In this article, we explore 3 levels of happiness according to Martin Seligman, and then at a deeper level according to Dr Mark Atkinson. This is an in-depth article and will require some time to not only read but also to contemplate if it is to be worth your time!
According to Martin Seligman, one of the founders of positive psychology, there are three levels of happiness that people can pursue and cultivate: the pleasant life, the good life, and the meaningful life1.
- The pleasant life is about experiencing and savouring positive emotions, such as joy, gratitude, and love, in relation to the basic pleasures of life, such as companionship, nature, and bodily needs.
- The engaged life is about discovering and using your unique strengths and virtues to achieve a state of flow and engagement in your activities, such as work, hobbies, and relationships..
- The meaningful life is about finding and fulfilling a higher purpose that transcends yourself, such as serving a cause, helping others, or contributing to society.
Seligman’s theory suggests that happiness is not just a matter of feeling good, but also of living well and doing good. He proposes that by cultivating these three levels of happiness, we can enhance our wellbeing and flourish as human beings.
An article by Dr Mark Atkinson recently caught my eye that builds further on this. He describes the 3 levels a little differently: (note – I have summarized and paraphrased his work and added some comments of my own)
Level 1: Subjective Wellbeing (this is similar to above)
This is the most basic way in which people seek happiness:
- The experience of positive or pleasant emotions such as joy, love, contentment, pleasure etc
- Less experience of negative emotions such as frustration, irritability, anger, sadness etc
To achieve this, people essentially engage in a push and pull dynamic whereby pleasant experiences are sought and attached to and unpleasant experiences are rejected and pushed away.
Dr Atkinson suggests you ask 3 questions to determine your level of subjective wellbeing:
1. Are you happy?
2. How would you rate your happiness on a scale of 1-10?
3. Are you satisfied with your life as a whole?
Clearly, this approach to happiness is severely limited. It can lead to addiction, self centred behaviour, a shallow life, and at some stage it will feel as if something fundamental is missing. It is also very dependent upon our psychological level of health including our conditioning and belief system.
Level 2: Eudaimonic Well-Being
Eudaimonic (I have no idea how to pronounce this!) translates as “good spirit” – a higher form of happiness.
This is essentially what is often called self – actualization – living a life based upon values, and one’s true potential and gifts. It could be described as developing a healthy and mature ego and becoming emotionally and socially developed. It requires commitment and considerable self-development work.
Atkinson describes 6 pillars of this:
- Autonomy: This is about being yourself (making choices and decisions that match your own interests and values); feeling in control (feeling you are the boss of your own life and actions); being independent (having the courage and freedom to say what you think and do what you believe); being self-regulated (acting according to your own values and rules); and being authentic (feeling that your actions and choices are true to yourself).
- Environmental Mastery: This is about how well you feel you can handle and make the best of your life situations and environment. It has four parts: control over environment (being able to pick or make environments that fit your personal needs, wants and values); competence in managing life (being able to deal with everyday life, including balancing different roles and duties, and solving common life problems); making use of opportunities (being able to find or create chances for growth and happiness in your social, professional, or personal life); ability to flex (being able to adapt to changes and new situations well, making the most of new circumstances, and changing your environment as needed).
3. Personal Growth: This is about feeling that you are always growing and changing as a person. It has four parts: self-improvement and development (you feel that you are getting better and better as a person, and you are developing your abilities and talents); realization of potential (you feel that you are using your abilities and talents to the fullest, and you are becoming who you can be); purposeful engagement in life (you do things that make you feel that your life has a purpose and a meaning); self-expansion (you try new things and learn new things, such as new skills, new roles, or new knowledge); increasing self-knowledge (you know yourself well– you know what you want, what you value, what you have done, what you are good at, and what you need to work on, and you use this knowledge to grow more).
4. Positive Relations with Others: This component measures the presence of meaningful, quality relationships in one’s life. It involves having empathic, positive relationships (fulfilling relationships where mutual care, concern, and empathy are present); the presence of trust and warm regard (presence of genuine heartfelt connections that include acceptance and support); capability for intimacy (the ability to be open, vulnerable, and intimate with others, sharing yourself at a deep level and allowing for close emotional bonds); strong social support (a network of emotional and practical support that you can rely, especially during times of stress); conflict resolution (the ability to communicate clearly and respectfully and manage and resolve interpersonal conflicts in a constructive way).
5. Purpose in Life: This dimension evaluates the extent to which individuals have goals, a sense of direction, and a feeling of meaning in life. It includes the presence of meaningful goals (a clear vision for the future, goals to achieve for that future and a framework for bringing it about); positive beliefs (life-enhancing beliefs and worldview that expands you and supports your ability to live life fully); values-congruent (living in a way that is congruent with your personal values and commitments); intentionality (you are focused and consciously making choices and acting in ways that are moving you towards your life goals); and meaning (able to see how past experiences contribute to their life path and how their current actions are meaningful in the broader context of their life).
6. Self-Acceptance: This area involves a deep-seated acceptance and understanding of who you are. It includes positive self-regard (a healthy, balanced, and kind view of yourself); acknowledgment of your strengths and weaknesses (recognizing and accepting your limitations and flaws, as well as acknowledging and appreciating your talents and strengths); past-positive (willing to acknowledge what happened in the past (and the consequences), process your emotions around this and arrive at a place of understanding and acceptance; self-compassion (being compassionate and kind to yourself, especially in times of difficulty or failure, rather than being critical or self-judgmental); sense of autonomy in evaluating yourself (evaluate yourself accurately and kindly by your own standards and criteria); feeling good about your life direction (includes feeling positive about where one’s life is heading and the choices you are making).
The pathway to this 2nd level of happiness is first to realise that the first way of happiness which is essentially pleasure based, it shallow and not deeply fulfilling. A path of self-development is then required that may involve exposing yourself to lots of new ideas, attending therapy or coaching, attending personal development workshops and reading books such as The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris (a practical book on Acceptance and commitment therapy/training – I strongly recommend this book – it teaches you to live a values-based life and to remove the obstacles such as negative self-talk that prevent you from living your best life).
This path to happiness requires you to open up, commit to authenticity and be willing to step outside of your comfort zone. Much of this journey involves letting go – letting go of behaviours, addictions, ideas of what truly creates happiness etc. This level of happiness seems to correspond strongly to Abraham Maslow’s “self-actualization”.
Level 3: Fundamental Wellbeing
This is a type of happiness that goes beyond pleasure and engagement. It is essentially a transcendental form of happiness that goes beyond the personal ego and shifts into living from a place of being.
This includes living life intuitively, without labels and concepts, and one in which the thinking mind is significantly reduced and not given so much attention to. This is a profound approach to happiness often associated with what has been called non-dual spirituality, and one in which more and more people are taking an interest in.
Atkinson describes two levels of this:
Fundamental Wellbeing Location 1: This is about feeling okay, especially when you let yourself feel the okayness that is always there. You become more aware of the present moment and feel more positive and happy. You feel less anxious or depressed than before. You still have hard emotions sometimes, but they go away faster and you come back to feeling peaceful and well. One of the things that happens when you are in location 1 is that you stop caring so much about your own stories (the Personal Self) and the stories of other people. Stories and drama do not matter or interest you anymore. Some people in location 1 say that they see reality differently, and feel more connected or one with everything. (at this level you probably have a strong mindfulness practice and have started to recognize that you do not need to believe your thinking. Generally, you will have reduced your striving for external achievements and will have slowed yourself down considerably)
Fundamental Wellbeing Location 2: This is about feeling whole, one (non-separate) and peaceful. You do not listen to your personal self anymore and it does not make decisions for you. Instead, you have a strong feeling of knowing what to do in any situation. You trust this feeling and follow it. People in Location 2 often say that they can stay calm and balanced, no matter what happens. They also feel more connected or one with other people and the world, and sometimes feel that there is no difference between themselves and the outside world. Location 2 is full of a deep level of well-being. You feel very free at location 2. It is both amazing and normal. Why? Because it feels like home.(at this level you will have awoken from the thought-based ego and your life will be grounded in the here and now, guided by intuition and inspiration – the essential approach to discovering this level is to realise that “what you seek is already present – hence seeking comes to an end.)
Entry to this third level of happiness is a readiness for a considerable growth of consciousness – a shift into what we might call the spiritual. It involves deeply considering the nature of reality and who you are. It involves discovering existence as fundamental Being, that is always present but beyond the thinking mind. This is the level that Abraham Maslow called Self-Transcendence which he defined as: “the very highest and most inclusive or holistic levels of human consciousness, behaving and relating, as ends rather than means, to oneself, to significant others, to human beings in general, to other species, to nature, and to the cosmos”. He believed that self-transcendence was the true pinnacle of human development and the highest human need, as it involved going beyond the individual self and connecting with something greater.
Many books might be useful including books by Eckhart Tolle, Rupert Spira, Mooji, Richard Rohr, Michael Singer, etc.
However, almost certainly you will need contact with someone who has already traversed this path – a teacher, mentor, or coach. They will point you to your essential truth and help clear up any misunderstandings you may have.
At www.transformationalcoaching.ie we can offer both coaching and training to help access both level 2 and 3 of happiness.
