The Psychology of Happiness
“I don’t have one minute’s regret. It was a glorious experience.”
- Moreese Bickman, exonerated inmate describing his 37 years in a Louisiana State Penitentiary for a crime he did not commit; example of synthetic happiness

Bhutan is not a rich country. In fact, Bhutan has a current Gross Domestic Product per capita of $6,600, compared to the lucrative $50,000 of the United States (“The Poorest”). There is a clear difference in economic standpoints between these countries and in terms of wealth, they are on opposite playing fields. Of course, if money results in happiness, Bhutan and the U.S. should be on opposite ends of the satisfaction spectrum as well. However, Bhutan has something that the U.S. doesn’t. Americans are constantly alert of their economic state and the rise and fall of a fluctuating stock market. On the other hand, Bhutanese citizens focus on their own virtues: happiness and an equal balance between happiness and material goods.
Bhutan does not pay heed to their GDP, but rather their GNH (Gross National Happiness), a statistical analysis of satisfaction unique to this country alone. While this small country imbedded between India and China prides itself in being satisfied with what they have, an ungrateful 2/3 of Americans are “unhappy” with their current state of living, this according to a Newsweek poll in 2011 (“Editorial”). Even with our cars, houses and comfort of living, Americans are not content. How can we change this? The answer is simple: we must learn to change our definition of happiness, embrace the idea of less is more and take a step back from our busy lives and focus on reaching a state of “flow” every now and then.
In 2012, the London-based New Economics Foundation compiled a study to find the happiest country in the world (“New”). While wealth-ridden countries like Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and even communist-plaqued Cuba round off the top ten, the U.S. can be found outside the top 100, at 105th. Why is this? Why are Americans so sad? Perhaps it is our way of defining the achievements that lead to happiness. In our society, failure is not used to it’s full potential. Instead of a “live and learn” outlook on life, American’s have a devastating mindset of, “all or nothing.”
This difference is demonstrated in the psychological debate of “synthetic” happiness vs. “natural” happiness. According to Dan Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist, “Natural happiness is what we get when we get what we wanted, and synthetic happiness is what we make when we don’t get what we wanted” (“What Makes”). In essence, we must learn to turn bad situations into positive ones. When something doesn’t go our way, we should turn it into a learning lesson. Searching for the silver-lining in everyday hardships and tapping into our synthetic happiness is one key component to reaching a state of inner nirvana. Americans also need to come to terms with the fact that less often means more, more happiness that is.
There is a reason 42.5 million Americans go camping each year (“2012”). It’s the solitude and simplicity that contributes to the realization that we have less to deal with. The same can be said for the 47% of Americans who vacationed last year and stayed in the comfort of small hotel rooms (“What Is”). The enjoyment of heading off to college illustrates this point even further. The anticipation of freedom excites college bound students each year. Not only is it a reprieve from our parents protective persona that instills excitement, but also the simple nature of dorm life. With limited space to work with, when adjusting to college life one must only bring the necessities. All other distractions are intentionally left behind resulting in more freedom and a little more time.
Graham Hill, founder of Treehugger and CEO of Life Edited, a project devoted to living well with less, explains the need for simplicity in our homes and lives. In his 2011 Ted Talk, “Less Stuff, More Happiness,” Hill explains that we have three times the amount of space we had fifty years ago, “...but we’ve become such good shoppers that we need even more space,” this in lieu of the recent rise of the 2.2 billion dollar industry of personal storage (“What Makes”). He goes on to explain that this over indulgence of materials can lead to debt, a large carbon footprint and increased stress. There is also a psychological theory that proves this point even further. Hedonic adaptation is basically a fancy way of saying, “we get used to our stuff.” We buy one item, tire of it quickly and purchase another similar item, hoping to fill the void caused by our boredom from the other, older item (“Schwartz”). But this issue is not without a solution.
Hill has three tips to help us shrink our lives. First, we need to do some life editing. Even though in America, “bigger is better” reigns supreme as far as mottos to live by, we could all certainly benefit from taking a step back and editing our lives. We need to ask ourselves before we buy something, do we really need this? We also need to get rid of items we don’t or rarely use at all. Second, think small. Efficiency is key. Hill questions, “why have a six-burner stove when you barely use three?” Lastly, we need to make things multifunctional. Examples include fold out tables and beds, side tables that can become dinner tables and sinks combined with toilets. If we can utilize just a few of these rules, we can start to take steps towards a happier life (“What Makes”).
There is one more obstacle blocking our paths to a satisfied life. It is our inability to leave time for the activities that we enjoy the most, or the activities that bring about a sense of “flow,”
a term coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, a psychology and management professor at Claremont Graduate University. Mihaly describes flow as an activity in which, “you know that what you need to do is possible to do, even though difficult, and sense of time disappears. You forget yourself. You feel part of something larger” (“What Makes”). This includes activities like hiking, reading, jogging or whatever brings about this feeling “flow.”

With today’s modern conveniences, we are left with an immense amount of free time. However, as Pick the Brain’s Victor Stachura notes, the largest pastime in the U.S. today is watching T.V, which rarely instills flow in it’s viewers (“How To”). The same can be said for other forms of technology, such as computers and phones. These are simply objects of distraction and we must break loose from our abusive technological overload and make time for the activities that truly challenge us.
America is a depressed nation, though we are certainly not repressed. Instead of wishing we had more fulfilling lives, we need to advocate for our own happiness. We need to change our outlook on what satisfies us, we must learn to live with less and we need to leave time for the little things that bring us gratification. Then, and only then, can we attain a lifestyle similar to the Bhutanese.