How Happy Are You Really?

Last updated on September 7th, 2023

**Psst! If you Want to take the HAPPINESS QUIZ First, here’s Your chance!**

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How happy are you really?

Every day people just want to be happy.  Have you ever wondered just how happy you really are?  Made You Smile Back is excited to introduce a unique and thought-provoking blog to dive in and explore this emotion we know as ‘happiness’.  Let’s find out what really makes you smile back!

In my assessment, happiness is much more than just an attitude.  It’s a combination of positivity, spirituality and a healthy dose of optimism.  Sure, we all have our ups and downs.  That is just the way life is.  But your level of happiness will directly correlate to your overall well-being and mental health. 

When you have the right ‘Happiness Quotient‘, you can more easily navigate the demands of every day life.  In this article, I will first describe two of the more popular ‘psychological happiness tests or questionnaires’ that are currently used today in a clinical setting.  Then I will provide you an inside look of Martin Seligman’s popular self-help book, ‘Authentic Happiness’.

The second part of this unique two-part blog concerns finding out individually what our ‘authentic level of happiness’ is.  There shall be an enlightening, but fun quiz you may sign up for to get a more personal view of your own happiness level or what MYSB (aka Made You Smile Back)  refers to as the “Happiness Quotient”.

Five different rankings will be used to chart your “Happiness Quotient” and shall be each thoroughly explained.

At the end of this article, you shall be given the opportunity to sign up for your own personal ‘Happiness Quotient’ assessment.  And just to keep the excitement going, find out how you can also be eligible to receive a ‘serendipity bonus surprise’ by participating!

So let’s get our happiness levels going the right direction, shall we?…

Definition of Happiness

What better place to start our discussion about what happiness really is than by surfing straight to the ultimate internet resource, Wikipedia:

“Happiness is used in the context of mental or emotional states, including positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. It is also used in the context of life satisfaction, subjective well-being, flourishing and well-being.”

Wikipedia goes on to say that ‘Happiness’ is often the subject of debate of usage and/or meaning and even subtle differences in understanding in various cultures.

For instance when observing happy children blowing soap bubbles or playing in water, in the context of current experience, one can experience the feeling of high emotion, also known as pleasure or joy.  You can see it also as a more general sense of ’emotional condition’ as a whole.

Others may view ‘happiness’ as a type of appraisal of a measurement of ‘quality of life’.  For instance Ruut Veenhoven has defined happiness as “overall appreciation of one’s life as-a-whole.“

In the academic world, happiness is often described as subjective well-being, which includes measures of affect and of life satisfaction.   For instance Sonja Lyubomirsky has described happiness as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile.”

Finally, happiness is often translated in flourishing and having an overall feeling of well-being.

These uses can give different results. For instance the correlation of income levels has been shown to be substantial with life 

satisfaction measures.  Whereas someone involved in an unconditional loving relationship can be viewed as a pure emotional condition of well-being.

Do you know the 4 Levels of happiness?

Per the Spitzer Center for Visionary Leadership®, the Four Levels of Happiness are based upon the essence of timeless principles going clear back to Aristotle.  Aristotle is well known for his philosophical viewpoint that ‘happiness is the one thing we desire in and of itself, everything else is desired for the sake of happiness”.

Let’s take a closer look at these four levels of happiness.

Spitzer’s® Four Levels of Happiness

1. The first level of happiness is basically what is known as immediate gratification.  We derive pleasure out of simple impulsive desires.    The problem is that it is short-lived, shallow and impacts no one else except ourselves.
2. The second level of happiness is more evident in the satisfaction of our egos.  We all strive to be recognized in our career, constantly achieving and winning to get ahead.  This level of happiness is also short-term, because one can easily get ‘stuck’ at this level and never be satisfied with what they have accomplished.  This level is not enduring.
3. The third level of happiness is still about winning, and somewhat ego-driven as well.  But the difference is that level three is aimed at ‘serving others’.  It’s about wanting to make a contribution or a difference in the world around us.  This is long-term in nature and very gratifying.
4. The final and fourth level of happiness is what we all want to finally achieve.  The ultimate goal is not found in materialistic things.  But rather in the fundamental yearning for perfect truth, beauty, love, goodness, and being.  This level of happiness correlates to our own personal spiritual beliefs and is the ‘Ultimate Good’ and is both self-sustaining and enduring.

Oxford® Happiness Questionnaire

Another popular quiz is actually a questionnaire created from Oxfords Brookes University in England.  It was originally published in 2002 in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences. 

Its claim to fame is it uses several measures of “subjective well-being” (aka happiness) constructed by scientific research psychologists.  For more details, on this type of measuring, please check out this link, at Oxfords Brookes University.

Authentic Happiness

Martin E. P. Seligman, is a well known and influential Psychologist who is well known for writing several self-help books.  His most popular one is ‘Authentic Happiness’ written in 2002.

This book has been a classic in positive psychology.  The book is divided into 3 parts: Positive Emotion, Strength and Virtue.   Seligman also identifies six core virtues or positive traits that can increase well-being.  They are:

Six Core Virtues

• Wisdom
• Courage
• Love
• Humanity
• Justice
• Temperance
• Spirituality/Transcendence

“Authentic happiness comes from identifying and cultivating your most fundamental strengths and using them every day in work, love, play, and parenting.”

The third part of the book deals with the question, “What is the good life?”

In terms of work and life satisfaction, happiness has little has to do with money. Across studies, freedom of choice and experiences of flow are much more impacting.

Made You Smile Back’s Happiness Score Rankings

So, do you want to know how happy you really are?  Made You Smile Back is so excited to present to their readers a unique  ‘Happiness Quiz’ which is both fun and shares thought-provoking questions to answer.

Your resulting ‘Happiness Score ‘ ranking can be one of five levels:

Possible Rankings:

20-35 Points – You are less than happy.

36-51 Points – You’re still in need of self-care to reach happiness.

52-67 Points – You’re semi-happy at this time.

68-83 Points – You’re almost there!

84-100 Points – You are most definitely a very happy person!

The first step to becoming a better and happier person is to first find out just how happy you really are.

So… depress this button and let the quiz begin!!!!

Click Here To Take The Quiz Now!