Happiness is something we need to live a healthy life, but finding happiness is not an everyday affair for everyone. It is a state of emotion that has many associated facets, including satisfaction, joy, and fulfilment. The word happiness can be described in natural, factual, and psychological terms, and all of them pinpoint the relevance of positive emotions like affection, interest, and excitement. How to achieve happiness is a question to which many find an answer. However, it does not have a straightforward answer. Something giving you a sense of satisfaction would not always impart the same emotion to another person. There is no universal component that elicits happiness in everyone.
As every kind of happiness cannot be categorised into one thing, it is segregated into five types of happiness. Besides, each one of them can be divided into several stages denoting the degree of happiness. On this page, you will find your way to the 5 happiness types. Unravel the depths of happiness and find your way to live a happy life.
Types of Happiness to Foster in Our Lives
The road to happiness isn’t smooth; it requires you to understand what gives you happiness and how you should look forward to being happy by manifesting them. For an easy understanding, psychologists have worked out the following 5 different types of happiness.
Gratitude
According to Harvard Health Publishing, gratitude is strongly related to achieving great happiness. The word has a Latin origin, where ‘gratia’ means graciousness or gratefulness. It is one of the happiness types that makes people feel strong positive emotions and live the finer things in a larger-than-life way. It is the appreciation an individual has for both tangible and intangible aspects. When you have gratitude, you see things positively and attract merrier things towards you. Gratitude can be experienced for a physical thing or something you see around and feel lucky to witness. It does not have to be towards a person or a physical entity; it is much broader than that. A person who has gratitude leads a healthy life and can deal with adversities with simplicity, along with building strong bonds with people.
One can express gratitude in various ways and forms. You can be thankful for the things you got in the past, for the good fortune you are receiving in the present, or by being hopeful about your future prospects. Happiness in life can be cultivated by inculcating a sense of gratitude. It is a quality that keeps you grounded and makes you a better person, who can spread positivity.
Pride
The sense of pride is classified as one of the types of happiness in psychology. Even though many believe pride poisons happiness, psychologists say it is not that simple to deduce a notion of it. They say that pride can be both positive and negative attribute of a person depending on the way they portray and perceive it. Pride can elicit a sense of gratitude towards one’s own self. It is a great form of emotion to indulge in as it gives us immeasurable happiness. On the other hand, having competitive pride is a negative attribute, and the happiness felt, as a result, will fade rapidly with time.
It can even be related to being proud of someone else’s achievement. It might be your family, your friends, or someone native. This form of pride is rather a greater happiness that cultivates a sense of oneness in you. Cultivating pride by emphasising accomplishments helps you boost self-confidence and takes you one step ahead to self-actualisation.
Contentment
Contentment is one among the various types of happiness in positive psychology. It is the sense of satisfaction with whatever little you have. It is the respect you have for your present without being self-judgemental. However, many think contentment leads to the absence of desire, but it does not. It is just feeling fulfilled and trusting the future turns your life might take. It gives you peace of mind and keeps you motivated to accept whatever comes your way. Many people run for luxury; some want to buy a car, while some want to earn better. The race is healthy until ambition turns into greed. When you hover to keep moving in your life, sometimes you forget to appreciate the finer things, which can loosen relationships and make your life complex.
Contentment is required to have simplicity and differentiate between what are your wants and your needs. It teaches you to be humble and build strong relationships while focusing on your needs rather than wants.
Love
Love is happiness; this is something we all have heard, and it stands true in many ways. Love in any form makes you feel good. It might be the love you have for your family, your spouse, or even your pets; it might even be materialistic. While the search for true love can be intricate, you need to have the eyes to process love, as love is all around you. Be it a stressful relationship or a healthy one, it gives you happiness of different kinds. In other words, complex relationships are all about bittersweet experiences, and supportive relationships give you great and lasting happiness.
Spread love and find love everywhere. Nothing can be purer than loving and being loved. It makes you strong and helps you with a stronger support system. It makes you believe in yourself and see good in drastic situations. Spend time with your near and dear ones and nurture your relationship skills to be happy and keep spreading happiness.
Optimism
Being optimistic makes us successful and happy. It is an attitude you build to hope for positive outcomes and believe in any endeavour you choose. An optimistic mindset takes you a long way. It gives you the confidence to battle the hurdles in your path and reach your goal with a smiling face. Happiness is a state of mind that can be achieved in minute incidences, but to reach complete happiness, one needs to inculcate optimism. Because, in the long run, you will indeed face unimaginable situations and explore the unexplored. To be victorious, your mindset plays the leader. When your mind and heart are filled with optimism, even the impossible becomes possible.
Optimism helps you succeed. When a person is pessimistic, they always think the grass is greener on the other side. They are filled with remorse and keep repenting of the past, which spoils the present. They lack focus and clarity in life, and one reaches nowhere with such negativity. On the other hand, when you change such an attitude to seeing things green on your side, then the situation becomes easier to handle as you have clarity and focus. See the positive side of everything, and no one can stop you from reaching your milestone.
Takeaway
Life can be a journey of happiness if you embrace it with ease and comfort. With love, pride, gratitude, contentment, and optimism as your guides, you can find joy in everyday moments. While gratitude keeps you grounded, love makes you strong. Contentment erases greed, and optimism enables you to see positivity. Pride is a powerful source of happiness when it keeps you respectful to others and your surroundings. Whether it’s a meaningful conversation with a friend or achieving something that has taken time and dedication, these five types of happiness are available to all. Take advantage of them and fill your life with little moments that bring you joy and remind you to be thankful for what you have.
Types of Happiness FAQs:
What are the main types of happiness?
The main types of happiness include optimism, contentment, pride, love, and gratitude.
How many types of happiness are there?
Psychologists define and segregate happiness in many ways. According to positive psychology, there are five types of happiness, including contentment, pride, love, gratitude, and optimism.
Which happiness is permanent?
Happiness can be either momentary or permanent. People who have attained peace are called to have permanent happiness.
