The Happiness Pie

I just started reading The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want.  Sometimes my kids think that your happiness is mainly due to circumstances and luck, versus accepting the idea that their own habitual attitudes and thought patterns could play a role.  Does happiness just "happen" to them, or can they boost it by developing habits such as counting their blessings, imagining themselves reaching their goals, meditating, or practicing random acts of kindness?  In keeping with other books I've been reading, I don't want to just nag them into doing these things.  I want them to read solid, persuasive research that motivates them to cultivate these habits.

The first part of the book discusses the Happiness Pie.  The image on the cover shows the pie.  According to the author, studies have shown that, if you consider large groups of people, about 50% of the variation in their levels of happiness can be explained by heredity, 10% by temporary changes in their circumstances, and 40% by habits that anyone can easily develop.   (These are averages, of course.  If you have terminal cancer, this might become 80% of your individual pie).

These estimates are based on numerous studies of happiness by psychologists in the last couple of decades.  Studies of identical twins raised in different homes and families, in particular, have helped researchers estimate the distinct contribution of genetics to a person's typical level of happiness.

The easiest opportunities to boost your happiness lie in the 40% of the happiness pie generated by easily acquired habits.  This 40% is the tempting slice of the pie you see in the image on the cover.  You might be born with genes that predispose you to be relatively happy or relatively unhappy.  That's 50% of the pie.  You have no control over this.  Your current circumstances account for, on average, 10% of the pie.  You have some control of this part of your happiness.  But then you've got another 40% you can easily influence through your mental and behavioral habits.  This is the easy opportunity to boost your happiness that the author encourages readers to pursue.

How confident am I that the authors have these percentages right?  How solid is the research?  How precise can they really be?  I don't know, but does it really matter?  The numbers may not be exactly 50% genetic, 10% circumstance, and 40% mental habits, but my gut says that these percentages are plausible.  I see people who seem naturally happy or sad.  This fits with the 50% genetic idea.  It feels to me as if most people eventually return to about the same level of happiness even when their circumstances change (illness, jobs, family, etc.).  This fits with the idea that circumstances only account for 10%.  And then I've seen people permanently shift their happiness when they've changed their habitual attitudes and thoughts.  This fits with the 40% estimate.

The author spends most of the rest of the book discussing the habits anyone can learn which unleash the 40% of your potential happiness.  She describes 12 habits in all, and provides supporting research and practical recommendations for each of them.  I'll be writing about these habits in my next few blogs.