018).
• Happiness leads to career success, and it doesn’t have to be “natural” happiness – researchers found that “experimentally enhancing” positive emotions also contributed to improved outcomes at work (Walsh et al., 2018).
• There is a linear relationship between religious involvement and happiness. Higher worship service attendance is correlated with more commitment to faith, and commitment to faith is related to greater compassion. Those more compassionate individuals are more likely to provide emotional support to others, and those who provide emotional support to others are more likely to be happy (Krause et al., 2018). It’s a long road, but a direct one!

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There’s been a ton of research on the effects of happiness in the workplace. Much of this is driven by companies who want to find a way to improve productivity, attract new talent, and get a dose of good publicity, all at the same time. After all, who wouldn’t want to do business with and/or work for a company full of happy employees?

Although the jury is still out on exactly how happy employees “should” be for maximum productivity, efficiency, and health, we have learned a few things about the effects of a happy workforce:

• People who are happy with their jobs are less likely to leave their jobs, less likely to be absent, and less likely to engage in counterproductive behaviors at work.
• People who are happy with their jobs are more likely to engage in behavior that contributes to a happy and productive organization, more likely to be physically healthy, and more likely to be mentally healthy.
• Happiness and job performance are related—and the relationship likely works in both directions (e.g., happy people do a better job and people who do a good job are more likely to be happy).
• Unit- or team-level happiness is also linked to positive outcomes, including higher customer satisfaction, profit, productivity, employee turnover, and a safer work environment.
• In general, a happier organization is a more productive and successful organization (Fisher, 2010).

To sum up the findings we have so far, it’s easy to see that happiness at work does matter – for individuals, for teams, and for organizations overall. We don’t have all the answers about exactly how the relationship between happiness and productivity works, but we know that there is a relationship there.

Lately, many human resources managers, executives, and other organizational leaders have decided that knowing there’s a relationship is good enough evidence to establish happiness-boosting practices at work, which means that we have a lot of opportunities to see the impact of greater happiness at work in the future.

Research in this field is booming, and new findings are coming out all the time. Here are a few of the most interesting facts and findings so far:

• Happiness is linked to lower heart rate and blood pressure, as well as healthier heart rate variability.
• Happiness can also act as a barrier between you and germs – happier people are less likely to get sick.
• People who are happier enjoy greater protection against stress and release less of the stress hormone cortisol.
• Happy people tend to experience fewer aches and pains, including dizziness, muscle strain, and heartburn.
• Happiness acts as a protective factor against disease and disability (in general, of course).
• Those who are happiest tend to live significantly longer than those who are not.
• Happiness boosts our immune system, which can help us fight and fend off the common cold.
• Happy people tend to make others happier as well, and vice versa – those who do good, feel good!
• A portion of our happiness is determined by our genetics (but there’s still plenty of room for attitude adjustments and happiness-boosting exercises!).
• Smelling floral scents like roses can make us happier.
• Those who are paid by the hour may be happier than those on salary (however, these findings are limited, so take them with a grain of salt!).
• Relationships are much more conducive to a happy life than money.
• Happier people tend to wear bright colors; it’s not certain which way the relationship works, but it can’t hurt to throw on some brighter hues once in a while—just in case!
• Happiness can help people cope with arthritis and chronic pain better.
• Being outdoors – especially near the water – can make us happier.
• The holidays can be a stressful time, even for the happiest among us – an estimated 44% of women and 31% of men get the “holiday blues.”
• Happiness is contagious! When we spend time around happy people, we’re likely to get a boost of happiness as well.

Newman (2015) is the source for the first six facts and findings, and Florentine (2016) for the latter 11 .

Feeling blue? Treat yourself to a decadent dessert.

Feeling frustrated after an argument with a friend? Skip your workout and have an extra scoop of ice cream.

The message is clear: If you want to feel happy, you should focus on your own wishes and desires. Yet this is not the advice that many people grew up hearing. Indeed, most of the world’s religions (and grandmothers everywhere) have long suggested that people should focus on others first and themselves second.

Psychologists refer to such behavior as prosocial behavior and many recent studies have shown that when people have a prosocial focus, doing kind acts for others, their own happiness increases.

But how does prosocial behavior compare to treating yourself in terms of your happiness? And does treating yourself really make you feel happy?

Nelson et al. (2016) presented their research answering these questions.

Participants were divided into four groups and given new instructions each week for four weeks.

One group was instructed to perform random acts of kindness for themselves (such as going shopping or enjoying a favorite hobby); the second group was instructed to perform acts of kindness for others (such as visiting an elderly relative or helping someone carry groceries); the third group was instructed to perform acts of kindness to improve the world (such as recycling or donating to charity); the fourth group was instructed to keep track of their daily activities.

Each week, the participants reported their activities from the previous week, as well as their experience of positive and negative emotions.

At the beginning, the end, and again two weeks after the four-week period, participants completed a questionnaire to assess their psychological flourishing. As a measure of overall happiness, the questionnaire included questions about psychological, social, and emotional wellbeing .

The Results

The results of the study were striking. Only participants who engaged in prosocial behavior demonstrated improvements in psychological flourishing.

Participants who practiced prosocial behavior demonstrated increases in positive emotions from one week to the next. In turn, these increases in feelings such as happiness, joy, and enjoyment predicted increases in psychological flourishing at the end of the study. In other words, positive emotions appeared to have been a critical ingredient linking prosocial behavior to increases in flourishing.

But what about the people who treated themselves?

They did not show the same increases in positive emotions or psychological flourishing as those who engaged in acts of kindness. In fact, people who treated themselves did not differ in positive emotions, negative emotions, or psychological flourishing over the course of the study compared to those who merely kept track of their daily activities.

This research does not say that we shouldn’t treat ourselves, show ourselves self-love when we need it, or enjoy our relaxation when we have it. However, the results of this study strongly suggest that we are more likely to reach greater levels of happiness when we exhibit prosocial behavior and show others kindness through our actions.

In world economic circles, Richard Easterlin investigated the relationship between money and wellbeing.

The Easterlin paradox—”money does not buy happiness” (Mohun, 2012)—sparked a new wave of thinking about wealth and wellbeing.

In 1972, Bhutan chose to pursue a policy of happiness rather than a focus on economic growth tracked via their gross domestic product (GDPP). Subsequently, this little nation has been among the happiest, ranking amongst nations with far superior wealth (Kelly, 2012).

More global organizations and nations are becoming aware and supportive of the importance of happiness in today’s world. This has lead to The United Nations inviting nations to take part in a happiness survey, resulting in the “ World Happiness Report ,” a basis from which to steer public policy. Learn about the World Happiness Report for 2016 .

The United Nations also established  World Happiness Day , March 20 th , which was the result of efforts of the Bhutan Kingdom and their Gross National Happiness initiative (Helliwell et al., 2013).

Organizations such as the  New Economic Foundation are playing an influential role as an economic think tank that focuses on steering economic policy and development for the betterment of human wellbeing.

Ruut Veenhoven, a world authority on the scientific study of happiness, was one of the sources of inspiration for the United Nations General Assembly (2013) adopting happiness measures. Veenhoven is a founding member of the World Database of Happiness , which is a comprehensive scientific repository of happiness measures worldwide.

The objective of this organization is to provide a coordinated collection of data, with common interpretation according to a scientifically validated happiness theory, model, and body of research.

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At this point, you might be wondering: Is it possible to measure happiness? Many psychologists have devoted their careers to answering this question and in short, the answer is yes.

Happiness can be measured by these three factors: the presence of positive emotions, the absence of negative emotions, and life satisfaction (Ryan & Deci, 2001). It is a uniquely subjective experience, which means that nobody is better at reporting on someone’s happiness than the individuals themselves.

For this reason scales, self-report measures, and questionnaires are the most common formats for measuring happiness. The most recognized examples are the following:

• The PANAS (Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule);
• The SWLS (Satisfaction With Life Scale) ;
• The SHS (Subjective Happiness Scale)

However, there are  many instruments available to measure happiness that have proven reliable and valid over time (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011).

Of the four dimensions, satisfaction is our personal subjective measure of happiness as we interpret life as a whole. Veenhoven’s (2010) global research into happiness suggests that happiness is possible for many.

This is an overview of his Four Qualities:

Using Veenhoven’s Four Qualities it is possible to assess the happiness of any country.

Liveability of environment

This dimension includes factors such as law, freedom, schooling, employment, electricity or gas, etc. It is a measurement of how well an environment meets what Maslow proposed as our basic needs (safety, security, shelter, food) (Maslow, 1943).

Life-ability of individuals

The ability of individuals to deal with life is important; both mental and physical health are identified as important factors, together with social values of solidarity, tolerance, and love (Veenhoven, 2010).

Utility of life

In this dimension, Veenhoven (2010) references a higher-order meaning, for example, religious affiliations.

Uchida et al. (2014) found that high levels of national disaster negatively impacted a nation’s level of happiness.

Satisfaction

Happiness is a complex construct that cannot be directly controlled. Through policy and individual and organizational action, one can endeavor to influence and increase happiness (Veenhoven, 2010).

However, happiness is a subjective experience and only once we change the way we perceive the world can we really begin sharing and creating happiness for others.

But is it possible to train yourself to be happier?

The answer is yes!

How to Train Your Brain for Happiness

At birth, our genetics provide us a set point that accounts for some portion of our happiness. Having enough food, shelter, and safety account for another portion.

There’s also quite a bit of happiness that’s entirely up to us (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005).

By training our brain through awareness and exercises to think in a happier, more optimistic, and more resilient way, we can effectively train our brains for happiness.

New discoveries in the field of positive psychology show that physical health, psychological wellbeing, and physiological functioning are all improved by how we learn to “feel good” (Fredrickson, et al., 2000).

What Are The Patterns We Need To “Train Out” of Our Brains?

• Perfectionism  – Often confused with conscientiousness, which involves appropriate and tangible expectations, perfectionism involves inappropriate levels of expectations and intangible goals. It often produces problems for adults, adolescents, and children.
• Social comparison  – When we compare ourselves to others we often find ourselves lacking. Healthy social comparison is about finding what you admire in others and learning to strive for those qualities. However, the best comparisons we can make are with ourselves. How are you better than you were in the past?
• Materialism – Attaching our happiness to external things and material wealth is dangerous, as we can lose our happiness if our material circumstances change (Carter & Gilovich, 2010).
• Maximizing  – Maximizers search for better options even when they are satisfied. This leaves them little time to be present for the good moments in their lives and with very little gratitude (Schwartz et al., 2002).

Misconceptions About Mind Training

Some of the misconceptions about retraining your brain are simply untrue. Here are a few myths that need debunking:

1. We are products of our genetics so we cannot create change in our brains.

Our minds are malleable. Ten years ago we thought brain pathways were set in early childhood. In fact, we now know that there is huge potential for large changes through to your twenties, and neuroplasticity is still changing throughout one’s life.

The myelin sheath that covers your neural pathways gets thicker and stronger the more it is used (think of the plastic protective covering on wires); the more a pathway is used, the stronger the myelin and the faster the neural pathway. Simply put, when you practice feeling grateful, you notice more things to be grateful for.

2. Brain training is brainwashing.

Brainwashing is an involuntary change. If we focus on training our mind to see the glass half full instead of half empty, that is a choice.

3. If we are too happy we run the risk of becoming overly optimistic.

There is no such thing as overly optimistic, and science shows that brain training for positivity includes practices like  mindfulness and gratitude. No one has ever overdosed on these habits.

How Is The Brain Wired For Happiness?

Our brains come already designed for happiness. We have caregiving systems in place for eye contact, touch, and vocalizations to let others know we are trustworthy and secure .

Our brains also regulate chemicals like oxytocin.

People who have more oxytocin trust more readily, have increased tendencies towards monogamy, and exhibit more caregiving behavior. These behaviors reduce stress which lowers production of hormones like cortisol and inhibits the cardiovascular response to stress (Kosfeld et al., 2005).

The following TED talk provides an insight into how we can overcome our negative mental patterns:

If happiness has little to do with having too many resources, then it is an inner state that we have the power to cultivate. The above video even offers specific exercises for you to try. Just by doing them, you are actively re-wiring your brain towards calm and happy sensations.

Meanwhile, this TED talk gives a better understanding of how to wire your brain to accept the positivity and happiness in your life:

The negativity bias that Dr. Rick Hanson discusses can help us understand how we can activate and “install” positive thinking as part of our core brain chemistry. If you don’t have a moment to watch either of these videos now, make time for it later—they are rich with relevant data and tips.

17 Exercises To Increase Happiness and Wellbeing

Add these 17 Happiness & Subjective Well-Being Exercises [PDF] to your toolkit and help others experience greater purpose, meaning, and positive emotions.

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Happiness is the overall subjective experience of our positive emotions. There are many factors which influence our happiness, and ongoing research continues to uncover what makes us happiest.

This global pursuit of happiness has resulted in measures such as the World Happiness Report, while the World Happiness Database is working to collaborate and consolidate the existing happiness pursuits of different nations.

We are living in a time when the conditions for happiness are known. This can be disheartening at times when there is much negativity in the world.

There is, however, good news in this situation: neuroplasticity.

The human brain is wired for happiness and positive connections with others. It is actually possible to experience and learn happiness despite what has been genetically hardwired.

In a world where the focus on happiness is growing and the mirror is turning back towards ourselves, the happiness of the world relies on the happiness within each one of us and how we act, share, and voice the importance of happiness for everyone.

What are the steps you are taking to make yourself and others happier? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Happiness Exercises for free .

• Carter, T. J., & Gilovich, T. (2010). The relative relativity of material and experiential purchases. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 98 (1), 146.
• Fang, S., Galambos, N. L., Johnson, M. D., & Krahn, H. J. (2018). Happiness is the way: Paths to civic engagement between young adulthood and midlife.  International Journal of Behavioral Development, 42 (4), 425–433.
• Fisher, C. D. (2010). Happiness at work.  International Journal of Management Reviews ,  12 (4), 384–412.
• Florentine, E. (2016, July 1).  11 Scientific facts about happiness.  Bustle . Retrieved from https://www.bustle.com/articles/169675-11-scientific-facts-about-happiness-that-youll-want-to-know.
• Fredrickson, B. L., Mancuso, R. A., Branigan, C., & Tugade, M. M. (2000). The undoing effect of positive emotions . Motivation and Emotion , 24 (4), 237–258.
• Happify Daily. (n.d.).  What is the science of happiness? Retrieved from https://www.happify.com/hd/what-is-the-science-of-happiness/.
• Hefferon, K., & Boniwell, I. (2011). Positive psychology: Theory, research, and applications . Open University Press.
• Helliwell, J., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. (2013) . World happiness report 2013. United Nations.
• Kahneman, D., & Deaton, A. (2010). High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being.  Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences ,  107 (38), 16489–16493.
• Kelly, A. (2012) Gross national happiness in Bhutan: the big idea from a tiny state that could change the world. The Guardian . Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/dec/01/bhutan-wealth-happiness-counts?CMP=share_btn_link
• Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2005). Oxytocin increases trust in human s . Nature , 435 (7042), 673–676.
• Krause, N., Ironson, G., & Hill, P. (2018). Religious involvement and happiness: Assessing the mediating role of compassion and helping others.  The Journal of Social Psychology ,  158 (2), 256–270.
• Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change.  Review of General Psychology, 9 (2), 111–131.
• Maguire, E., Gadian, D., Johnsrude, I., Good, C., Ashburne, J., Frackowiak, R., & Frith, C. (2000). Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 97(8), 4398-4403.
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• Mohun, J. (2012) The economics book . DK.
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• Newman, K. M. (2015, July 28). Six ways happiness is good for your health . Greater Good Magazine .  Retrieved from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_ways_happiness_is_good_for_your_health
• Rodas, M. A., Ahluwalia, R., & Olson, N. J. (2018). A path to more enduring happiness: Take a detour from specific emotional goals.  Journal of Consumer Psychology, 28 (4), 673–681.
• Rohrer, J. M., Richter, D., Brümmer, M., Wagner, G. G., & Schmukle, S. C. (2018). Successfully striving for happiness: Socially engaged pursuits predict increases in life satisfaction.  Association for Psychological Science ,  29 (8), 1291–1298.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Reviews Psychology, 52 , 141–66.
• Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2006). Know Thyself and Become What You Are: A Eudemonic approach to psychological well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies 9:13 -39, 2008.
• Schwartz, B., Ward, A., Monterosso, J., Lyubomirsky, S., White, K., & Lehman, D. R. (2002). Maximizing versus satisficing: Happiness is a matter of choice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 83 (5), 1178.
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Thank you for this beautiful well written article. I came across it during my research regarding the science of happiness. The beauty in writing this post is the power to influence souls in a positive manner many who you will not meet.

Sending some love and light to you and all those who get to read your blog.

Being in the field of Human Resource for four decades, coming across and dealing with millions of minds, after reading your article, gives a feeling that I have learnt something new today…

Thank you and congratulations for such a informative work.

God bless…

Thank you for your search light into one of the nerve center of our generation. i will like to use part of this in my upcoming book

Hello Katherine, Now reading https://positivepsychology.com/happiness/ Salute to you for enriching us. Nearly hundred of us relatives are creating an audio book for our blind uncle about life skills. Any quote from you that I can add in the document? Will be grateful. regards, Prabodh Sirur

Hi Prabodh,

Wow, that sounds like a lovely gift for your uncle! We actually have a couple of posts containing quotes about happiness, so you may want to take a look at those for some inspiration. You can find those here and here .

Hope this helps, and good luck with the audiobook!

– Nicole | Community Manager

Thanks for your article, I translated this article for a mental health lesson and I really enjoyed this article.

Thank you for this super helpful article!!

Thank You for such an Informative and Detailed Article on Science of Happiness. I am a Budding Happiness Life Coach and stumbled on this Article. This gives me more understanding of Happiness in Scientific way, with your permission, I would like to share my learning in my course. Thank You and looking forward for more such Articles. Thank You and God Bless You

Hi Srinivas, Thank you for your lovely feedback. We’re glad you liked the article. Feel free to share it with others by clicking ‘Yes’ on the ‘Was this article useful to you’ button. From there, a range of sharing options will appear. – Nicole | Community Manager

Thanks, very nice lecture and informative But I wish to know more about role of religious effects on Happiness? another thing is it ok to translate lecture to other language and share it? Regards Dr Eirebi Albogasim

Hi Dr. Albogasim, Thanks for reading. There’s quite a bit of research showing that those who practice religion tend to be happier than the general population ( here’s an article on the topic). And yes, feel free to translate and share the lecture. – Nicole | Community Manager

I stumbled on your article as I am researching on Happiness to publish my 3rd book. Thanks for sharing! A very elaborate and informative article. The “Take home message” is very encouraging. And I vouch for the neuroplasticity of the brain. We can train ourselves to be Happy. Once we change our attitude, it is easy to be Happy. I learnt how to be Happy at the age of 23. Few years back I posted an article sharing my findings on Happiness in this Linked-in forum. Please see the link for the same https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/easy-happy-ramesh-thota-pmp-cqa/ . Appreciate if you can share your views.

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'The Character of a Happy Life' by Henry Wotton - Complete Study Guide

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

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Here’s a complete study guide for the poem ‘The Character of a Happy Life’ by Henry Wotton.

Suitable for students of all levels, including those studying the 2023-2025 CAIE / Cambridge IGCSE and O Level Poetry Anthology (Songs of Ourselves, Volume 2, Part 4).

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A set of study guides for every poem in the Cambridge IGCSE Poetry collection ( CAIE 2023-25, Songs of Ourselves Volume 2, Part 4). There are also tasks, themes and essay questons that are tailored towards helping students achieve the very highest level! Here's a [FREE RESOURCE from the collection ](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12766593)- download it to see if the full bundle is right for you! Click here if you're looking for the other [Cambridge IGCSE poetry collection](https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/the-complete-caie-igcse-poetry-anthology-bundle-part-2-2023-25-12751021) Poems included: After - Philip Bourke Marston A Leave-Taking - Algernon Charles Swinburne From An Essay On Criticism - Alexander Pope I Find No Peace - Sir Thomas Wyatt Lines Written on Her Death Bed at Bath to Her Husband in London - Mary Monck 'Marinda' Nearing Forty - Derek Walcott Now Let No Charitable Hope - Elinor Morton Wylie Rooms - Charlotte Mew Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples - Percy Bysshe Shelley The Character of a Happy Life - Henry Wotton The Forsaken Wife - Elizabeth Thomas 'Corinna' 'I Hear an Army' - James Joyce 'Rhyme of the Dead Self' A R D Fairburne 'Love in a Life' - Robert Browning 'Waterfall' - Lauris Dorothy Edmond Each digital + printable pdf resource includes the following: VOCABULARY STORY / SUMMARY SPEAKER / VOICE ATTITUDES LANGUAGE FEATURES STRUCTURE / FORM CONTEXT THEMES TASKS AND EXERCISES POSSIBLE ESSAY QUESTIONS **FREE** BONUS MATERIAL: *How to Understand the Mark Scheme: CIE / Cambridge IGCSE Literature (0475 / 0992)* *Assessment Objectives and What They Mean: CIE / Cambridge IGCSE Literature (0475 / 0992)* Please review our content! We always value feedback and are looking for ways to improve our resources, so all reviews are more than welcome. [VIEW OUR SHOP](http://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/ntabani) for other literature and language resources.

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Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

The Four Keys to a Meaningful Life

Could pursuing meaning be the path to true happiness?

We at Greater Good have written often about the differences between a happy life and a meaningful life and found that the two are closely related. When we aim for a life of meaningful pursuits, we are likely to feel more sustained happiness and life satisfaction—even if there is some discomfort, sadness, or stress along the way—than if we aim for a life of pleasure alone. In fact, seeking happiness directly may actually backfire , while pursuing meaning may increase our health and well-being .

Now a new book takes a stab at figuring out just what pursuing a meaningful life entails. In The Power of Meaning , journalist Emily Esfahani Smith draws from the texts of great writers and philosophers—Emerson, Aristotle, Buddha, and Victor Frankl, for example—as well as interviews with everyday people seeking to increase meaning in their lives, to try to distill what’s central in this pursuit. The book, though only loosely tied to research, is mostly an engaging read about how people find meaning in life through “four pillars” of meaning.

1. Belonging. When we are understood, recognized, and affirmed by friends, family members, partners, colleagues, and even strangers, we feel we belong to a community. Results from some studies —as well as end-of-life conversations —indicate that many people count their relationships as the most meaningful part of their lives, even when those relationships are difficult or strained.

2. Purpose. When we have long-term goals in life that reflect our values and serve the greater good, we tend to imbue our activities with more meaning. Researcher Adam Grant has found that professions focused on helping others—teachers, surgeons, clergy, and therapists—all tend to rate their jobs as more meaningful, and that people who imbue their work with purpose are more dedicated to their jobs . Having purpose has also been tied to many positive outcomes, including increased learning for students in school and better health .

3. Storytelling. When it comes to finding meaning, it helps to try to pull particularly relevant experiences in our lives into a coherent narrative that defines our identity. People who describe their lives as meaningful tend to have redemptive stories where they overcame something negative, and to emphasize growth, communion with others, and personal agency. Laura Kray and colleagues found that asking people to consider paths not taken in life and the consequences of those choices imbued experiences with more meaning .

4. Transcendence. Experiences that fill us with awe or wonder—ones in which “we feel we have risen above the everyday world to experience a higher reality,” according to Smith— can decrease our self-focus and lead us to engage in more generous, helpful behavior . It may seem counterintuitive in some ways; but the diminishment of our own self-importance can induce a sense of meaning, she says.

Smith’s book aims to be somewhat prescriptive, offering practices that could encourage meaning in your own life. For example, at work you may want to practice acknowledging coworkers, engaging in personal interactions, and offering support to others when they need it, using these “high-quality connections” to increase your sense of belonging. You may also want to redefine the tasks of your job to fit your motives, strengths, and passions— a strategy recommended by organizational scholar Jane Dutton and colleagues .

Or, if you feel stuck, you may want to spend time creating a life narrative —an understanding of what experiences shaped you into the person you are now—with a redemptive storyline, perhaps through expressive writing practice or through working with a therapist. Or, you may want to find ways to experience more awe in your life, spending time in nature, staring at the stars, experiencing profound works of art, or pondering heroic figures.

Though her book is more focused on stories and philosophy than research, Smith does at least offer new ideas in an area that was once primarily the purview of spiritual traditions. She argues that pursuing meaning can be healing, not only for those of us with mild existential malaise, but for those who’ve suffered trauma or are facing their own mortality.

Her book is a call to recognize our place in the world—perhaps most importantly by nurturing our relationships and serving others—so that we bring more meaning to our lives.

“Each of us has a circle of people—in our families, in our communities, and at work—whose lives we can improve,” she writes. “That’s a legacy everyone can leave behind.”

About the Author

Jill Suttie

Jill Suttie, Psy.D. , is Greater Good ’s former book review editor and now serves as a staff writer and contributing editor for the magazine. She received her doctorate of psychology from the University of San Francisco in 1998 and was a psychologist in private practice before coming to Greater Good .

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What Is a Meaningful Life?

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A Happy Life Essay | Essay on A Happy Life for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

A Happy Life Essay – Given below is a Long and Short Essay on A Happy Life for aspirants of competitive exams, kids and students belonging to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. A Happy Life essay 100, 150, 200, 250, 500 words in English helps the students with their class assignments, comprehension tasks, and even for competitive examinations.

You can also find more Essay Writing articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long Essay on A Happy Life 500 Words for Kids and Students in English

Everyone in this world craves for a happy life. It is difficult to define happiness as it is a state of the mind and it is subjective. Happiness is related to material glory and splendour by some. Some associate it with the health of a man while for some it lies in a sort of contentment with whatever one possesses.

People crave for happiness. Happiness to them is just a good and comfortable dream. The manner of living has various standards. Everyone, therefore, has his own concept of happiness. Most men are dissatisfied with their present state of affairs and condition. One always wants an increasing amount of materialistic assets. A poor man living on the roadside, will be aspiring for a hut while a hut-dweller will be aspiring for a house. A house owner may be aspiring for a beautiful bungalow and a bungalow-owner may be aspiring for a posh-residence.

Thus, the question arises—where does the real human happiness and solace lie? Generally speaking, material splendour and prosperity are considered to be the main factors leading to happiness. A wealthy man enjoys all the comforts, luxuries, amenities and facilities of life. But does he consider himself to be really happy? A rich man may be the master of millions but even then, he may be unhappy due to ill health. Being ill, he cannot enjoy all the pleasures of life. He considers himself to be a condemned and cursed man in this world. And when he finds himself amidst wealth, he is all the more troubled. His state of mind is not elevating. Rather, he is always in a mood of melancholy. We, thus, conclude that wealth is not the only criterion of a truly happy life.

It is an admitted fact that poverty and happiness are diametrically opposed to each other. But there have been some instances when we find poor people quite happy and gay. Their minds are not corrupted by the sweeping changes of times. Their lives are balanced and happy. They feel contented with their meagre resources and they believe in the following lines of Wordsworth:

“Be content with what you have Little be it or much…”

Such people are really happy. Their mental states are always calm. Otherwise, there is no end to the desires of human beings. Human desires are infinite; they multiply with the fortune. A millionaire longs to become a multi-millionaire and this vicious cycle for acquiring has no end to it.

Moreover, the humanity is a strange lot. People always want what is not in their possession. So, their desire to acquire and possess leads to aspirations but their failure to achieve those aspirations brings frustration. Craze for more things and its unfulfilment leads to unhappiness and melancholy. This world is really a strange place and has been aptly described by famous poet Shelly in the following words:

“We look before and after And pine for what is not”

A happy life results from a state of mind. Health is also one of the most important factors that promote happiness. A healthy man can take strolls in the morning and can enjoy the fresh air of the fields and fragrance of the flowers by visiting a garden. A poor but healthy man can spend his time in sports and games and can resort to other entertainments and recreations that are cheap and easily accessible.

Therefore, we can conclude that the very secret of happiness lies somewhere else and not in the mere possession of huge wealth. A wealthy man always remains in a state of tension because he fears being attacked by thieves and dacoits.

But ideal happiness is in a man who always does the right thing, never hurts the hearts and minds of others and is a God-fearing person. One’s actions and ambitions must be good. Good actions also lead to happiness. Contentment with the prevailing circumstances is another factor that promotes happiness. Thus, Shakespeare was right when he wrote:

“Nothing is good or bad But thinking makes it so.”

Everything appears to be pleasant to a happy mind and unpleasant to a diseased mind.

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A Key Component of a Happy Life

Happiness is contentment in any circumstance..

Posted September 10, 2022 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

There are many ways we can explore happiness together. But today, I want to talk about what is perhaps the key component of a happy life.

It’s not about having wonderful experiences. It’s about flowing wonderfully with whatever life brings.

Almost 100% of our energy goes toward changing our external environment and surroundings to improve the direction of our lives. There is a real propensity to think that if things were different, life would go better. For instance, if you are having wonderful experiences, all your focus will be going toward:

• Trying to recreate those experience
• Trying to stay in them all the time

People sacrifice so much to keep their lives headed in a certain direction, believing that things will remain great. However, there are big problems with this approach to life.

Why doesn’t this system work?

We cannot control everything in our external life. Maybe we can influence them a bit, but we cannot completely control them.

For example, your goal may be meeting your soulmate and having that “happily ever after” experience. And this may work for a little while. You may have wonderful experiences with this person, you fall in love, and then get married. But then life happens. Things change, we have kids, and we have stressors. There are illnesses, fights, and, perhaps, affairs. What was wonderful before is not wonderful anymore. Since it didn’t work, we may try to find someone else.

Here’s another example: In the United States, there is a belief that if you make enough money, then all will be well. You may think money means happiness. You can travel the world, enjoy great meals, and just have a blast. But this is sometimes temporary.

Materialism is not happiness

We all know plenty of people who have lots of material things, but happiness isn’t one of them. When we look for external experiences to make us happy, the problem is many factors can change. This change can make those great external experiences unpleasant.

We may be able to spend $10,000 on a business-class ticket to Europe, and it will be wonderful. But when we get to the airport, our flight may be delayed or even canceled. Or, when we arrive at our destination, our luggage may be lost. Our luggage may end up in a different country, and we may not have it for the first three days of our holiday. Suddenly, this wonderful experience isn’t as wonderful anymore.

Happiness isn’t what it seems

In the last few years, Hollywood has made movies about famous musicians, from Elton John to Freddy Mercury to Aretha Franklin. And more recently, there was the Elvis movie. Elvis Presley is considered the king of rock 'n roll. Can you imagine the wonderful experiences he had, coming from a normal background? He wasn’t rich, he wasn’t powerful; he just went from a singer to a world-class icon.

And in the movie, yes, he had some amazing experiences, but his life, overall, wasn’t wonderful. There was a lot of tragedy, and there was a lot of suffering. If many great experiences were the keys to happiness, people like Elvis would be one of the happiest people who ever lived. Sadly, he wasn’t.

So, if wonderful experiences aren’t going to make our lives great, then what will?

The answer: To flow wonderfully with whatever life brings.

The true path to happiness

This is a hard thing to do, but it is truly magnificent. What we must do is stop focusing on what’s happening externally. Instead, we should put more energy toward changing our reaction and interaction with the experience. It’s about finding something wonderful in all experiences.

Now, your initial response may be, “This is crazy!” or “That doesn’t make sense.” You must control that response. People are going to hurt you or take advantage of you, and your instinct is to make changes to control this. This is a common response. You can influence some things, but there are so many things that you cannot control.

So, let’s say you go to a nice restaurant and you have reservations but they sit you at a table that you do not like. And yes, you can ask them to offer somewhere else to sit, and they may accommodate you, but sometimes they won’t, or they cannot. This is where the trouble arises. When it really cannot be changed, that is where you must decide. Do you want to be miserable or upset?

If the doctor says you have Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer, you may get mad, kick, and scream, but the cancer is still there. And now you must make decisions about what you’re going to do.

You may come home one day, and your spouse approaches you saying, “I’m done. I’m leaving. It’s over.” You can scream, you can get upset, beg, plead, or make promises. But if your partner is done with the relationship, they’re done. It’s something you cannot control.

Happiness: what we can control

What we can control, as stated before, is our response. It’s about our response to cancer, our response to divorce . Those actions we can control. We are somewhat in control of external circumstances. Sometimes, they can cure cancer. Sometimes, through our behavior and choices, we can win our partner back. But if a loved one dies, we cannot bring them back from the dead.

Although it can be tricky, if someone does leave us, we can work towards finding someone else. We can do that. But perhaps right now, at this moment, there isn’t anyone in our lives. If not, we must ask ourselves, “Do I want to be miserable until I find someone new?” or “Do I want to find happiness at this moment as a single person?”

The problem with this is our ability to influence the future, putting all our energy toward what we want. We may think, “Well, when this changes or when this happens, all will be well.” This leaves a sense of anticipation of happiness in the future instead of now. Isn’t it better to put energy into being happy now instead of someday?

We cannot accept defeat

The other thing that keeps us from being happy and living wonderfully right now is we believe that when certain things happen, we’re just going to be miserable and there’s no way out of it. The problem with this approach is despite any example you give, someone on the planet Earth, out of the seven billion people, is going through your biggest fear . Not only are they fine, but they’re also happy.

You can choose to be happy with what’s happening or fight what’s happening. The number one thing you can put energy towards, which will make all the difference, is flowing with your present circumstances.

• Even if you’ve just lost your job and you don’t know what to do. Well, you can focus your energy on finding another job or changing careers.
• If your partner just asked for a divorce and you were so in love with them, what can you do? Well, now you’re free. You have an opportunity to meet someone else, more free time, and you can connect more with your children or friends.
• Even with a terminal illness, some people have started truly living like never before. When loss came, they released the beauty of life.
• And if you’re simply waiting for an appointment, then meditate while waiting. Meditation is wonderful during free time, and when changes bring more free time, there you go.

Happiness is a mindset

Things may change, but you can adjust to the changes. You can find beautiful things in your new circumstances. You must focus on making the most out of this moment, the present moment. Yes, you can reserve 10% of your energy on trying to change things, but if at least 90% of your energy is spent on finding contentment in the experience instead of changing the experience, that’s happiness.

Happiness is contentment in any circumstances.

Robert Puff, Ph.D. , is host and producer of the Happiness Podcast, with over 16 million downloads.

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What are the characteristics of a happy life as described in the poem Solitude by Alexander Pope?

Sahyadribooks ∙

The character of happy life

This poem is composed by Sir Henry Wotton, in this poem poet describe the character of a happy life.

In this poem poet talks about a virtuous man poet says he is lucky man who enjoys an independent will power of his own he does not serve others will ,he possess honest thoughts in his mind which save from evils and bad deeds ,he gets this quality by birth or by education . this noble deed keeps him away from jealousy and sin .

he always follow the rules of goodness and religion , he is not ambition person and his hopes are limited, this man has firm believe in heavenity reward . he prays to almighty Allah due to which he enjoys a happy life.

CENTRAL IDEA

A man who live his life according to goodness and religion ,and if he is not worried about his wealth and fame and does not jealous with other he is one who live happy life and a real peace of life.

(BY RAJA UNAR)

Ode On Solitude (or The Quiet Life) - A Poem By Alexander Pope,

England (1688-1744).

Alexander Pope once said:' The proper study of mankind is man'. To him belongs the greatest number of quotations in the English language. Man was the fittest subject for his poetry. In an imaginative treatment, he illuminates the knowledge about man in relation to individuals, society and the Universe. Born a catholic in the protestant England, he was forbidden to live in London city and was liable for a double taxation. Besides, he was suffering from a series of diseases. To combat these handicaps, he possessed more than the courage of a lion. The Rape Of The Lock, Essay On Man, Essay On Criticism and The Temple Of Fame are a few of his major poems. The Quiet Life is an alternative title for the poem Ode On Solitude, which is justified. In this poem Pope is describing the characteristics of a happy life, which are satisfaction, self-sufficiency and piety.

The happy man is satisfied with what he is having at present. He is not interested in increasing his landed properties. His wish and care are bound within the few acres of land given to him by his ancestors. He also wishes not to go abroad to France or anywhere else to make money or to enjoy, as others in his times did. He is content to breath his native air in his own ground. Thus satisfaction is characteristic of a happy life.

The happy man would be self sufficient also. His herds would supply him with milk and his flocks of black sheep with wool for his attire. He would be winning his bread by cultivating his fields. And he would have planted enough number of trees in his homestead which would yield him a cool shade in the Summer and enough firewood to burn in the Winter. Thus self sufficiency is another characteristic of a happy life.

If somebody can watch without anxiety the passing of time, then he is a blessed person indeed. Hours, days and years slide soft away as if a sledge is sliding over the snow. Time progresses in a straight line and no point in it will ever be repeated. The feelings and passions attached to a particular moment can never be enjoyed anymore. Right actions of the tiny moments constitutes what is happiness in life. Therefore the happy man can unconcernedly observe the passing of time, in health of body and peace of mind. It is the perfect attitude to Time.

The nights of the happy man would be spent on sleeping sound. His day time would be devoted to a recreation-like studying. It must be remembered here that not everyone are blessed with successful book publishing and heavy royalties like the poet. Study and ease together mixed is a sweet recreation indeed. A 30% book reading, 10% life experience and the rest 60% travel makes anyone's life perfect. The happy man's innocence, perfection and his meditative traits makes him pleasing to the world. Thus piety, or unchanging belief, also is characteristic of a happy life.

Like a truly happy man, the poet wishes to live unseen and unknown and die unlamented. He wishes to withdraw stealthily from this world and pleads that not a stone be placed over his grave to tell where he lies. The happy poet is here contemplating Solitude.

Add your answer:

What was the answer of Ms Angola in miss universe 2011?

Q: "If you could change one of your physical characteristics, which one will it be and why?" A: Through an interpreter, Ms. Lopes replied that she is very happy about how she looked that she would not change a thing.

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A happy lion is one that has had a kill.

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You can find Happy at his website happyscomedy.net

Happy is to sad as gentle is to?

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Fiona, age three, with her adoptive grandparents. All images supplied by and © the author

The adoption paradox

Even happy families cannot avoid the reality – my reality – that adoption is predicated on transacting the life of a child.

by Fiona Sampson   + BIO

A child of four or five sits colouring at a low table. Memory can be tricky: the image is dim and rather unstable. But I know that the child is me, and that she’s been caught showing off by her grandmother, who is looking after her. (Where are the parents? I don’t know.)

‘I’m going to show my mummy and daddy,’ says the little girl, about her picture.

‘They’re not your mummy and daddy,’ says the old woman on the sofa, witchily. ‘You have a real mummy and daddy somewhere else.’

The child I remember doesn’t show her face; she keeps on colouring. But words have magic powers. Real… somewhere else. This single sentence sucks the reality out of everything around her: the red carpet, the blue Formica tabletop, the buttoned upholstery of the sofa on which her grandmother sits watching her.

The author, aged two and a half

You could call it a life sentence , for this is the moment in which I learn that I am adopted.

I will repress this memory for decades, and for all the usual reasons. Like every child, I want to be happy. Still, what makes adoption so through-the-mirror, so literally unheimlich, so ‘un-homing’, has nothing to do with unhappy families or childhood abuse. Indeed, I suspect the reason that comparatively few stories of adoptee experience make it to the mainstream is that this is not classic misery memoir territory. Instead, at its heart are existential questions of identity, about the foundations of the self.

C hildren who are adopted must ask themselves ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What does it mean to be me?’: generally when they’re still too young to manage this kind of world-shifting thought experiment. And they can never put the experiment aside. This shifty, shifting interplay of alternative narratives is who they are.

Perhaps inevitably, my grandmother’s revelation is followed by a scene in the bathroom – maybe that evening, maybe days later – when my child self, having listened to my mother tell some apparently irrelevant story about how babies grow in tummies, insists in tears: ‘But I am still really your little girl, aren’t I?’ Searching around, as I will for years to come, for some kind of inalienability. This I do remember: the bathroom mirror, the cold light.

But of course, there is no inalienability anywhere in the adoption triangle. Adoption is precisely predicated upon alienability. Within it, everything – name, home, belonging, life chances – can be negotiated. Which means everything can also be negotiated away. Adoption goes deeper even than those inalienable – intrinsic – rights that we hold to be part of, and help us to define, the human individual: self-determination, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and so on. Adoption says that not even the individual’s identity is intrinsic. Not even, to put it another way, their individuality itself.

‘Normal’ family life – kids growing up in birth families of whatever form – is scarily circumstantial

For the child, this total alienability means there’s nothing intrinsic to herself that guarantees her connection to anyone. What has been chosen can be unchosen. The existential lack of givenness with which adoptees live is why, for us, adoptive ‘parents’ who return ‘their’ kids to the system when the going gets tough are more than stories about abuse, they have a kind of abysmal horror. We don’t just read them with sympathy, they ‘take us apart’.

Still, some biological parents do abandon their kids, or are forced to hand them over to authorities of various kinds, or prevented by destitution or illness from being able to raise them. Some die. Their babies get kidnapped by regimes, ‘charities’, people smugglers. Viewed this way, ‘normal’ family life – kids growing up in birth families of whatever form: step-, half-, single-parent, gay, IVF, grandparental – is scarily circumstantial. Plus, even within bio families, no one reposes entirely within the bosom of inalienability. Divorces lead to custody battles; adult siblings drift apart; parents offer addict offspring tough love.

But we don’t really want to think about this. It’s already difficult enough working out who you are, paying the bills, and just generally hustling a living. Having something to count on through thick and thin – a touchstone of something absolute, perhaps, even within the most secular of lives – is as attractive as ever. The political rhetoric of ‘hardworking families’ – invoked by all major political parties around the world – reaches across the ideological spectrum. Though it’s the Right, of course, that crosses its fingers hardest against those it sees as lacking the social status of a nuclear family, with habitual targets including single mothers and the LGBTQ+ community.

A doptees lack that social status too. Which leads me to ask again why, that summer afternoon in our house on a suburban street in south-west England, my grandmother chose to poke at the story of my adoption. From family diaries I’ve inherited, I know how much she had been against the idea in the first place. Still, in those days before IVF, there was no other ‘solution’ to childlessness. Every week of my childhood we prayed in church for ‘the barren woman’, and as I got older and understood what this meant, I became embarrassed for my mum. But perhaps my grandmother, if not consciously, blamed my father instead. I began to notice how neither of my adoptive parents got on well with their in-laws. My father’s side thought my mother nervy and pretentious, while my mother’s family found my father, son of a country vicar, too down to earth. ‘The rectory kitchen had an earth floor ,’ my mother hissed once in explanation.

The author, age five, in the garden of her grandfather’s house

Where was I in this? Since I was problematic, I think each side identified me with the ‘other’. Until puberty, I was a daddy’s girl; certainly, at four or five, I was already bookish like him. Family memory has my (dyslexic) mother tearing a newspaper out of my hands when I’m two years old.

Perhaps my grandmother thought of the pair of us as a kind of trouble her daughter had got into. Or perhaps she was indulging in magical thinking. The lurking alienability of the closest human bonds is frightening, after all. And adoption, being founded upon this risk, reminds society about it at the same time as denying it, through pretending that its own remedial process is a problem-busting happy ending.

In truth, it can only ever be a happi er ending. Of course, every kid who escapes institutional care to grow up in a loving adoptive family has a happier ending – and middle, and almost-beginning – than would otherwise be the case. And even though it’s undoubtedly harder to love someone else’s biological child than your own – why else would stepmothers have such a wicked reputation in folk wisdom? – there are innumerable such families, such kids. But to say this is as good as family bonds that never fractured in the first place is to confuse the contingent with an absolute good. Like claiming that fantastic orthopaedic surgery after a major accident is as good as never having had the accident in the first place.

The social pressure to be grateful prevents the sheer effort of being an adoptee from being talked about

The new adoptive family, forming like a scar, is built on loss and breakage. It has to try and heal each corner of its triad: biological parents who have lost (or chosen to lose) their kids, adoptive parents who are often dealing with infertility and the loss of the dream of ‘kids of their own’, and an adoptee who will grow up without the restful privilege of a family that is ‘their own’.

Over the years, I’ve come to think that my grandmother was also poking me. My childish psyche, tentacled like a sea anemone, would shut if she hurt it enough. It did shut. And she was compelled to make it do so because I was a stranger in the family. The cuckoo in the nest , a phrase I got to know well. Both a stranger: and so anomalously strange that I would eventually pass more and better exams than any of her four biological grandchildren.

An official photo sent by the (then) prospective adopters back to the agency within three days of the child’s arrival. Note the shaved head

Still, I had to strive to do so and, as that striving suggests, in my experience living in adoption means living with anxiety. I believe the social pressure on us to be grateful prevents the sheer effort of being an adoptee from being talked about. There’s a lot of negative expectation, talk of bad blood , around what’s going to emerge from the default cuteness of being a child. Not that I was a cute kid. My adoptive mother’s strategy was to keep me always slightly undernourished and overstretched, continually slightly unwell, in order to underline her charity in taking on a child whose background could be assumed to be, at best, what she called ‘common’.

But many adoptees I’ve known are, or were, cute. They strove as hard to sparkle as I did to be good: obedient and hardworking, I was desperate to please. Every attempt to be loveable is an attempt to be seductive. I have a theory, based only on personal experience of what happened to several of my contemporaries, that adopted kids are extra vulnerable to grooming. Cases that made the national news, scandals known only to classmates: perhaps I was lucky to be kept plain and awkward. I can’t forget the ones who dropped out, who killed themselves.

So much innocent striving. It came from being a source of anxiety in our adoptive families. Would the taint show in some way? Would we be naughty, or dishonest, or – particularly for girls when I was growing up – promiscuous? The reverse too: what unexpected talents, skills, strengths might emerge from our profound unknown-ness as an unrelated child? As I grew through childhood, for example, I took to books like a duck to water. But I was also inevitably clumsier than the adults I lived with. This natural developmental stage became parsed as an attribute – poor coordination – into which I accordingly grew: children are very amenable. I suspect adoptive children take on particular family roles even more than other kids: the good one, the bad one, the brainy stupid sporty pretty blond dark funny one… The result in my case was to make all of us in that house feel I was like an unexploded bomb. The cut glass on the sideboard, the best china stacked within it, seemed to shudder as I passed, and I shuddered too. I was afraid that, even without touching, I would somehow knock or chip or crack something.

B eing an adoptee is performative. Some words for this are: being good enough, assimilating, fighting for acceptance, not being but being- as . For me it meant, among other things, never being allowed to go out of the house with teenaged friends. Adoption is arduous for everyone, even when it works. So I find the social media trend for videos of adopters and adoptees meeting for the first time incomprehensible. It’s not just that it’s voyeuristic: it’s that those posting and viewing them seem unable to see what’s there in plain sight.

Today, many domestic adoptions, in the UK at least, are open. The child they’re built around knows where she came from. The adoptive family may even stay in touch with her birth family during her childhood. But when I was a baby, most adoptions were not only retroactively ‘closed’ but conducted ‘blind’, with no choosing each other. Indeed, no meeting at all prior to the child being handed over for life. This was understood not to matter because the child was seen as completely interchangeable – apart, perhaps, from its sex. The baby as tabula rasa for the adopters to ‘make their own’. Will this idea return, as more accidental babies come up for adoption following the striking down of Roe v Wade in the United States, and a more general shift in the Global North away from prioritising women’s rights?

Whatever happens next, international adoption – where allowed – continues to be ‘blind’. And at the end of all the fees and paperwork, two or three unrelated people, small and big, meet each other. Videos that parade this meeting are usually labelled #happymoment: which I imagine is in the nature of a Users’ Guide, because they quite plainly are not. They make everything that’s difficult about adoption visible, starting with the control exercised by the adoption agency. A stunned, often weeping child is led, like the bride in a forced marriage, into the presence of strangers with whom the child must spend the rest of her life. The adoptive parents’ emotions are visible too: this is the apotheosis of years of longing. (If they’re disappointed, they certainly can’t show it now.) This small person must now sustain their big longing. The new parents generally offer some small cheap toy to draw her forward into the ambush of an embrace . (Don’t take treats from strangers, kids!) And the tackiness of these greeting gifts seems to sum up the contingency of adoption, its underlying Oh, this will do ethos.

It was less than a week before Christmas. If I wasn’t placed before the holiday, I was to be put into an institution

I wasn’t adopted as an ambulatory child, thank goodness, but after a few months of being passed between foster mothers. Nevertheless, I know quite a lot about my own #happymoment. (I almost prefer the crudeness of the alternative, #gotchaday – also, of course, used for pets and rescue animals – with its implied compulsion.) From my biological mother, whom I traced years ago, I know how an agency worker took me from her, carried me through a nearby door – and that my adoptive parents were right on the other side. She heard my adoptive mother laugh – a laugh I know intimately of course. I know too that in the long taxi journey across London to the agency in Fitzrovia, my bio mother apologised to me and had a little cry.

I know the bleached London brick of those windy Fitzrovia terraces.

I know from my adoptive dad’s diary that we nearly didn’t turn up. We arrived for the handover 50 minutes late, leaving my new parents just 10 minutes to interact with me at the agency before they took me away. Checks, balances?

I don’t know how much I was priced at, but I do know that my grandmother told my mother they could have paid more and got a younger baby. I know from my case file that it was less than a week before Christmas and that, if I wasn’t placed before the holiday, I was to be put into an institution. My file also tells me I was hard to place because I was a girl. And also because someone has noted on the file that my biological mother is plain and I resemble her.

I know from my adoptive mother that, less than an hour later, I was throwing up on her on the train, and so my dad asked people in the compartment to stop smoking. Since she was widowed, she’s kept returning to this story. It’s as if, like her own mother, she associates me with my father. In the same vein, it’s she who recently brought back my memory of the primal scene with her mother. I had remembered the terror of ‘But I am still really your little girl, aren’t I?’ but forgotten its cause. The search for reassurance was a screen memory; behind it was the abyss of disconnection.

T here are a hundred ways to tell a child she’s adopted: adoption is not culture specific. There have always been orphans and foundlings, and people wishing to take them into their families. Sources as varied as the 6th- to 5th-century BCE story of Moses, or the accounts of apprentice-adoptions of gifted child artists in Giorgio Vasari’s 16th-century Lives of the Artists , tell us this. Yet adoption is laden with cultural meanings, and not, usually, by adoptees themselves. How strange it is, for example, that even with our era’s embrace of essential identities – through identity politics, in gender transitioning – adoption remains an exception, held to define an individual regardless of their own experience and understanding of themselves.

Even the happiest of families cannot completely resolve the difficulty that adoption is necessarily about de-essentialisation, a destabilising of identity, which almost compels some kind of remedial stabilisation. Adoptee views and experiences of this central ‘knot’ vary hugely. For some, their adoptive identity and the life they lead with it is ‘real’ and the rest almost fabular. For others, nature trumps nurture. Still others feel that a range of inherited and learnt characteristics coexist within them. But whatever their personal take on identity, their legal standing will not flex with it. An adoptee may wish to acknowledge their birth identity, but legal processes such as citizenship accept only documentation, not DNA testing, as evidence of identity. Or they may wish to deny that part of their identity altogether, and fix themselves more fully in their adoptive family. Just as gender transitioning is understood to cancel out someone’s first-given identity, so the neither-nor of adoptive identity can feel like a lie that needs cancelling out. Yet this too is unachievable. There is no legal form that can further undo the residue of biological embodiment at the heart of the adoption experience. And no adoptee can transition to biological belonging: familial relatedness would require a total genetic rewrite.

Consciousness of adoption is surely the original impostor syndrome

However happy an adoption, birth identity remains. It is Thomas Hardy’s ‘Heredity’, ‘the family face’ that will ‘live on, /Projecting trait and trace/ … And leaping from place to place’ in the poem the British writer published in 1917. Or else it’s a question in medical histories. Or it’s something that rises to the surface, an old scar now, at such moments of family pressure as marriage or inheritance.

Whatever an adoptee’s beliefs, in other words, a duality, a kind of astigmatism of the self, remains part of their experience. Perhaps it helps to see this a little aslant. In the canonical French novelist George Sand’s memoir Histoire de ma Vie (1855), she addresses having been (mis-)informed that she was ‘really’ an earlier, older child than herself, who had been born to her parents before they married and was therefore omitted from the records:

It’s no more than two or three years that I’ve known positively who I am. I was indeed born [as registered]; I am truly – myself – in a word, which doesn’t stop pleasing me, for there’s something troubling about doubting one’s name, one’s age and one’s country … I could have died without knowing whether I had lived – in person – or in someone else’s place. [Author’s translation]

‘In someone else’s place’: consciousness of adoption is surely the original impostor syndrome. To which someone who hasn’t experienced it might respond: ‘But never mind what you’re called : core identity is being the one who experiences and does what you do.’ Well then: but what if this duality, this slippage between two stories about yourself, forms part of that experience? Your identity must then contain that plurality. Like the dragon eating its tail on a Romanesque capital, identity as awareness gives ceaselessly onto awareness of identity.

Adoption is a kind of forcing ground of these forms of identity experiment. I suspect that the more widely it is recognised as such, the more adoptees will find the cultural space to be respected simply as ordinary people who have lived through particular early circumstances. Circumstances that don’t trouble most people, but that throw up problems and fears – about who we are, how we love and where we are safe – in which we all share.

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