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What does it mean to be happy? It might heavily depend on the culture you come from.

"I am because we are."

Photo by Jamie Brown on Unsplash

A woman smiling outdoors during daytime

The meaning of the word happiness, feeling contentment or pleasure, remains the same for all. But the vessel that brings us that happiness comes in many forms and so very often is constructed by the culture/country/tribe in which we grew up.

Of course, there are many variables. But there are lots of specific cultural recipes for an overall happy life. How is it derived? What is the essential philosophy for getting there? Here are a handful of examples of how different cultures focus on achieving contentment.

 

UBUNTU (Africa)

The word Ubuntu, in many African languages, translates to "humanness" but it actually embodies so much more than that. Some poetically translate its concept to "I am because we are." Meaning that a sense of community and help among others is how we are able to "be." And being… is happiness.

Nelson Mandela spoke of this word eloquently. And while he explains the communal respect aspect of it, he notes, "Ubuntu does not mean that people should not address themselves. The question, therefore, is are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve? These are the important things in life and if one can do that, you have done something very important which will be appreciated."

  - Nelson Mandela explains the concept of Ubuntu. YouTube, Sylvia Educomm 

 


 

HYGGE (Denmark)

Many Danes derive happiness from the simple joys of living a cozy life. This can take shape in many ways. A sprinkling of cinnamon in your coffee while the rain hits your tin roof. Warm hand-knitted mittens put on just before a snowy sleigh ride.

From the Danish tourism site Denmark.dk, they explain "In brief, hygge is about taking time away from the daily rush to be together with people you care about - or even by yourself - to relax and enjoy life's quieter pleasures."

Interestingly, they further share that this concept has been around for centuries. "Various definitions of hygge can be traced back to the Middle Ages, where a similar Old Norse word meant 'protected from the outside world.'"

  The concept of Hygge is illustrated.   www.youtube.com, Flaneur Life 

 


 

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS (Mexico)

Día de los Muertos, (or in English, Day of the Dead) is a two-day Mexican celebration in early November which bridges the living with their loved ones who have passed on. It is a joyous celebration, meant to bring happiness by way of remembrance.

From a site dedicated to explaining the Day of the Dead, this holiday notes the idea that "the passageway between the real world and the spirit world is open so (that) our deceased loved ones can come back to visit us. What do we do when grandpa comes back from the land of the dead? We make his favorite meal and we offer him his favorite drink. We sing, dance, and rejoice before he heads back to the underworld for another year."

  An explanation of the Day of the Dead celebration.   www.youtube.com, National Geographic  


 

幸福 XING FU (China)

In Chinese, one potential translation of these two characters are - Xing: "Two hands cradling a baby over a roof" and Fu: good fortune. This idea of contentment relies heavily on family bonds and, well, luck.

From Wukongsch.com: "Together, these two characters encompass a vision of lasting security, comfort, and wellbeing. Xìng provides the circumstances and environment needed for happiness through shelter and care, while Fú confers the gifts and blessings which contribute to an enduring sense of satisfaction and meaning. This fusing of external and internal sources of profound contentment reveals a holistic view of happiness in Chinese culture spanning back thousands of years."

@mandarinwithweilaoshi

What Does 幸福 (xìngfú) Really Mean? 🌟 Hey everyone! 今天我们来聊聊一个超级温暖的词——幸福 (xìngfú)！你知道这个词不仅仅是“happiness”吗？Let’s dive in! 💡 What is 幸福 (xìngfú)? 幸福 isn’t just about feeling happy for a moment. It’s a deep sense of fulfillment, harmony, and long-term well-being. Think of it as the feeling you get when everything in life feels just right—family, relationships, career, and inner peace. ✨ Cultural Nuances: In Chinese culture, 幸福 is often tied to family and relationships. A happy family (幸福的家庭) is the ultimate goal for many! It’s also about balance and harmony—like the Confucian idea of living in peace with others and nature. Unlike the Western idea of “happiness,” which can be more individualistic, 幸福 is often about collective well-being. 🎯 Examples of 幸福 in Real Life: 家庭的幸福是最重要的。 (Family happiness is the most important.) 她找到了自己的幸福。 (She found her own happiness/fulfillment.) 幸福不仅仅是金钱，而是内心的平静。 (Happiness is not just about money, but inner peace.) 💬 Let’s Chat! What does 幸福 mean to YOU? Is it family, career, or something else? Share your thoughts in the comments! 👇 #LearnChinese #学中文 #hsk4 #ChineseCulture #ChineseWords

 



GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS (Bhutan)

This "happiness philosophy" was brought forth by Bhutan's 4th King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and considered far more valuable than Gross National Product, which so many countries emphasize.

India Today shares "GNH represents the holistic potential of our mind and body, and its path towards a deeper peace, calmness and happiness. It also reminds us of the multiple sources of suffering and pain, such as material deprivations, breakdowns of intimate relationships, personal traumas, and of the confusion between choosing means and ends."

  A Gross National Happiness explanation.  www.youtube.com, Mallorcamorten 


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Joy

8 small, simple acts of kindness you use to brighten someone's day

Don't hold back on compliments. Give them freely.

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Small everyday actions can make the world a better place.

Acts of kindness—we know they’re important not only for others, but for ourselves. They can contribute to a more positive community and help us feel more connected, happier even. But in our incessantly busy and hectic lives, performing good deeds can feel like an unattainable goal. Or perhaps we equate generosity with monetary contribution, which can feel like an impossible task depending on a person’s financial situation.

Have you ever felt guilty because you don't spend enough time volunteering? Or maybe because you can't or don't give much money to charity? It's not a good feeling, and you can sometimes feel stuck not knowing what to do about it. But being kind and generous to others doesn't have to be hard, or take much time, or cost anything at all.

One social media user recently posed the question: “what’s a small act of kindness that literally anyone can do/practice everyday?” and people gave some brilliantly simple ideas.

Here are eight easy-to-accomplish crowdsourced answers that might bring us one step closer to a more peaceful world:

1. Be aware of your surroundings.


acts of kindness, kindness, humanity, charity, people, humans, culture, love, happiness, altruismMake space for other people around you.Giphy

“Either move with the flow of traffic or get to the side if you have to situate yourself.” – @JoeMorgue

Americans, in particular, seem to get obsessed with the idea of "winning." Walk around and/or faster than the next person, or refusing to give way. It's a really kind and considerate move to make space or other people to exist comfortably.

2. Use headphones when taking public transport.


acts of kindness, kindness, humanity, charity, people, humans, culture, love, happiness, altruismBe mindful of making noise in public spaces.Giphy

"If you don’t have them - you can go 20 minutes without making excessive noise while sharing a small space with other people.” – @cynthiayeo

Often there's no law or rule in place that "forces" you to do the polite thing, like minding how much noise you make on an airplane or public transport. But it's a simple thing to do that goes a long way for the people around you.

3. Give compliments.


acts of kindness, kindness, humanity, charity, people, humans, culture, love, happiness, altruismGive genuine compliments often.Giphy

“If you have a charitable thought about someone, even a stranger, say it out loud to their face. It is free, it is easy, and it might be the best thing that has happened to that person all week. Nothing creepy or overtly sexual or flirty, just kind words. ‘That shirt is really your color! Your haircut is beautiful. I appreciate your help, you were a real lifesaver!’ It doesn't cost you anything and it means the world to the people you are talking to.” – @Comments_Wyoming

Everyone loves receiving genuine, no-strings-attached compliments! In fact, we often think about them all day, or even for longer. Don't withhold praise — give it freely and openly, when you really mean it.

4. Hold doors open for people.


acts of kindness, kindness, humanity, charity, people, humans, culture, love, happiness, altruismHold the door for everyone.Giphy

“Makes a big difference in one's day.” – @sconnie64

Holding doors isn't just for gentlemen out on a date. Hold doors for everyone equally; it's a really sweet and polite gesture.

5. Don’t act on “road rage."


acts of kindness, kindness, humanity, charity, people, humans, culture, love, happiness, altruismDon't give in to the road rage.Giphy

“After several years of commuting I came to the realization that with a few exceptional days, I always got home at the same time. Regardless of how many people ‘cut me off’ or drove too slowly and whatever. I started to just ‘go with the flow’ and always let people in when needed, always give extra room, and just enjoy my music/podcast. Life changing.” – @CPCOpposesAbortion

Who knows what it is about being in a car that just gets our blood boiling. Maybe it's the slight anonymity, a little like being in an internet comment section? In any case, don't indulge. If someone cuts you off, give them the benefit of the doubt and just move on. It was probably an accident anyway.

6. Have patience.


acts of kindness, kindness, humanity, charity, people, humans, culture, love, happiness, altruismShow patience to others.Giphy

“You never know what someone else is going through. Could be a breakup, their dog just died, granny finally made it to heaven, or maybe mom just broke the news that she's got end stage cervical cancer and has weeks left to live. You never know, so be patient. After all, wouldn't you want someone to be patient with you?” – @mamalion12

Assuming the best in people is a really good start when it comes to kindness. Most people aren't out to be difficult or rude. Give them a little grace and there's no telling how much they'll appreciate it.

7. Thank the people you live with for taking care of things around the house.


acts of kindness, kindness, humanity, charity, people, humans, culture, love, happiness, altruismSay Thank You more often.Giphy

“It doesn’t have to be over the top, but everyone feels better about doing chores when it is noticed and appreciated. ‘Thanks for folding my laundry’ or ‘thanks for always keeping track of our bills, you’re awesome at managing money!’” – @Mrshaydee

This goes for kids, too! When they remember to pick up after themselves, reinforce the behavior with praise. Make time to appreciate your partner and family members, too, no matter how small their contributions.

8. Leave a place you visit just a little bit nicer than when you found it.


acts of kindness, kindness, humanity, charity, people, humans, culture, love, happiness, altruismLeave places a little cleaner than you found them.Giphy

“Pick up a piece of litter at the park. Give that mat with a pucker ready to trip someone a little tug to get it to lay flat in the business you're at. Let an employee know when you spot a leaky dairy product on the shelves so they can deal with it. Return someone else's grocery cart.” – @BlueberryPiano

Don't be the "Someone else will deal with it," person when you can be the someone else! It doesn't take any effort at all most of the time to grab a piece of litter. And don't even get me started on returning the grocery cart — it's a basic test of human kindness that too many people fail. It's the easiest thing in the world and saves both employees and the next customer time.

See how easy it can be?! Why don't we do this stuff all the time?

Perhaps surprisingly, the main reason people don’t offer more acts of kindness is the fear of being misunderstood. That is, at least, according to The Kindness Test—an online questionnaire about being nice to others that more than 60,000 people from 144 countries completed. It does make sense—having your good intentions be viewed as an awkward source of discomfort is not exactly fun for either party. You can imagine that complimenting a stranger could easily be interpreted the wrong way, for example.

However, the results of The Kindness Test also indicated those fears were perhaps unfounded. The most common words people used were "happy," "grateful," "loved," "relieved" and "pleased" to describe their feelings after receiving kindness. Less than 1% of people said they felt embarrassed, according to the BBC.

So, maybe with kindness, we need to put our social anxieties away and act without overthinking (to a certain point, of course). Perhaps it’s best to find the simplest actions we can commit to on a daily basis, rather than formulating some grandiose gesture.

This article originally appeared three years ago. It has been updated.

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Researchers reveal that the one key to happiness might not be what you thought

"The single strongest predictor of happiness isn't purpose at all."

Photo by Antonino Visalli on Unsplash

Women happily frolic together amidst sunflowers.

For so long, many people have conflated the search for life's meaning with happiness. Perhaps you've seen the lonely monk in a movie, sitting atop a mountain meditating and looking for answers in solitude. While this is all very well and good (it actually really is in terms of well-being,) it simply doesn't translate to being "happy."

monk, meditation, mountain, Buddhism, searching A monk sits on top of a mountain. pxhere.com

In the "Purpose-Happiness Connection" in Psychology Today, author Jordan Grumet M.D. poses this question: "What if the key to happiness isn’t what we’ve been told?"

He then shares that for years, we believed that "finding a deep purpose in life is essential to happiness." But as it turns out, it's much simpler than that. The true key to happiness is…connection.

"One of the most robust studies on happiness, the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has tracked participants for more than 80 years, found that the single strongest predictor of happiness isn’t purpose at all—it’s relationships."

Neuroscientist, professor, and podcast host of The Huberman Lab, Andrew Huberman is a big believer that changing one's behavior can change their thought patterns, leading to a happier brain. He interviews Dr. Laurie Santos, a professor of psychology at Yale, who states the thing you DON'T have to do is "change your circumstances." (Because well, you can't.) "Quintupling your income is tricky, moving is tricky, switching your life around all over the place is hard. And the good news is science shows you don’t have to do that. That doesn't work as well as you'd think."

"But," she says, "you can hack your behaviors and your thought patterns and your feelings to get good results. Let's talk behaviors: one of the biggest behavioral changes you can make to feel happier? Is just to get a little more social connection."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com, The Huberman Lab podcast

She continues, "Psychologists do these fun studies where they look at people's daily usage patterns. So like how much time are you spending sleeping or exercising or at work or whatever. And the two things that predict whether you're happy or not so happy is how much time you spend with friends and family members. And how much time you're just physically around other people. The more of that you do, the happier you're gonna be."

In a piece on Vox, author and writer Olga Khazan suggests that this might be bad news for some introverts. She notes a few studies on the topic, one which claims that "people who are extroverted as teenagers remain happier even when they’re 60."

It isn't that extroverts are always chattier or more attention-seeking. (As an easily drained extrovert myself, I can tell you that's not true.) It's that their energy is drawn from contact with people. With DOING things. With, that's right…connection.


introversion, reading a book, solitude, alone-time, contentA cartoon sloth reads a book alone.Giphy, GIF by SLOTHILDA

Khazan shares, "Sonja Lyubomirsky, a psychologist who has studied this phenomenon, says it’s worth focusing less on the 'extrovert' part of this and more on the fact that these individuals are more enmeshed in community. Connection is really the key to happiness." Lyubomirsky says there's hope for all. "And there are ways to square your natural introversion with the universal human need for connection. You don’t have to mingle with everyone at the office party, for instance. You can just call a trusted friend for a one-on-one conversation. Even hanging out with others and listening more than you talk can be a form of extroversion."

Grumet suggests ways to step out of one's routine no matter how one gives or receives energy. "Love painting? Join an art group. Passionate about fitness? Start working out with others. Fascinated by a niche topic? Write about it, talk about it, and connect with others who care about it, too."




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Psychologist Carl Jung believed these five specific things will lead you to a happier life

"Happiness is such a remarkable reality that there is nobody who does not long for it."

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A happy woman in a field.

If you've ever taken the Myers-Briggs personality assessment (ENFJ here), you've had at least a splash of Jungian psychology. Some of it's rather complicated, involving one's shadow selves and emotions—which tracks, as Jung was a complicated thinker.

When it comes to having a fulfilled life, Jung's baseline is actually quite simple: he believed there were five essential elements for a life of contentment.

As part of the Happiness Project, celebrated author Gretchen Rubin relayed Jung's "key elements to happiness" on Psychology Today in 2012. She shares that journalist Gordon Young asked Jung in 1960, "What do you consider to be more or less basic factors making for happiness in the human mind?"

carl jung, happiness, psychologist, therapy, psychologyA portrait of Carl Jung.en.m.wikipedia.org

These were Jung's answers:.

1. "Physical and mental health."

This might seem like a no-brainer, but much like fellow psychologist Abraham Maslow's well-known Hierarchy of Needs, there must be a basic ground floor under us to secure a road to happiness. For Maslow, it was labeled "physiological" at the bottom of a pyramid—meaning the ability to breathe, eat, and drink water. Basic elements to stay alive. Jung added to "physical health" or basic mental health such as a functioning mind that allows an individual to wake up and function, even at the most elementary level.

2. "Good personal and intimate relationships, such as those of marriage, the family, and friendships."

Again, similar to Maslow's third rung on the hierarchy pyramid, connection is key, no matter what form it takes. Getting along with people in your life—your spouse, parents, friends—brings happiness. Maslow called it love. Jung called it "intimate."

3. "The faculty for perceiving beauty in art and nature."

This one deviates from Maslow a bit. Jung stressed the importance of keeping a sense of wonder about the universe by seeing beauty in the world around you, especially in nature. Just as important as beauty in nature, though, is beauty also in the art (music, paintings, dance, literature) created by those around us.

4. "Reasonable standards of living and satisfactory work."

Here, Jung suggests that one's home and workplace be "reasonable and satisfactory." Some may argue to aim higher, but Jung is essentially saying that without these basic building blocks met, there's little chance of achieving happiness.

5. "A philosophic or religious point of view capable of coping successfully with the vicissitudes of life."

Here is where Jung lines back up with Maslow. One doesn't have to be religious, but having some sort of philosophical lens to think about the "bigger picture" of life is important in terms of happiness. For Maslow, this was described as self-actualization, but Jung focused it more on how one "copes" with unanswered questions and our place in the vast universe.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

 

Of course, even Jung himself tinkered with these ideas until he passed. It's hard to sum up "happiness" in a way that applies to every single human's needs. Jung famously stressed that happiness can't be defined without also understanding sadness.

A thread on Reddit entitled "Do you agree with Jungian 5 pillars of a fulfilled life?" had people thinking.

One commenter believes looking outward could be helpful:

"I think another crucial thing for me would be knowing that I helped people or even humanity throughout my life. I think if everyone would try to understand other people more and help them, then we would have a better world."

This Redditor agreed, saying, "I would add activities which contribute meaningfully to society as the second most important pillar after health."

Another adds that these pillars change as we age:

"I agree that those are desirable things, but they also fluctuate throughout our lives—poor health can come and go, as can relationships, standards of living, and jobs. We can lose them and find them again and still have a life that is fulfilling or not, largely depending on our mental outlook."

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