About 40% of your happiness is determined by what you think and do, not by your genes or circumstances.
This means that everyone can become a great deal happier if they put their mind to it. Before you set out on that path, find out what your starting point is. How happy are you right now?
There’s no way a simple subjective questionnaire can measure happiness, right? Wrong!
I know many of you will be skeptical when looking at the questionnaire below. How can 4 simple questions really measure something as complex as happiness and well-being? This was a subject of debate in the scientific community for years. But most scientists now agree that while asking someone how happy they are isn’t perfect, it is a valid measurement of happiness or “subjective well being”.
Harvard professor Daniel Gilbert does a good job of explaining in this TED Talk how synthesized happiness is real happiness. In other words, if we think we are happy, we probably are. Check it out if you’re interested in learning more about the science of measuring happiness.
On to the test!
All that said, I hope that you will take a few minutes to rate your own happiness with the help of the questions below.* All questions use a 1-7 scale. 1 indicates the least happiness, 7 indicates maximum happiness.
Once you click Submit, you’ll see your current “happiness score.” Note it somewhere you can refer back to it, start taking intentional steps toward increasing your happiness, and take the happiness test again from time to time to track your progress. Bonus: acknowledging your success this way might give you another little happiness boost.
*Based on the Subjective Happiness Scale, developed by Professor of Psychology Sonja Lyubomirsky.
The Happiness Test
