A Recipe for Holiday Joy: Pursue lasting happiness to bring joy throughout the year.

• Author: Gochnour, Natalie
• Position: Economic Insight

The holidays are in full stride. Downtown shines with holiday lights and our homes radiate with gifts, menorahs, nativities and pine trees. We sip cider, sing carols to neighbors and celebrate with loved ones. This is the season of joy.

Joy is a wonderful word. We feel joy at the most important moments in our lives--graduation, marriage, childbirth and special events with loved ones. Some people name their children "Joy" as an expression of their happiness. When we feel joy, we feel a lightness, jubilation and high spirits. Joyfulness is possibly the most positive human emotion.

I recently asked myself the question, "What is the secret to lasting joy or happiness?" This question seems particularly relevant during the holiday season when we surround ourselves with loved ones and sing songs of joy.

I'm no expert in the field of positive psychology, but I've read enough to know that happiness can be divided into two general categories: fleeting and lasting.

Fleeting happiness, also called hedonism, includes self-indulgent and immediate pleasure. It could be something as simple as eating chocolate ice cream or skiing Utah powder. It could be a temporary high that comes from using mind-altering drugs. These experiences can be self-gratifying for a time, but the pleasure is not lasting. Over time, hedonistic happiness can be crippling, as is the case these days with opioid addiction.

A well-known study compared the relative levels of happiness of lottery winners and a control group. It turns out lottery winners return to the same average level of happiness several months after winning the lottery as the control group. Some become even sadder.

Why is this? I think we have ample evidence that wealth does not improve emotional well-being (after meeting a certain level of comfort and subsistence). In many ways, wealth only complicates our lives.

Authentic happiness includes lasting and meaningful feelings of joy. It comes from having a purpose in life, much larger than self. It could be the building of a great company, the nurturing of a great family or the cultivating of a great community.

Holiday wish

My holiday wish is that people will use this time of year to tap into authentic happiness. I propose a simple formula.

Step one: Be grateful for whatever you have. People who are grateful tend to live healthier, more fulfilling lives. I recently heard that gratitude is the mother of all positive virtues. I think that is a powerful statement. Whatever...