Three Flavors of Happy

Over the past few weeks I have heard many different definitions of happiness. For a lot of us, happiness means being at peace, living in the moment, or a chosen state of mind. But what really makes for a happy person? Is it their attitude, their life experience, or even their genetics? This past week I have been studying psychologist Richard O’Connor’s Happy at Last, and I have discovered that there is not just one, but three, definitions of happiness.

1. Vanilla: Happy people are often filled with positive emotions such as excitement, peace, love, and joy.

2. Chocolate: Happy people rarely have negative emotions like sorrow, depression, resentment, jealousy, and pessimism.

3. Strawberry: Happy people are happy with their lives. They are not regretful; instead they are grateful. They are happy with their relationships and they are hopeful for the future.

What is interesting is that these three components are very separate yet interdependent of one another. While it is natural that a positive thinker will be less angry and a sad person will be less enthusiastic, these behaviors do not necessarily determine how happy an individual is. To be a happy person, you do not need to fulfill the requirements in all three categories; instead, you can be coined a “happy person” with just one. For example, I am very happy with my life, my relationships, and my future; however, I tend to be a bit worrisome, moody, and high strung. Yet just because I’m not a superstar in the second category, this doesn’t negate my overall happiness. What a relief! So I suppose my happy flavor would be strawberry with a vanilla swirl and a few chocolate chips just to jazz it up a bit. Obviously I need to head to the ice cream parlor since I'm using it as a metaphor for happiness!

So what "flavor" of happy are you?