Everyone has a happiness set point.
Did you know that happiness is part of our genetic make up? According to Sonja Lyubomirsky, happiness researcher and author of the How of Happiness, about 50% of our happiness or optimism is determined by a genetic happiness set point. You may be naturally sunny, gloomy, or somewhere in between.
After the baseline, circumstances and our attitude make the rest of our feelings of happiness. What’s happening in your family life, social life, and work life will increase or decrease your natural happiness state.
Studies show that only 10% of our happiness comes from circumstances like wealth, a job, or weather. The other 40% is determined by your attitude. It’s the one part of happiness that you can determine. So, if you want to be happier, improve your attitude. Spending time in meaningful relationships and cultivating gratitude are the two most most powerful influences on general happiness.
If you are curious about your happiness set point, here is a way to rate how happy you are. Follow My Gratitude Project on Facebook or Instagram for tips on how to increase your happiness score. I’ll urge you to consider if you have changed over 29 days of expressing gratitude.
Take a minute to rate your agreement with the following three statements on a scale of 1-5, with 1 for strongly disagree and 5 for strongly agree. The average of your three scores is your happiness set point. Write your average down where you can remember to check it later.
In general, I consider myself a happy person
Compared with most of my peers, I consider myself more happy.
Most of the time, I’m happy and make the most out of whatever I do.
Whatever your score is, give thanks that is not the number below it. (If you are a 1 and think you might be depressed, please see a therapist. Happiness is possible for everyone.)