What determines happiness? Which happiness factors are within your control?
According to Sonja Lyubomirsky, three main factors influence your overall happiness. She contends that your genetics influence 50% of your long-term happiness, your circumstances influence 10%, and your thoughts and behaviors influence 40%.
Keep reading to understand the power of each of these happiness factors.
What Determines Happiness
What determines happiness? We’ll explore the factors that determine how happy you feel throughout your life. This information will help you understand which happiness factors you can control and where to direct your efforts to enhance your long-term happiness.
Let’s explore Lyubomirsky’s insights into how (and how much) your happiness is determined by your genetics, your circumstances, and your thoughts and behaviors.
Happiness Factor #1: Your Genetics
Lyubomirsky states that your genetics influence 50% of your long-term happiness and determine your “happiness baseline.” Simply put, your genes define the default level of happiness you typically feel, regardless of life’s ups and downs.
Lyubomirsky cites studies on identical twins with identical genetic codes to support her theory. Regardless of whether the twins in these studies grew up together or were separated at birth and raised in different environments (for example, one may have grown up in poverty and the other amidst luxury), their happiness levels often mirrored each other. Meanwhile, studies of fraternal twins—who have different genetic codes—found no consistent correlation in their happiness levels whether they shared the same upbringing or lived apart.
This research implies that—unless you’re an identical twin—your genetic code, and therefore your happiness baseline, is unique. You might have a high baseline, meaning you consistently feel upbeat even during tough times, or you might have a low baseline, meaning you tend to feel down even when life’s going well.
Happiness Factor #2: Your Circumstances
According to Lyubomirsky, your circumstances account for just 10% of your long-term happiness. She clarifies that while major life events may impact how happy you feel—for example, you might feel happier when you get married or less happy if you lose a loved one—big shifts will usually be temporary. Over time, you’ll naturally revert to your happiness baseline (established by your genetics). Lyubomirsky attributes this transient effect to a phenomenon called hedonic adaptation.
Hedonic adaptation refers to your innate ability to eventually adapt to new situations, positive or negative. For example, the elation you feel after earning a promotion dissipates once you become accustomed to the new role and its benefits. Likewise, the intense grief you feel after a breakup lessens as you adjust to single life. Lyubomirsky cites various studies to support this concept, including one revealing that the happiness boost newlyweds experienced lasted only two years before they reverted to their pre-marriage baseline.
She identifies two tendencies that drive hedonic adaptation: First, when your circumstances improve, your expectations and desires often rise in tandem. For example, buying a sleek new car makes you happy until you get used to it and start eyeing even more luxurious models. Second, you often measure your achievements against others’. For instance, you feel happy with your new car until you notice your neighbor owns a higher-end model. As a result of these two tendencies, no matter how dramatically your circumstances change, your happiness tends to revert to your baseline over time.
| Three Variables Impacting Hedonic Adaptation Studies Lyubomirsky references hedonic adaptation studies to support her theory that circumstances contribute to 10% of your happiness. However, researchers identify three variables in these studies that create ambiguity in determining how much circumstances and hedonic adaptation impact happiness. 1) Subjective interpretations: In hedonic adaptation studies, participants are often asked to self-report their happiness on a numerical scale such as one to 10. Given the subjectivity of this approach, participants may interpret the scale differently. For example, one participant may interpret a 10 as the absolute highest level of happiness they could achieve, whereas another may interpret a 10 as “higher than average” happiness. Subjective interpretation might also explain why happiness levels seem to revert to a baseline: The reset might not be a return to an objective baseline, but rather a shift to a new, higher baseline. In other words, participants, having become accustomed to higher levels of happiness, may no longer perceive the improvement as much as they did when their circumstances first changed. 2) Scale norming: Participants who have undergone specific life changes may subconsciously rate their happiness relative to others who have had comparable experiences. For example, newlyweds may evaluate their happiness during the first two years of their marriage relative to other newlyweds rather than to the average person. This subconscious benchmarking implies that comparisons influence a person’s reported happiness levels more than the actual life event. 3) Social expectations: Participants might feel obligated to report happiness levels that conform to societal norms. For example, if they believe that people expect them to feel happy after they get married or buy a new car, they might exaggerate how happy they feel. On the other hand, if they believe that people expect them to grieve after a breakup or to feel dissatisfied with their old car, they might downplay how happy they feel. |
Happiness Factor #3: Your Thoughts and Behaviors
Our discussion so far implies that you can’t enhance happiness over the long term because, even if your circumstances make you happy, you’ll eventually get used to them and revert to your happiness baseline. However, Lyubomirsky stresses that, while you can’t change your happiness baseline, you can control 40% of the happiness you feel by consciously choosing to think and behave in positive ways.
(Shortform note: To validate her argument, Lyubomirsky designed and ran numerous control studies to measure the effect of positive thoughts and behaviors on participants’ short- and long-term happiness levels.)
But, what about genetics—don’t they dictate your happiness baseline and therefore how happy you feel over the long term? Yes and no: Lyubomirsky explains that, though genetics play a key role, they don’t have the final say on your happiness. Your genes predispose you to certain emotional outcomes, but the extent of their influence depends on a combination of factors, including your environment, experiences, and behaviors. For example, someone might have a genetic predisposition to depression, but if they grow up in a supportive environment and practice good mental health habits, they might never experience depression.
This means that, even if you’re genetically predisposed to a low-happiness baseline, you can feel just as happy as someone with a high-happiness baseline. You just have to shape your environment and invest more effort into thinking and behaving positively than that person might.
Further, while the impact of circumstances on your happiness tends to diminish over time, Lyubomirsky suggests that deliberatelyadopting positive thoughts and behaviors in day-to-day life inhibits the hedonic adaptation process, prolonging the happiness you derive from good circumstances.
(Shortform note: While Barry Schwartz (The Paradox of Choice) agrees that practicing positive thoughts and behaviors can counteract hedonic adaptation, he adds that simply being aware of this phenomenon can lessen its negative effects. When you remind yourself of the impact of hedonic adaptation on your happiness, you can work around it and make more informed decisions. For example, before purchasing a new car, acknowledging that the rush of happiness you anticipate is likely to be short-lived might influence you to spend less, which may in turn dampen future disappointment when the novelty fades.)
