Why pursuing happiness Because when we experience happiness, we feel good. Moreover what are the alternatives? Not acting or doing nothing. It is like to be dead. We have all the time to be dead during the lifetime of the universe. During our relatively short lifespan compared to the lifespan of the universe, it is better to try something different than to act as if we were dead. Simply acting without considering if what we do bring us happiness or not.

Signature strengths are one’s own positive characteristics that distinguish oneself. Researches suggest that using signature strengths in various ways each day contributes to higher well-being. Related Questions: Related Topics: What contributes to well-being References The Science of Well-Being | Yale University by Coursera

Happiness is subjective, therefore is hard to find a shared metric. Questionnaires that ask to answer specific questions and rate the happiness level is typically used in research. One of the most used questionnaire is Subective Happiness Scale. Related Questions: Related Topics: References Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social Indicators Research, 46, 137-155. The original publication is available at www.

There are two main different views between philosopher and researchers. There is who claims that it is better to pursue eudaimonic happiness and who claims that it is better to pursue hedonic happiness. In the course Finding Purpose and Meaning In Life: Living for What Matters Most is claimed that it is better to pursue eudaimonic happiness because it enriches ourselves and others, while hedonic happiness is related only to our own pleasure.

Definitions Eudaimonic happiness is the long term happiness and is the happiness we feel when: we pursue our values. we satisfy our basic psychological needs. we try to develop the best in oneself and therefore we pursue a personal growth path. Hedonic happiness is the short term happiness and is the happiness we feel when we pursue pleasure that is an end in itself. Characteristics In the paper Pursuing Pleasure or Virtue - The Differential and Overlapping Well-Being Benefits of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives is claimed that:

Happiness is: a way to describe how much one person thinks to be satisfied of his life in a particular moment or in the overall. absence or at least experience few negative emotions and negative thoughts compared to positive emotions and thoughts. a positive emotion experienced when we reach well-being subjective. There are two types of happiness: Eudaimonic Hedonic Related Questions: Related Topics: Happiness References