How do I become happy? How do I achieve true happiness? What exactly is happiness? These questions can only be answered with the correct definition of happiness. Each definition answers these questions differently. Happiness is a versatile word with different meanings. This article discusses all definitions of the concept of ‘happiness’.
Luck as in coincidence
The opposite of luck in this case is bad luck. You often use this definition of luck when something positive has happened to someone, for example if you find a tenner on the street you respond with ‘what luck!’. It mainly refers to the element of chance. Even if you happen to meet your soulmate in an unlikely location you have been lucky in this sense, or if a bullet flies past your face you have been lucky. The degree of luck depends on how much is at stake. In the latter example, for example, your life is at stake, then you have been ‘very’ lucky, if you get a free beer you have had a bit of luck or a stroke of luck.
Luck as in opportunity
In terms of chance, you are more likely to be lucky if you win something from a disadvantageous position or with a small winning percentage in a certain activity or game. For example, if you win a prize in the lottery or the ball rolls exactly on your number in a casino at the roulette. However, if you play a card game in which you have an 80% chance of winning, there is hardly any ‘luck’ when you win. However, in this case you are unlucky if you lose, and the other person is therefore lucky. So you see that luck in the sense of chance only really becomes meaningful when you are in an underdog position. The degree of luck as in chance is inversely proportional to the probability of winning something. The lower the probability, for example the winning percentage you have, the more luck you need to win. Some people believe that they can influence the level of luck and chance with amulets such as the well-known ‘four-leaf clover’ or ‘horseshoe’.
Happiness as in a moment
Happiness can also be defined as a pure feeling, with an outburst of emotions, which gives a great high feeling. This feeling lasts only a moment and is usually followed by a sad, melancholic rush. However, this buzz can also be very nice. Such ‘moments of happiness’ can be generated by sudden insights or a confrontation with something of great value. Moments of happiness are so often generated when traveling, in nature, in love or through (live) music. It has nothing to do with coincidence and chance and such moments are mainly personal, although you can share a moment if you are on the same page with someone and experience exactly the same thing. Biologically you could see it as an eruption of substances such as endorphins and adrenaline in your body.
Happiness as in a continuous status of high satisfaction
This is the definition often used in the phrase ‘being happy’. It implies a continuous status (so not a moment!) of pleasant living. The irritations and pains that come your way in life are present, but they cannot harm the status in which you find yourself. Happiness is usually a feeling in the background or in a memory. For example, many older people say, ,I was really happy at that time,, even though they may not have realized it at the time. The tragedy is that so often you only realize afterwards that you are or were happy. This experience is also personal, it is not dependent on environmental factors, although practice shows that these do have a certain influence. ‘Being happy’ is usually linked to a long stable period with a lot of comfort and security. Biologically speaking, you undergo a period in which a lot of endorphins are produced.