What's the definition of "Happiness"?

It varies for everyone. For me, it would be peace of mind

Happiness is a state that exists only for a moment

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The definition of happiness is "being content with one's self." It doesn't matter how far up the ladder-of-life we have climbed, rather its how we treated others as we make the difficult climb to the top.

It's very elusive. People think they know what will make them happy - money, comfort, love, children -but really none of that makes a person happy, though a lack of those things can certainly make a person unhappy. What makes a person happy, I think, is a strong sense of self, a feeling that you really know yourself - not necessarily that you know what you want, but that you know who you are. I'm not sure where that comes from - I think it's partly developed from infancy through parenting and partly through our own journey as a person and partly that it's just a natural tendency of your personality.

Living a life of contentment with a clear conscious,

pursuing and/or succeeding in a viable goal in a healthy manner.

True happiness is a state of mind...... Happiness is helping others giving of urself!

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one of those each to his own thing. we all define happines just like we do love. we custom fit it to our own needs, wants and desires. right now, a steak would make me happiest. later today, a woman. tomorrow, a new car. it not only differs for each us, the goal we seek is also variable. so answering you exactly, is somewhat impossible.

All ethical theories accord some importance to human happiness. They differ first in their conception of what that happiness consists in, secondly in views of how an agent's own personal happiness is aligned with, or traded against, the general happiness, and thirdly in whether it is necessary to acknowledge any other end for human action. The simplest doctrine is that happiness is itself quite straightforward, consisting for example in occasions of pleasure; that agents only do seek or ought to seek their own happiness; and that there is no other possible or desirable end of action (see hedonism). The Cyrenaics may have held a doctrine along these lines. Complexity arises with more subtle conceptions of the nature of happiness (see, for example, Stoicism, Epicureanism, felicific calculus), and more concern for the possibility of incorporating the good of others into one's own ends (see, for example, altruism, friendship, prisoners' dilemma). Finally, theories of ethics that are not consequentialist in nature may recognize other ethically important features of action than those arising from the goal of maximizing either personal or social happiness.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/happiness

As a state and a subject, it has been pursued and

commented on extensively throughout world history.

"Call no man happy till he is dead." - Aeschylus

"True happiness arises, in the first place, from the

enjoyment of one's self, and in the next, from the

friendship and conversation of a few select

companions." - Joseph Addison

Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has

something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing.

-George Sheehan

Happiness is often associated with the presence of

favourable circumstances such as a supportive family

life, a loving marriage, and economic stability. Kali

Yuga, the age of darkness, is the time when these

favourables are difficult to find.

Unfavorable circumstances - such as abusive

relationships, accidents, loss of employment, and

conflicts - diminish the amount of happiness a person

experiences. In all nations, factors such as hunger,

disease, crime, corruption, and warfare can decrease

happiness. However, according to several ancient and

modern thinkers, happiness is influenced by the

attitude and perspective taken on such circumstances.

From the observation that fish must become happy by

swimming, and birds must become happy by flying.

Aristotle points to the unique abilities of man as the

route to happiness. Of all the animals only man can sit

and contemplate reality. Of all the animals only man

can develop social relations to the political level.

Thus the contemplative life of a monk or a professor, or

the political life of a military commander or

a politician will be the happiest according to their own

"psyche".

The following is the self-reported positive affect

(i.e. positive emotion) during the day by 909 employed

women in USA:

Activities and their positive effect index:

Intimate relations 5.10

Socializing 4.59

Relaxing 4.42

Pray/Worship/Meditate 4.35

Eating 4.34

Exercising 4.31

Watching TV 4.19

Shopping 3.95

Preparing food 3.93

On the phone 3.92

Napping 3.87

Taking care of

my children 3.86

Computer/Email/

Internet 3.81

Housework 3.73

Working 3.62

Commuting 3.45

Interaction with partners:

w/ friends 4.36

w/ relatives 4.17

w/ spouse/Significant

other 4.11

w/ children 4.04

w/ clients/customers 3.79

w/ co-workers 3.76

w/ boss 3.52

alone 3.41

Happiness is not entirely psychological in

nature - it has got a biological basis too. The

neurotransmitter dopamine is involved in desire and

seems often related to pleasure. Pleasure can be

induced artificially with drugs. Use of drugs is not

some thing new, it has been used by many including

Sanyasis since millennia.

Our minds are as different as our finger prints

- no two are identical.

http://www.answers.com/Phenomenology

Happiness can not be purchased with wealth or assets.

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