This is a condition we achieve, says Alan S. u-dy-MOH-ni-a-if you’d like to try.) Eudaimonia is centered on fulfilling our potential it’s driven by virtue and a higher purpose: service to others. (You can already tell that this is a far more effortful path the word itself is nearly impossible to spell correctly or to pronounce.
Hedonia is the fast-food version of happiness, or, as Michael Steger, Ph.D., director of the Laboratory for the Study of Meaning and Quality of Life at Colorado State University, puts it, “Hedonia is doing whatever the hell you want.”Ĭhoice B is entirely more sober, a type of satisfaction that experts call eudaimonia. It’s self-gratifying, self-serving the consumption of things and experiences that produce positive feelings and no pain. This is in-the-moment pleasure with no limits or rules. But they offer a clear-cut illustration of what experts see as two paths to happiness.Ĭhoice A is an example of hedonia. OK, both choices are fairly preposterous. Go door to door beseeching your neighbors to sign a petition demanding a traffic light be installed on the corner of Fourth and Fig, followed by two hours spent picking up litter and dog droppings from the local park. Whip up a batch of piña coladas, park yourself on the couch and catch up on six episodes of The Real Housewives of New Jersey while munching on two or three (or four) red velvet cupcakes.ī. You want, reasonably enough, to spend those precious hours in a way that will bring you the most happiness. Meaning and service are essential elements of the well-lived life.Īfter a challenging week at work, Saturday afternoon beckons-a stretch of free time to do with whatever you like.
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