One of the most sought-after things in the universe that no one can agree on is “happiness.”

What is happiness, anyway?

Is happiness a warm kitten? A loving spouse? Having a home all to yourself and blasting the music as loud as you like?

Is happiness the result of achieving life goals like traveling the world, or landing your dream career? Or is happiness more of a mindset — can you, for example, be just as happy being poor, ugly, and out of shape as you can being beautiful, rich, and fit?

Philosophers, artists, scientists, religious leaders, and everyday people have argued (or perhaps more often, talked past each other) on this subject for thousands of years. We understand happiness enough to talk about it, but we disagree on what it actually is.

In fact, if there’s anything we can agree on at all, it’s that we’re unhappier than we’ve ever been.

If there is a measurable, quantifiable way to be happy, how can we know what it is?

Despite having more access to money, services, and material goods than most people in anywhere the world over the last 4,000 years of human civilization, we are more lonely, depressed, and disillusioned than ever. We live in a world that’s noisy and contentious. We’re overwhelmed by millions of voices and stimuli. Sometimes it can feel like there’s no point to our own infinitesimal existence.

If there is a measurable, quantifiable way to be happy, how can we know what it is? The spoiler alert is that even if there miraculously is an answer, not all of us will accept or recognize it. Happiness can be a surprisingly controversial topic.

Still, only the most impassive, out-of-touch person does not think, wonder, or care about happiness.

Almost all of us want to “be happy”, in some form or another. We long for acceptance, peace, love, or some other emotional end goal. Most of us realize, or at least suspect, that happiness is a real thing within our reach. Where do we begin, then?

Sometimes it’s easier to start by talking about what something isn’t.

The Problem with the Word “Happiness” 

“Happiness” comes from the old medieval word, “hap” meaning “luck” or “good fortune.”  The most literal definition of happiness, then, is “having lucky or fortunate circumstances.”

This poses an existential problem: Do we have the power to achieve happiness, or is it up to the whim of the universe or “luck”?  It’s a hard question to answer, but most of us can probably agree right now that happiness at least partly depends on us and our own choices. ¹

The problem is since we don’t use “happy” to literally mean “lucky”, it’s become a sort of garbage can word. It can describe a sense of fulfillment or long-term well-being, but it can also mean a temporary state of pleasure or euphoria.

For a language with over 600,000 words, English is pretty limited. Even if we use the word “happiness” out of habit, we need to look for a better underlying definition.

For that, we will turn to the ancient Greeks.

Hedonia: Happiness as Pleasure

The ancient Greeks had two different kinds of happiness: hedonia, and eudaimonia.²

The most direct translation of hedonia (HEE-doh-nee-uh) is “pleasure.” Hedonia is what we experience when we get a $5,000 bonus. Or when we taste the most amazing brick-oven pizza of our life. It’s the smell of a new car, the rush of a new relationship.

Hedonia is a wonderful feeling. It’s also temporary, and potentially addictive. It’s the root word in the term “hedonic treadmill” that describes the impossible task of getting satisfaction from new things or experiences.

The ancient Greeks didn’t see hedonia as a bad thing, per se. In fact, most of them believed it played an important role. Pleasure isn’t just superficial; it can also be having sex with someone you love, reading a good book, or going for a walk with a friend. It’s much harder to live a good life with no pleasure at all.

Hedonia is a temporary feeling, though. It can punctuate your life with mood lifts or little bursts of joy, but it doesn’t reflect your overall well-being. Feelings and experiences come and go. You can try to chase hedonia the way you might try to chase a spot of sunlight, but you’ll probably make yourself miserable in the process.

Eudaimonia: Happiness as a Way of Life

Eudaimonia (YOO-die-moh-nee-uh) is the word the ancient Greeks used to describe a deeper type of happiness. Literally, eudaimonia means “living with a good daimon,” or spirit.

In what is arguably the first self-help book ever written, The Nicomachean Ethics, the philosopher Aristotle makes a claim that’s either obvious or naïve, depending on how you look at it: the end goal of all people is to be happy.

Why is this?

Happiness is the common denominator in everything we want and everything we do, Aristotle argues. Nobody wants money for money’s sake; we want money so we can feel secure enough to pursue other things. Nobody wants love for love’s sake; we want love so that our lives become fuller and richer.

Eudaimonia, according to Aristotle, is not just a state of mind – it’s a way of life.  It means doing certain things a certain way and spending time with certain people while pushing yourself to be the best version of yourself.

Just like someone who plays a musical instrument can improve until they reach excellence, we can strive for change and progress in ourselves until we reach our fullest potential as individuals.

While this view is a bit simplistic and idealized, there’s more than a ring of truth to it. If there wasn’t, I don’t think the shelves at bookstores would be lined with hundreds of self-help books, nor would Nicomachean Ethics continue to be widely read by audiences today.

So what does a eudaimonic life look like?

The Eudaimonic Life: Aristotle’s Guide to True Happiness

Aristotle understood just how gnarly the topic of happiness can be. In Book 1 of Nichomachean Ethics, he wrote:

“Verbally there is a very general agreement; for both the general run of men and people of superior refinement say that it [happiness] is eudaimonia, and identify living well and faring well with being happy; but with regard to what eudaimonia is they differ, and the many do not give the same account as the wise. For the former think it is some plain and obvious thing like pleasure, wealth or honor…”  

Even Aristotle has a hard time addressing eudaimonia head-on; it takes him the entire book to circle back around to an actual definition.

In the meantime, though, he discusses different principles that are necessary for a eudaimonic life. Many of them are surprisingly timeless.

Here are just a few examples:

• Cultivate character traits (like courage, good-humoredness, and generosity) that make you a better person
• Do small, good things over and over until it becomes part of your identity
• Take time to reflect and contemplate

Aristotle’s description of eudaimonia is in some ways strikingly different from our 21st-century, individualistic notions.

He spends an entire chapter, for example, on justice and the importance of being part of a community. For Aristotle, a good life is in many ways more public than it is personal because other people form such a big part of our lives. He also devotes two chapters to the importance of friendship.

Aristotle was by no means the only person in his time to explore eudaimonia. The Stoics, the Epicureans, and the Skeptics (among others) all in turn discuss different notions of eudaimonia and how to live the good life. But Aristotle is unique in that he single-handedly sought to lay out a roadmap for achieving true happiness, doing so in the most methodical manner he could.

How accurate was he? How much can we trust in the wisdom of a man who lived in a totally different time and culture two millennia ago? With the advent of the scientific method many centuries later, we’ve been able to get a better idea.

It turns out that he was onto something after all.

The Triumphs and the Limits of Science

The Harvard Study is the longest scientific, longitudinal study on happiness ever conducted.

In 1938, a team of researchers began to interview and follow the lives of 268 men from Harvard University and 456 men from the working-class neighborhoods of Boston. 85 years later, the study now follows the lives of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and it’s still going strong.

The scientists behind the Harvard Study have confirmed what ancient wisdom in cultures across the world has long proclaimed: happiness has much less to do with status, wealth, or achievement, and much more to do with relationships, mindset, and perspective.

And if the lives of thousands of subjects aren’t enough to prove this, this fundamental discovery has been replicated in other longitudinal studies in different parts of the world, across cultures.

For anyone who’s looking for scientific “proof” of what makes a happy life, the Harvard Study is possibly the closest thing there is. It’s also strikingly similar to basic principles that Aristotle and many other ancient thinkers have promoted for centuries.

Does this conclude the whole discussion of happiness, then? Not even close.

Do You Want to Be Happy or Not?

Humans aren’t very good at understanding what will bring them real happiness.

And even if they do, it’s not always easy to act on it. On top of that, we don’t all start in the same place; some of us have certain genetics, privileges, or other qualities that make it easier to be happier than others.

No matter what mind-blowing insight neuroscience or psychology offers us, they can’t give us wisdom, introspection, or a desire to change. That part we can only do for ourselves.

So maybe the real question is, “Do you want to be happy?” Do want to strive for a eudaimonic life? Do you want to live with a good spirit?

Aristotle may have believed that all humans want to be happy, but I had an experience in my early 20s that really made me stop and think.

During a road trip with two college friends, I basically remarked: “I enjoy being a happy person, and I want to try to be as happy as possible for the rest of my life.” Their response surprised me.

“That’s not realistic,” they both said. They explained (a little bit defensively) that depression, personality types, and other issues made it impossible for many people to be happy “all the time.” Although I didn’t mean to direct my comment toward them, I had clearly stepped on some toes.

Even when it comes to the driest, most irrefutable research, people are easily triggered by discussions about “how to live” and “what to do,” or “not do.”

Was I being naive about happiness? Or were my friends just in a different place from me? I still ponder this question from time to time.

Because you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance that you are like me in that you want to be as happy as possible, or at least you’re interested in the idea. But I learned an important lesson from my friends: happiness is a very personal and sometimes even touchy subject.

Even when it comes to the driest, most irrefutable research, people are easily triggered by discussions about “how to live” and “what to do,” or “not do.” We don’t like being given information or suggestions that make us feel guilt or discomfort. (If you don’t believe me, just read the comments section of the latest well-being article over at the Atlantic or the New York Times).

Even if we can agree that happiness matters, some of us may believe there are other things in life that should matter more. In fact, we might even see happiness as being at odds with certain pursuits like saving the planet or helping others who live in horrifying conditions. Who’s to dictate what our priorities should be?

So while the Harvard Study and other studies have offered compelling insight into what makes a good life, the question of what to do about it is another matter altogether.

Where to Go from Here

I subscribe to the Aristotelian view of happiness — eudaimonia — because it resonates with me and because much (though not all) of it is backed by research and lived experience.

In fact, I’m so fascinated by the idea of living a meaningful ³ life that I’ve made it the topic of this website.

Think of this article you’re reading right now as a sort of “introduction,” and the rest of the content of this blog as the chapters of a book. It’s the context to help orient you as you read about salient happiness-related topics from mindset to relationships, to critical thinking skills and self-improvement, to lifestyle and life values.

Modern research has come a long way in validating a lot of ancient beliefs about living a meaningful life, and I include evidence in my articles wherever I can. It’s also important to me that other people, past and present, have corroborated the ideas that I’ve distilled and shared with you.

At the end of the day, however, happiness is a thorny and profound topic.

Only you can know what a meaningful life looks like for you. I don’t have all the answers, but hopefully, I can offer a number of insights to make your journey both easier and more worthwhile.

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Read next: How Thinking About Death Can Make You Happier →

1. Unless you are a fatalist or a pessimist, that is.
2. An important note: The words “hedonia” and “eudaimonia” have been adapted by the psychology community in order to better articulate concepts in discussions about well-being. While the way I define them may overlap with those, they are not necessarily the same thing.
3. You might wonder if “happy” and “meaningful” are the same thing. I would argue “yes,” and that they are both under the umbrella of “eudaimonia” — but others may see “meaningful” as very different from any type of well-being. This is just one example of how philosophical the issue of “happiness” is.