Joy is to Happiness as Hope is to ____?
How are joy, happiness, hope, and optimism related? I think of joy and hope as emotions while happiness and optimism are states of being. In other words, joy is an emotion felt by someone who is happy, contented, or satisfied, while hope is an emotion felt by someone who is optimistic or has a positive outlook on life. Let’s dig deeper into this analogy starting with happiness and joy.
Although much research has been conducted on happiness over the past 20 years, many believe that it is difficult to measure due to its subjective nature. On the contrary, there are several instruments that have proven reliable and valid over time that appear to quantify happiness (Hefferon & Boniwell, 2011) . This is possible because the individual factors that comprise happiness (presence of positive emotions, absence of negative emotions, and life satisfaction, meaning, and/or purpose) are relatively easily measured via scales, self-report measures, and questionnaires (Ryan & Deci, 2001; Lyubomirsky, 2007). The most recognized instruments include the following:
- The PANAS (Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule),
- The SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale), and
- The SHS (Subjective Happiness Scale).
Some interesting insight comes to light when we analyze happiness from a cultural vantage point. Studies by William Tov and others have found that people from collectivist cultures think about happiness from the perspective of harmony and contentment, while joy or exuberance are felt by people who are more individualistic in nature. Moreover, there is evidence that the human brain is wired for happiness and positive connections with others and that happiness is thought to be ongoing as well as to fall on a continuum. Levels of happiness are shaped by social groups, like families, and have been found to have a contagious nature, demonstrating that happy people increase the happiness of those around them. Neuroplasticity further demonstrates that it is possible to learn to be happy despite what has been genetically hardwired.
Joy is defined as an emotion that is evoked by happiness, wellbeing, or good fortune. Amusement, interest, serenity, gratitude, and inspiration are examples of other positive emotions that contribute to one’s happiness. This implies that such emotions are felt and/or expressed for a brief, defined period of time, while an individual may be or remain in a prolonged state of wellbeing, otherwise labeled happiness.
Though people around the world have different ways of thinking about happiness and perhaps even experience it in distinct manners, most involve feeling positive generally and about life overall. Feelings of positivity bring us to hope and optimism. How are hope and optimism related and how do they play into an individual’s level of joy and therefore sense of happiness? I’ll start with my own claim that I definitely feel happier (and more joyful) when I go into a situation with hope and an overall sense of optimism.
Martin Seligman states: “Optimists believe that negative events are temporary, limited in scope (instead of pervading every aspect of a person’s life), and manageable.” If negative events are temporary, limited, and manageable, it follows logically that they must not be too detrimental. On the other hand, of the negativity bias, Rick Hanson states: “The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences, but Teflon for positive ones. That shades implicit memory – your underlying expectations, beliefs, action strategies, and mood – in an increasingly negative direction.” Why do we hold on to the negative so much more than the positive?
Of course, optimism, like other psychological states and characteristics, exists on a continuum. Optimism is also believed to be a learnable skill. Martin Seligman followed up his research on learned helplessness with two bestselling books, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life (2006) and The Optimistic Child: A Proven Program to Safeguard Children Against Depression and Build Lifelong Resilience (2007), both including measurement tools within them and well-worth a read!
Let’s take a deeper look. If you have a negativity bias and believe the negatives in your life play a more impactful role than do the positives, you will most likely feel worried and/or anxious. You may wonder what more could go wrong. Let’s stop there…PAUSE, take a deep breath, and do me a favor…think about one thing you are hoping for. Pretend all your troubles have left you and something incredible happened. You have the opportunity to do this one thing that is so meaningful to you. Picture yourself there. Who are you with? What does it look like? How do you feel? What did you visualize? Do this every day for at least ten days. If you feel better, you’ve proven that you can learn to be more optimistic and consequently hold onto positives. Would you like to be able to experience this again?
Consider what you can do to experience a little bit of that positivity/optimism you just felt. What do you need to be able to do that you don’t do regularly? How can you remain alert in this way? This self-awareness may be the beginning of a mindfulness practice that can take you forward toward your goals. Beyond the mindfulness, once you’re able to repeat these practices and habituate some of the positive thought processes, you can build your resilience so that when things don’t go as you’d like (which is bound to still happen sometimes), you may be able to bounce back from the setback more easily. This perspective reset, change in mindset, and more positive outlook could make your days brighter, your nights calmer, and your life more satisfying.
As joy is an emotion felt when people experience a state of happiness, hope is an emotion that optimistic people experience regularly. What do you do to feel joy and hope? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is ‘not at all’ and 10 is ‘completely,’ how happy are you? What factors play into this contented state of being? How optimistic are you? What life changes can you make to elevate this level? Try it and comment on your experience!