Happiness is a social pursuit, not an individual one.

What matters to you? What is the key to happiness? Is it something that you can find within yourself, or is it something that comes from being around other people? A study published in 2015 suggests that the answer may be the latter. According to this research, the individual pursuit of happiness will not make you any happier. However, if you focus on your social connectedness, your well-being will move in a positive direction.

Researchers Ford et al. looked at this across four countries, the United States, Germany, Russia, and East Asia. There are two types of cultures represented here, individualistic (like the United States) and collectivist (like East Asia). The definition of happiness differs across these cultures and therefore the pursuit of happiness looks different. In East Asian cultures, to achieve happiness, one would aim to increase their social commitments. Positive relationships with others is shown to be the most important predictor of well-being. This is not to say that your culture will define whether you can be happy or not. Rather, it is how you define happiness that makes the biggest difference.

So what does this mean for you? If you're looking to increase your happiness, focus on your relationships with others. Spend time with friends and family, join a club or volunteer group, and make an effort to connect with the people around you. You may be surprised at how much difference it makes in your overall well-being. If you have a bucket list, think about tackling it with someone else. Or make a bucket list with your family.

This is particularly timely because we have all been sequestered to our homes for the last two years. According to a Gallup poll as of December 2021, 26% of workers are still at home. As things begin to open back up, it will be important to resist our learned reclusive tendencies over the last couple of years. For me personally, I think I am happiest in my head but that's not the realty. Even though I crave my alone time, the more time I spend by myself, the unhappier I become. And I quickly fall into a slippery slope that I don't know how to pull myself out of. So, I have to be intentional about socializing. I have to schedule time with friends and make an effort to see people more. It's not always easy but it's worth it because at the end of the day, happiness is a social pursuit, not an individual one. And online socializing is just not the same.

Do you agree? In what ways are you getting out there?