What Makes a Good Life?

By Paula Harris

PURPOSE AND MEANING FOR WIDOWS

You have a steady job that pays the bills and puts your abilities to good use.

You have loving relationships with family and friends.

Your house provides enough space and security. 

You volunteer and have hobbies. 

The specific details might vary, but most people would consider this scenario the basis for a pretty good life.

Yet many of us who check all the boxes often feel like there’s something missing.

A fascinating new study published by Affective Science asked nearly 4,000 people from 9 countries (including the United States) what kind of life they wanted. The results suggest that there’s an important dimension to improving Return on Life that many of us may be overlooking.

A Happy Life

Researchers began by asking participants to write down a simple statement that described their vision of an ideal life. Then, participants were instructed to rank 15 terms according to how closely they applied to that ideal vision.

The first five terms characterized happiness:

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