What do you find happiness in?
What do you find happiness in?
Is it when you are listening to your favorite music?
Is it when you are eating something delicious?
Is it when you are living healthily without illness or accidents?
Is it when you can sleep peacefully without anxiety or stress?
Is it when you are laughing together with family, friends, or a partner?
Is it when you go on a trip and encounter new discoveries?
Is it when you have some financial leeway and are indulging a little?
Is it when you realize your own growth?
Is it when you are absorbed in doing what you want to do by utilizing your abilities?
Is it when you are doing something for someone else?
Is it when you have overcome a difficult situation?
From a philosophical perspective, Aristotle says,
“Happiness is the ultimate goal of human beings and is obtained through activities accompanied by virtue.”
Also, in Eastern thought,
it is considered that
“Savoring this very moment is happiness.”
In Buddhism,
“Letting go of attachments and being liberated from suffering is happiness.”
is the stance.
In Adlerian psychology, the three conditions for happiness are defined as,
“Self-acceptance: accepting yourself as you are, including your strengths and weaknesses;
Other-trust: unconditionally trusting others with benevolent eyes;
Other-contribution: realizing your own value by feeling that you are useful and contributing to someone else.”
and it is stated that by fulfilling these, one approaches a state of happiness.
The sense of happiness also changes depending on the time and circumstances.
What brought happiness in youth, such as stimulation or the sense of achievement upon success, shifts as one ages to prioritize calm stability, connections with society, and one's own health.
Also, in times of disaster or war, people find happiness in simply “surviving.”
In a previous article, “Is Japan a Poor Country?”, I covered the World Happiness Report.
The 2025 rankings were recently announced in the UN's World Happiness Report.
This is created by emphasizing economic prosperity as GDP per capita,
healthy life expectancy representing physical health,
whether there is someone to rely on in times of trouble,
satisfaction with one's own life,
compassion for others and volunteer activities,
and trust in politics and companies with little corruption,
and Japan has dropped in the rankings this time to 55th place from 51st last year.
The top positions are occupied by Nordic countries, with Germany at 22nd, the UK at 23rd, the US at 24th, France at 33rd, and in Asia, Taiwan is 27th, Singapore 34th, South Korea 58th, and China 68th.
Russia, which is at war, is 66th, and Ukraine is 111th.
On the other hand, it is surprising that Israel is 8th.
There was also a ranking by prefecture.
Osaka, where I currently live, was the runner-up for last place. How about the prefecture where you live?
I borrowed this data from the following site.
Recently, the concept of "well-being" has been gaining attention, and it seems to be used as an indicator to measure social happiness not just by economic wealth, but also by physical and mental health, social connections, and quality of life.
What we must be careful about here is that, as the proverb "the grass is always greener on the other side" suggests, we must avoid judging whether we are happy or unhappy by comparing ourselves to others.
It is important to have your own standard of happiness within yourself.
Also, happiness is not something that lasts forever; various difficulties such as sadness, suffering, pain, and anxiety will come your way.
By overcoming them, you can attain even greater happiness.
Ultimately,happiness is about each person having their own unique answer to what situation makes them truly feel that "my life is good."
Even if you think you are unhappy now, there must be things within that situation that you can consider happy.
Even if it is a small happiness, it can become a great satisfaction.
The Russian literary giant Dostoevsky also said:
"Man is unhappy only because he does not know that he is happy."
What do you find happiness in?
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