I came up with ten things that (I think) contribute to a person’s happiness. Rate them all on a scale of 1-10, then add them all up to get your Happiness Quotient. Whether or not your total is “good” is up to you, but it gives you an idea of how happy with yourself you really are. And for God’s sake, be honest with yourself.
Relationships–On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your current relationship status? Not whether or not you’re in a relationship, but the actual status of the relationship. If you are currently not in one, you don’t have to put 0 if you are truly happy with that, but again just be honest.
Home–Is your home a place you enjoy returning to? Or do you work late just to avoid it? Try not to let other things affect this particular score (such as “oh my home is so lonely because I’m not in a relationship…”) Just do you like the place you live?
Money–Ah, the big mamu. Are you happy with the amount of money you are making?
Job–Not to be confused with money, are you happy with the actual job you do everyday? Again, if you are unemployed, self-employed, or whatever, you don’t have to put 0 but just be honest with your happiness rating.
Luck–Do things tend to sort of fall in your lap? Or do you feel that things rarely ever work out in your favor? Remember, this listing is just for random stuff. Do you win contests on the radio? Do you find hundred dollar bills on the street? Do you get stuck in elevators with lingerie models, etc…
“Me” time–Are you able to give yourself enough alone time to make you happy? We all love friends and spouses, but being alone every now and then is good too.
World events–Obviously this one will change daily (and especially today, 02-01-03, will be sadly low I’m sure) but try to remember all the events of the day (good and bad) and see how happy you are with what’s going on around the world.
Self-image–Do you think highly of yourself? Again, do us all a favor and don’t give yourself a 10 just because your gym teacher came onto you fifteen years ago, and don’t give yourself a 1 just because your waist is half an inch bigger than that girl in Cosmo. Try to delve, people.
Sociability–Significant Others not included, are you popular? Lots of friends, go out a lot? If you feel you go out too much, take that into consideration with your score.
Contributions–No, not how much you give to charity. The daily contributions you make to society. In other words, is the job, hobby, pasttime, whatever you do contributing to other people? Do you write, compose, act, paint, do pottery, are a good listener, are you helpful, etc…
Now just add up the scores and see what you’ve got. Like I said, I can’t really come up with what is a “good” score because everyone is different. But at least the score will put things in perspective for each individual person. If anybody has any suggestions on changes to the things that make people happy, I’m all ears. Good luck!
Relationship: 10
Home: 10
Money: 8 (We’re not rich, and could always use more, but we’re content)
Job: 9 (Love my job, but would like more opportunities for time away)
Luck: 6 (General good luck in life, but nothing outstanding)
“Me” time: 5 (I get lots, and I like solitude, but lately I’d like to get out more)
World events: 2
Self-image: 8
Sociability: 7 (Good friends, we have fun when we get together, like to meet interesting new people)
Contributions: 5
Total: 70. I’m going to guess that’s pretty high. I consider myself pretty lucky in life, and I’m very grateful for the many good things I have.
For a grand total of 55. Not sure if that’s good or bad. I did give myself extra point for “Me” time because I didn’t see an opportunity to give points for activities outside of social time or job. I have a couple pursuits (singing and horses) that give me great pleasure and contribute enormously to my happiness. Since they’re kind of personal, I just added them into the “Me time” category. Maybe I broke the rules–but my total score without adding those points made me seem a lot less happy than I am.
Except… I feel happier than just 41/100. Probably because I don’t value these 10 things equally, and I’m sure no one else does either. World Events, for instance - some people might be extremely depressed and anxious over the shuttle disaster and the possibilty of war in the Middle East, others couldn’t care less.
Wait a minute, Are friends and contributing to society supposed to make me happy somehow? I mean, I feel good when I help someone, but really it’s only because I delight in having a measure of power over them.
Anyway, assuming 8s on both of those I have about a 70 score. I’m awesome.
Relationships: 0 - single for a long time and hating it
Home: 2 - student house is dire and my housemates never do any housework.
Money: 0 - making no money
Job: 0 - no job
Luck: 0 - can’t think of anything that’s been lucky for a good few years
“Me” Time - 7 - I get lots of me time, don’t really want it, but i get it.
…Man this is depressing…
World Events: 1 - world seems to be falling apart atm
Self-Image: 2 - look like a freak with a voice of a wookie (apparently)
Sociablility: 4 - go out a fair bit, close circle of friends
Contributions: 4 - I do go out of my way to help people if I can, but it’s mostly just opening doors, letting people out at junctions, etc.
I got a 56. I do have some decent “contributions” (many hobbies and pasttimes, am told I am a good listener, I have created several “helpful” websites) so I gave myself an 8 on that. Probably over-inflated, but dammit, I am quite happy about this facet of my life.
I also do OK with family, “Me time” and socialbility. The rest are 5s or below. Can’t have it all.
I gave myself a high score on sociability not because I go out a lot, but because I don’t want to go out a lot, and I’m happy with the amount I do socialize.
Eternal, I think you’re missing the point of the OP. The point is to ask yourself how happy you are with the situation, not to be judged about how many friends make you happy or something. If you have no friends but are honestly happy with that, then yes, you get a high score. If you enjoy contributing absolutely nothing to society, then by all means give yourself a high score on that too.
Just over half full…