Meera Lester - 365 Ways to Live Happy: Simple Ways to Find Joy Every Day

What is it that makes you happy and contented? Although happiness and life satisfaction are relatively new areas of psychology study, research suggests that it's not external objects like cars, luxury homes, and all the must-have gadgets money can buy that make people happy, but rather internal factors like good health and an optimistic, hopeful outlook. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the eighteenth-century playwright, had nine requisites for a happy, contented life. First was health, in order to make work a pleasure. Then came wealth to support one's needs. Other factors in his list included strength to deal with difficulty, grace to confess and abandon sin, patience, charity, love, faith, and hope.

What does it take for you to feel that things are going well and that you are flourishing? These are ideas worth examining, for the answers reveal how you can have a happier life. If you are curious about your own level of happiness, take the following quiz.

Answer the questions in this fun, short quiz to discover your level of happiness and contentment with your life. Just pick the answer that best aligns with your beliefs and lifestyle choices and find out if you are an optimist, a realist, or a pessimist.

1. How satisfied are you with your personal relationships (that is, with family, friends, and spouse or significant other)?

   1. I am very satisfied with my personal relationships.

   2. I am neither satisfied nor dissatisfied but feel fortunate to have them.

   3. I am dissatisfied.

2. If you could change your life in any way you wanted, how much of it would you change?

   1. Very little; I am happy with my life and the choices I've made.

   2. I would change several things if I saw that certain areas would work better once I'd made improvements.

   3. I would change a lot; nothing in my life seems to be working.

3. Thinking about the level of stress in your life, how would you rate the level of stress you feel?

   1. Low; not much stresses me out.

   2. Medium; the stressors in my life are not constant but ebb and flow.

   3. High; most of the time it seems that my life is driven by high drama and unrelenting stress.

4. Comparing your life to that of most other people, how would you describe yours?

   1. I am extremely fortunate.

   2. I am somewhat fortunate.

   3. My life is the pits.

5. How much would you change your physical appearance if you had no monetary or other restriction?

   1. Nothing; I am content with the way I look.

   2. A little nip here and a tuck there could make a vast improvement.

   3. I'd change my whole appearance, get the works.

6. How happy or satisfied are you in your choice of job or career?

   1. I am extremely satisfied with my choice for my life's work.

   2. I am somewhat satisfied, but I might be tempted to switch jobs in the future.

   3. I hate my job, and it's a drag having to show up for work every day.

7. When you think about all the various aspects of your life, how would you rate your satisfaction with your life in general?

   1. I am highly satisfied with my life.

   2. I am moderately satisfied with my life but planning to make a few small changes to improve it.

   3. I am totally dissatisfied with my life; it sucks.

8. Rate how difficult or easy it is for you to achieve personal goals.

   1. I frequently set goals, stay focused, and finish what I start; my goals are usually easy to reach.

   2. I sometimes set goals and although many are challenging, I strive to attain them.

   3. I resist setting goals since I never seem to attain them.

9. Comparing your life to that of most other people, in general, how do you feel about yours?

   1. I feel extremely fortunate.

   2. I feel somewhat fortunate.

   3. I feel dissatisfied with my life and can't understand why nothing ever seems to go my way.

10. Imagine your ideal life. How close do you feel you are to having your ideal?

    1. I am living life to the fullest and enjoying every minute of it, so I'd say that I'm close to having the perfect life.

    2. I'm still tweaking with areas of my life. Since there's always room for improvement, I'd say I am somewhat close to having my ideal life.

    3. My life at present is not close at all to what I'd like my ideal life to be.

So are you an optimist, a realist, or a pessimist?

For every A answer, give yourself 3 points.

For every B answer, give yourself 2 points.

For every C answer, give yourself 1 point.

21 to 30 points: You are have an optimistic outlook and are generally satisfied with your life.

11 to 20 points: You are realist and understand that the good things in your life balance out the bad. You believe the course of your life can change and that you hold the power to make it change.