If we can measure happiness, we can improve it. Let us see how we can measure happiness, because we can.

Can we measure happiness? They say what gets measured gets improved. So, how do we measure happiness, if we can?

A lot of people say that happiness is overrated and it is not the ultimate goal of life. I have the last few years of my life working on happiness and the last two decades thinking about happiness. I don’t see how happiness is overrated. If happiness is overrated, then life itself is overrated.

So, we need to measure happiness. In fact, even if we don’t measure happiness, we still know the measure. We know how happy we are. We would not know about how happy other people are, unless we ask them.

Therefore, if we care to improve happiness levels at our work, in our home/s, within our friendships, we must make an effort to measure happiness.

The most important factors in measuring happiness are honesty and intent. If we are to improve happiness levels at home or work, we must measure happiness.

So, let’s get down to how we do it. It is quite simple.

Just frame a question about how happy you are on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being absolutely unhappy and 10 being ecstatic.

It is as simple as that. The problem is most people are not asking this question to themselves, to their employees, to their partners because they are scared of the answer and that it may not be favorable.

It is a tough question to ask, and hence we don’t ask it.

Even this question can be broken down into multiple sets of questions, depending on what the circumstances and context of the situation is. Let’s say you run an advertising agency and you want to assess the happiness of the creative team that is copywriters and art guys.

What kind of questions would you frame to measure happiness?

Let us try.

1. How happy are you with the functioning of the creative department on a scale of 1-10? Please state reasons for your answer.

2. How happy are you with your servicing colleagues on a scale of 1-10? Please state reasons for your answer.

3. How happy are you with the leadership of the agency on a scale of 1-10? Please state reasons for your answer.

See, these are simple questions but one definitely needs courage and intellectual honesty to be able to administer these questions and solicit answers. The employees should be able to answer these anonymously if they like, so that they can give clear and uninhibited feedback.

Similarly, you can ask similar questions to your partner, in case you are not clear about the state of your relationship, and how happy they are.

1. How happy are you with this relationship on a scale of 1-10? Why?

2. What would it take to take it closer to 10?

You can use a similar question for every relationship in your life, be it personal or professional. It will help you in understanding the most important part about that relationship.

Happiness is the most important qualitative attribute in life. Many people lead outwardly successful lives and they are miserable inside, and that explains the high rates of depression and suicide around the world.

We are not measuring happiness while we are measuring success every day. People look at each other every day through the lens of the materialistic possessions, which do not guarantee happiness.

Success may not may not lead to happiness. While on the other hand, happiness does lead to success. Happiness is success and not vice versa.

All companies should measure how happy their employees are.

Families should measure how happy their members are.

All of us should measure how happy our relationships are.

Individually, we should ask ourselves, how happy we are, and what would it take to take our score to 10?

Yes, it would vary at different times.

For example, lets us say that you have had a great meeting which won you a client, you would score high, while the next day, and the score may change.

The happiness meter however measures happiness on a long term basis. For example, you don’t answer how happy you are today, you answer how happy you are over the course of a year or 2 years, ever since the test was last done.

Similarly, in a relationship, your overall levels of happiness would not fluctuate significantly over days. You could be 5 one day and 6 the next day. But you won’t be 2 one day and 8 the next day.

The happiness meter doesn’t lie. The question is, will you be honest with it.

When you ask yourself, how happy you are on a scale of 1-10, and let’s say that answer is 4, it should push you to ask more questions of yourself.

Why is it 4?

What’s lacking?

Now intuitively, you would know. All of us know. We just don’t admit.

You know you score is low because either your job sucks or your marriage sucks or your friend circle is making a mess of your life. The reason will somewhere lie within your personal, professional or social life. Those are the 3 key buckets of life. The way to improve your score would be to address the part of your life that needs to be addressed.

May be, you need to find a better job.

May be, you need to improve your relationship with your partner, or if that cannot be done, see if you must get a divorce.

The answers are scary and difficult. But, we need these answers. We need to face he truth. This question, if answered honestly, has the potential to transform your life, and make you a much happier version of you. Please use it.

How happy are you on a scale of 1-10?

Thank you for reading.

The purpose of this blog to help you find your happiness. Please read the other posts on the blog, and follow so that you get updates when new posts are published. Please share any posts you like with your friends so that they can also find their happiness. If you have any feedback for me, please leave it in the comments and I would be happy to work on it. If you would like to support my writing and this blog, you may please send a donation through PayPal here.

I appreciate the time you spent in reading the blog and wish you happiness.

Love,

Amarvani