Ancient Wisdom to Cultivate Modern Happiness
I attended a dinner party last week and was sitting next to someone who spends a lot of time in the world of finance. As a person who has tried and failed – several times – to read the Barefoot Investor and struggles not to spend the totality of my pay-check each fortnight, I recoiled when I heard this is who my companion was going to be for the duration of the evening.
After a few drinks and making a great effort to actively listen to them speak about their role in the industry, I asked point blank: “How can I make all the money, surely you must know?” To which he turned to me and said: “How can I be happy?” I laughed and blushed, searching my brain for what I had learned so far at university. But the construct is too slippery for me to grab and put into words. Luckily, I was able to give him an I.O.U instead of an answer, and I told him he could expect this to be filled in a couple of years after I completed my studies.
What is a happy life?
Alone and without an audience the next morning, I asked myself the question again. However I still struggled to articulate an answer. Most of my Saturday then became a quest to have an understanding of the answer to this seemingly simple question: what is a happy life? How do professionals advise one might be happy?
In doing so, I returned to the wisdom of the ancient Greeks and what they considered the key ingredients to a happy life. It isn’t a single definition the Greeks offer, but rather a distinction between two kinds of holistic well-being: the hedonistic and the eudaemonic (pronounced ‘you-day-mon-ic’). Hedonism is related to immediate pleasure – think enjoyment, comfort, joy, and dopamine. Whereas eudaemonia is about the pursuit of happiness in the long-term – think authenticity, growth, meaning, and purpose.
Aristippus believed the goal in life is to maximise experienced pleasure in both the mind and the body and minimise pain.
Hedonic well-being was first proposed by the Greek philosopher Aristippus. It comes from the Greek word ‘hedone’ which translates to ‘pleasure’. Some examples of hedonistic well-being might be getting a massage, eating ice cream, and buying a new item of clothing. When doing these activities we have the opportunity to feel joy and pleasure. Aristippus believed the goal in life is to maximise experienced pleasure in both the mind and the body and minimise pain.
As you can imagine, hedonistic pursuits are incredibly enjoyable but the benefits – the feelings of joy and pleasure – are also short-term. When we treat ourselves to a delicious restaurant meal, we may feel happy before, during, and potentially a short time after, however, this happiness doesn’t carry far into the long term. One theory is the ‘Hedonic Treadmill’, which describes how humans have a base level of happiness. The theory proposes that no matter how many hedonistic pleasures you engage in, you will always return to your natural baseline.
Increasing the number of hedonistic pursuits over time isn’t going to increase our happiness in the long run
Researcher and psychotherapist Sonya Lyubomirsky has looked into what might determine our happiness baseline. Her research indicates that our baseline is divided into three segments: up to 50% is determined by genetics; 40% by intentional activities (within our control), and 10% is determined by life circumstances (outside of our control).
As you may have guessed, increasing the number of hedonistic pursuits over time isn’t going to increase our happiness in the long run. Researchers suggest that this may reduce the effect of pleasure as our mind and body become more accustomed to the presence of chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, that hedonism stimulates in the body. The Hedonistic treadmill has a survival function in that it keeps us from becoming complacent, but also can lead to a feeling of never being quite satisfied.
Aristotle regarded eudaemonia as the most virtuous quality, the highest good.
Eudaemonia was first introduced by Aristotle in his work on ethics, Nicomachean Ethics. It is a Greek word that combines ‘eu’ meaning ‘good,’ and ‘daemon’ meaning ‘guiding spirit’. In this, eudaemonia means pursuing excellence, virtue, and engaging in activities which make life worthwhile.
Aristotle regarded eudaemonia as the most virtuous quality, the highest good. It is a state of being that enjoys fulfillment, coherence, growth, and flourishing. Like all psychological constructs, eudaemonia exists on a spectrum. If you gaze at the furthest end, you see saints, monks, and incredibly driven entrepreneurs who renounce pleasures in pursuit of an often-singular long-term vision. More towards the middle, we have every day people who seem to have ‘figured it out’. They feel they broadly spend their time in a worthwhile and satisfying way, knowing what they’re working towards in their lives, and that their actions are taking them in that direction.
How to work towards eudaemonic well-being
But, how do we work towards this? Eudaemonia is subjective and unique to each person. You can start by getting to know who you are. What are your strengths and qualities? What are your personal values? What do you care about, deep down? What do you want your life to stand for?
Next, work on continuing to develop yourself. Build up your strengths and qualities. See how far you can take them and what opportunities this may lead you towards. Lastly, use your strengths and qualities to achieve your life goals. It’s ok to start small. For example, you might like to ask ‘what’s one thing I’m glad that I put my time into last week?’ and then try to do that again next week.
Experts recommend prioritising eudaemonic experiences alongside small slices of hedonism
The consensus among researchers and clinicians is that happiness is multidimensional. A good life requires both eudaemonic and hedonic experiences. Though not equal parts, something more like 80-20 or 70-30, where the major aspect of your well-being is coming from those eudaemonic experiences. It will come as no surprise that eudaemonic well-being is richer and more sustainable compared to the brief bursts of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin that hedonistic well-being offers.
Therefore, if you want to try and shift your baseline level of happiness it is best to target those eudaemonic-based activities. This might look like developing a skill, leaving your comfort zone, looking after your health, learning to slow down, consolidating meaningful relationships, or contributing to your community.
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You can read more about happiness here, and more about finding your core values here. If you’d like an accessible and fun way to think about eudaemonia, try watching Pixar’s 2020 film Soul.