10-minute happiness

Take the wellbeing quiz

Below are five statements that you may agree or disagree with. Using the 1–7 scale below, indicate your agreement with each item by placing the appropriate number in the box preceding that item. Please be open and honest in your responding.

7 - Strongly agree
6 - Agree
5 - Slightly agree
4 - Neither agree nor disagree
3 - Slightly disagree
2 - Disagree
1 - Strongly disagree

[ ] In most ways, my life is close to my ideal.
[ ] The conditions of my life are excellent.
[ ] I am satisfied with my life.
[ ] So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.
[ ] If I could live my life over again, I would change almost nothing.

Scoring:

35–31 Extremely satisfied
26–30 Satisfied
21–25 Slightly satisfied
20 Neutral
15–19 Slightly dissatisfied
10–14 Dissatisfied
5–9 Extremely dissatisfied.

Once you have got your score, you may feel confused. I scored a 27. I should be happy, but I feel miserable a lot of the time. What's wrong with me?

If you take that test every year, your scores are going to be pretty similar every time. That finding, and a great deal of other research data, suggests that each of us has a "set point" for happiness. Like a thermostat, it is a self-regulating mechanism that returns us to our own characteristic subjective well-being point after the ups and downs of immediate joy and misery have worn off.