The three ingredients of our happiness

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The three ingredients of our happiness

There are 3 main ingredients that influence our happiness; our genes (50%), our circumstances (10%) and our mental and physical habits (40%). The later is within our control. Therefore our happiness is in our hands and in our heads.

The happiness set point “is genetically determined and essentially constant. The set point is not really a set point but rather a set range….unwanted effects of genes could be minimized by active efforts to steer yourself away from problematic situations or avoid manipulative behaviors”

Life circumstances “refers to demographic variables such as age, marital status, employment status and income. They also refer to geographic and contextual variables such as the home and region in which the person lives, the conveniences a person enjoys and the persons possessions.”

Intention activities “maybe cognitive (i.e. regularly adopting a positive attitude), behavioral (i.e. regularly being kind to others or regularly engaging in physical exercise) or volitional (i.e. identifying and striving for meaningful goals.”