Hacking Happiness in the Information Age

First, we need to stop thinking about happiness as a single monolithic concept. There are different kinds of happiness — and some are more fulfilling and long-term than others:

• Short-term happiness: Psychologists refer to this as “hedonic” happiness, derived from the ancient Greek word for pleasure. This kind of gratification is brief and shallow; Ellen describes it as “tequila shot” happiness.

• Long-term happiness: There’s also a deeper, lasting fulfillment known as “eudaimonic” happiness. Also from Greek, eudaimonia translates into “well-being.” This is the kind of happiness that we feel when we are truly at peace with our lives and ourselves.

Three ways to make happiness happen:

1. Connectedness

2. Acts of kindness

3. Self-nurturing growth